Hereandthereclaire.com

After all my worry and anxiety I managed to get into Australia, with only a few minor issues! I managed to miss a huge section in my deceleration card, so I was stopped at customs and lead towards the scary looking metal examination tables!! OMG! 😳 Luckily I wasn’t strip searched or searched at all I just had to fill out the form, and have my bags xrayed! Glad to say they had no issue with or didn’t find the bottle of Cassis I had in my Case!

I made it through customs and into Australia! Yeah! Then I jumped onto the Sky Bus from the airport into the city to the Southern Cross Station. When I arrived at the station I tried to jump into a cab, the first guy said “oh it’s only 5 mins up the road, you can walk, but if you don’t want to just ask the guys behind me who don’t have to do a U turn” so as it was raining and I was dragging a huge case I decided not to walk.  The 2nd taxi guy also said it was only a 5 minute walk, so I thought sod it I’ll bloody walk….after walking for 10 mins up the same road, and feeling wet and tired, I asked another cab and it took another 10mins to get there in a bloody taxi! The  walk would have taken me 30 -40 mins, and the reason the taxis didn’t want to take me was because it was a short ride!! Not impressed, felt very upset, not the greatest welcome to Melbourne! Fuckers!

Still feeling a bit stressed I managed to follow all the Airbnb instructions and get into the Apartment, found a shop, bought milk and bread etc, log onto the WiFi! I then made my self comfortable and waited for my Rebecca and Grantley to arrive! They finally appeared at 12am!! It was so wonderful to see them both. Although we were all really tired by this point (time changes etc) we stayed up late chatting and catching up. 😍😍

The apartment is in a huge tall block and we have a fabulous view of Melbourne! I left my blinds open so I could wake with the view, which I did! Wow! Gorgeous.

We all got up and headed out to  Queen Victoria Market, the oldest and most amazing fresh food and deli market! The food selection was unbelievable, such stunning colours and smells and tastes!! After this we jumped on the