Janet and Sarah's Alphabetical Adventure in the South Island

Arrowtown: Stables restaurant and wine bar. Problem. We were full from lunch that day, so after a walk around town and some cheeky Arrowtown photos, we left. I did sneak a pic of the restaurant. But I don't feel like that means I can tick 'A' off the A-Z list!

We had intended on going to the Arts Centre in Christchurch, and I was saddened to see that this magnificent structure was fenced off, derelict and lonely. A shame as I know Janet would have enjoyed poking around the craft shops. I think this can count for our letter 'A'... Arts Centre.

Bridge run... Yeah, yeah - totally scraping the bottom of the barrel for a letter 'I', but ya know what?  The photo is simply awesome. This was the bridge on the Lake Matheson track.

Chips and fish on a beach, out of the paper- well we did it. We found an outstanding fish and chip trailer on the lakefront in Te Anau- and it had a 4.5 star rating out of 5 from Trip Advisor. Ace. We enjoyed battered blue cod and chips each- and it was amazing! Crispy, not oily - and more delicious, crunchy chips than you could eat. The couple who own and run the trailer were lovely and made plenty of conversation as we waited. We then ventured to the lake to find a picnic table to sit at.

Poor tree...getting a rather deep drink!

Best. Chips. Ever! NOM!

Problem: we saw these yesterday. Why could we not see them today?? Solution: they're still there... But the lake had risen 1m overnight and they were now mostly underwater!! Once we finally found a high and dry place to eat, we stopped to eat by the lakeside. Bliss. And all for $20. Tourists were walking past with that "Jeez that's a good idea" expression on their faces. Yeah. We know. We're awesome.

Yep... that's a picnic table!

Another "C" was the Christchurch Cathedral. I knew that we couldn't exactly go in, post earthquake, but I thought we could take a look. The February 2011 Christchurch earthquake destroyed the spire and part of the tower – and severely damaged the structure of the remaining building. The cathedral had been damaged previously by earthquakes in 1881, 1888, 1901, 1922 and 2010. As luck (??) would have it, we got to view it the last day possible before they close the walkway and begin pulling it down. A very sad state to see it like that.

Drink from a Glacier. There was flowing water all over the glacier... I suppose due to the fact that the glacier is continuously melting. We had been instructed on arrival (after stepping off the helicopter) that we needed to "get low" and "shield your face from ice chips", so we did just that. Low and behold, what would be at our feet as we crouched low but some fresh and flowing water! Janet, before I was quick enough to notice, scooped up some fresh glacial water and slurped it from her hand. Of course, I made her repeat the process so I could capture it "on film" as they say!

The freshest way to quench your thirst...

Not long after, we saw a small running waterfall, so took the opportunity to drink from that too- we even filled our water bottles up! Glacial water. You can't beat that pure taste!

Eat some NZ chocolate. Janet has this one down-pat. Whittakers is officially the shiz!

Whittaker's, NZ Chocolate. You can't beat it. Ask Nigella Lawson...!

Fox Glacier. Janet rated this 5 stars on Trip Advisor, and I will be doing the same. If you visit the South Island, do the glacier. Our guide, Deano, was fabulouso! The fact that nothing up there is pre-marked out, as in- Dean was cutting steps ahead and searching for amazing sights, explaining how everything changes day to day. He mentioned it never gets old even though he sees it all the time, and on finding an ice cave large enough for us to crawl into, he got as excited as we did!

Fitting her crampons

Close-up of the crampon action

Follow the leader...

Standing in a crevice

Living the dream... YEAH she is!

Inside the ice cave

Deano - cutting the way!

Our ride!

There was another tour group on the glacier but we hardly saw them, so felt special as if it were just us and the glacier. Simply stunning. And we got to learn too- all about sun cups, ice caves, how ice caves form and what crampons are!
 
A hugely amazing experience- and one I hope to do again at some point. What did make us laugh, and I feel I need to comment on, were the people on the trip who were unbelievably unprepared. E.g. The couple who didn't bring water bottles, the woman who brought her handbag and had to ask for a backpack to borrow, the couple wearing jeans and then wondering why they were so cold and wet after they crawled out of the ice cave, the couple who didn't bring jackets - oh! And the couple who only the man had a jacket and didn't even offer it to his girl when she climbed into the ice cave- someone else's husband asked her if she would like to borrow his coat. The one who didn't offer his coat? Not a keeper, I'm afraid! Boyfriend fail! 

Go poking around in a rock pool: As luck would have it, Janet found herself a wee rockpool in Kaikoura. Not sure what she saw or found, but she had a good look in it!

Helicopter over the fox glacier: We paid to go on the 'Flying Fox' trip package, which included a return flight onto the glacier in a helicopter. I had not been in a helicopter before and was a little nervous, until I saw two under 5-year-olds step off one all smiles...can't be that bad...? The views from the heli trip were, in a word, spectacular. I kept looking around and feeling so be blessed to live in a country that is so stunning! It was like everywhere you looked, the word 'wow' escaped your lips. Janet got to sit up front, which suited me fine- and caught some awesome shots of the glacier from above. The flight up there took about ten minutes, including a wee tour so you could drink in the view. Totally worth every cent.

Imagine 'Ride of the Valkyries' playing in the background...

Cat that got the cream....?

Interesting rock sculptures: I got a bit excited at Gillespies Beach near Fox... the stone beach was too fun - too many things you could do with the rocks... and rock piles? Yes!

Justin Beaver- whilst on the Glacier hike, we met a couple from Perth who had a toy never attached to her belt with a carabiner. The guide, Deano, asked what the deal with the Beaver was and if they were Canadian. The woman said they weren't Canadian, but Australian, and funnily enough the Beaver had come from Germany. Apparently he was purchased whilst holidaying in Germany and each morning the maid put him in a different position, e.g. Watching TV with the remote next to him, tucked up in bed or reading the latest travel itinerary. Someone had a sense of humour! Anyway, the travels of Justin Beaver blog was born. You can read more about his travels (wonder what he thought of NZ...?) here: http://theadventuresofjustinbeaver.wordpress.com/

K bar. An old school kiwi school kid treat! Janet had not had one of these delicously dangerous to dentalwork treats... so I felt I should introduce her. I devoured mine, lovingly chewing on every lasy morsel... I don't think she completely finished hers in one setting. Mind you - it is a lot of chewing action!

Another K? KEAS! They are a large specie of Parrot here in NZ. They are omnivorous and are a fully protected bird in NZ. They're known for their intelligence and curiosity which is pretty vital to their survival in the chilly South Island. They are actually the world's only alpine parrot... see? Learn something new every day!

Lake Matheson in Fox. Mum had messaged me and said "Must see Lake Matheson- lake like a mirror and don't jump off the pontoon"- so Janet and I looked it up. It was just 6km down the road from our hotel so we took off there to see what we could see. The tourist path to get to the lake was beautifully landscaped and well-kept, yet still seemed natural enough. The winding path through he trees was stunning and had that "untouched by human hands" feel to it, which is always a bonus. We actually somewhat enjoyed the walk, passing only a small handful of people there. Janet found an uprooted tree who bloomed cool, and the. We saw the lake. With the mountains in the background, I can see why this particular viewing platform is so popular! It is lovely, serene, tranquil and a great place to have a think! We admired what we could see, though a bit much wind for it to be like a mirror, and made our merry way back so that we could check out the gift shop (which was outstanding) and have a bite to eat. We were pleased we went when we did, being we passed about twenty people entering the path as we were exiting. Good timing? We think so!

Milford Sound: We left Te Anau early (as in before 7am) in order to make it to Milford Sound for our Jucy Cruise. We passed Cascade Creek (which is where the road was closed yesterday) and continued on thinking "so far, so good...." but it was not to be. We reached Hollyford and arrived at a downhill slope where there were about 20 cars pulled over. Waiting. Waiting for what? Waiting to go on? Waiting to stop? Waiting for nothing? Waiting to turn around and go back the way that they came. Disappointing. Not only because we missed out on Milford Sound, but because we had driven such a very long way in order to come and see it. Pleased we at least saw the short film put together by Weta Studios- Ata Whenua: "Shadowland". That showed us spectacular scenery that you would never see from a cruise! It said to me that perhaps the very best way to see the Milford Sound, is to fly over it. The road finally opened after about a 40 minute wait. The Milford Sound has some stunning, stunning scenery. The morning tour which we were supposed to be on had been cancelled, being that the road was closed, so we had an hour and a half to kill before the next cruise. Unbelievably, there was no cafe! And no wi-fi! Finally it was our turn to board and we headed straight for the stern of the boat - everyone else seemed to get up on top deck, we think we had the best views of the day! Seal colonies, birds and an expanse of ocean at the end of it. Stunning, Breathtaking. 100% Aotearoa.

Casual rock avalanches...

Floods...

Good to know...

Our ride ;)

  

Spot seals in the background...

Post being drenched by a waterfall!

Something quite special about seeing them in their natural habitat!

NZ dairy and order a hokey pokey ice cream in a cone. We had the best of intentions. It just never happened...oops! How about Naughty weather....? It was pretty naughty at times... rain washing away bridges, flooding, roads being closed, high winds, cancelled boat trips... GOSH the list could go on!

Ohau waterfall walk with Sea pups in Kaikoura. I wasn't expecting too much. People on Trip Advisor seemed to get so darned lucky, commenting that they saw "a family of sea pups frolicking" - whether that true or not, we decided to give it a go. Success! We saw four seals having a snooze, and one as we were leaving was quite happy to show off for a bit for the camera! They're quite lovely, I wish we could say we saw pups, but at least we saw adult seals! Huzzah!

Police station. I originally had something else down for letter P, but for some reason or other it didn't work out. As luck (????) would have it, Janet and I ventured out for some breakfast. We decided to go on foot this time, as Te Anau is Te-teeny-tiny and best seen on foot, and made our way through a shortcut path. We stopped at a recommended breakfast place, The Sandfly cafe. Epic breakfast of a hash brown stack, with two poached eggs, tomatoes, hollandaise and a generous helping of bacon. We washed this down with a latte and in Janet's case, English Breakfast tea (which arrived in a tea cup resembling a UFO, how odd) and I received a blocked call. Curious, I answered.
"Hello, is this Janet Hitchen?"
"No, she's seated next to me though...?"
"Well, could you ask her if she has the rental car keys?"
"Unusual" I replied. "I have those in my...(fumbles in handbag, checks pockets, BOLLOCKS!) bag..."
"They've been handed in at Te Anau Police Station, so you'll need to collect them from there."
"Excellent ... Will do..." OOPS! But, on the upside, we did require something, anything for letter P- and this worked out perfectly. Imagine our disappointment when a plain clothes, civilian woman in her 50's was at the Police counter. Here I was hoping that I could capture Janet pashing a Police officer. No such luck. We settled on an exterior view...note the lavender. It was meant to be!

Quick stop in Queenstown. And that it was! We must have missed what all the fuss was about as we chose to basically drive through and move on to Te Anau... Perhaps we missed something...? Nice lake, however! We decided it is the place to go if you wish to throw yourself off something.

Another 'Q' was the giant QUEUE of traffic we reached Hollyford, where the road was still closed from land slips and rock avalanches (dramatic, eh!) which we encountered. See 'M' for more...!!

Red bus- in Christchurch we decided to do the city bus tour which randomly was on a double decker, red London bus! It had some familiar names on the back and was an interesting but sobering ride.

The roads were insanely bumpy- left over from the earthquake. We had been told that Sumner's roads were the bumpiest, so it was much to Janet and my amusement that another tourist decided that buying a coffee to drink on board was a good idea!!!
 

The worst part we saw was Sumner. I went there in April 2010, and stayed at Melissa's parents place. Sumner is somewhat different to what I recall. The most awful sight was huge homes up on the cliff tops- half of the homes on top of the cliff...and half at the bottom of the cliff. Very saddening to see. There were shipping containers placed around the city. Why? It was a quick and easy way to protect the public from any further debris fall. A walk in central Christchurch was eerie. It is a ghost town, not the buzzing hub I remember. No tram can run- so that was off our A-Z list. Shops had windows broken but stuff still inside- an eerie sort of thing to see. I hope Christchurch can get on that road to recovery and be restored to the garden city it once was. Meanwhile- tourists are helping boost their economy so we need people to continue to visit!

Stop at a Speights Ale House: Speights beer, pride of the South... brewed in Dunedin, the South Island of NZ. We decided to stop in the Wanaka Ale House on our way SOUTH from NORTH - being that the Hare Hare bridge had been washed away in the rain, so we needed to now drive all the way down the south island in order to drive up the other side! Wanaka was a nice halfway stop - and I assured Janet that she wouldn't be disappointed with a Speights Ale House. We ordered an amazing sharing platter full of deliciousness that between us, we couldn't even finish!

Tunnels! We even got to drive through them! We also got lucky in Wanaka and found a thumb statue! Winning!

Lake Wanaka

Unwind with wine at a winery: Mudhouse Winery just outside Christchurch - picturesque and quite lovely. If you are out that way  - stop by! We can recommend their house Pinot Gris....!

Views of amazing mountains and scenery: We were blessed with a few days of brilliant weather, where we were driving on long straights and drinking in amazing views. It really, really was a trip where the word 'WOW' was potentially overused. Nah. It wasn't overused. It was WOW!

Whale watching in Kaikoura: What a drama this turned out to be! We were all ready and rearing to go - had even taken some seasickness pills, donned our travel sickness wristbands and sun-blocked our entire bodies in preparation for an amazing morning on the water with the whales. We were both discussing how exciting it was that today, we would be seeing whales - only to be told about ten minutes before our trip was due to start, that it had been cancelled for today due to rough seas. Gutted doesn't begin to describe how we felt. We then left Kaikoura and decided to go to Christchurch early and make a start on looking around the City. Janet ended up booking whales again at the end of our trip instead of staying another night in Christchurch. She saw whales from a helicopter which is pretty amazing, but sadly there were no whales about when she finally went out on the boat! BUT: She DID see MANY dolphins and took some pretty stunning photos. All was not lost!

X Railway crossing - we drove through countless railway crossings but it was never safe enough to stop as such... you will have to take our word for this one!

Yummy NZ pie eating from Miles Better pies in Te Anau- Janet ordered a creamy chicken pie and said she enjoyed it. For some reason I couldn't handle the texture of the pie, but the pastry was pretty amazing! NOM!

Z: We struggled to find a street that started with 'Z' and pose for a photo with it. Zorbing didn't seem to be an option for Janet. As luck would have it, however, as we trailed behind a car towing a boat and observing idiotic drivers taking chances with their lives as they passed, Janet saw Z mountain. ACE.

And just as quickly as the adventure began, it was over.
Cheery bye :)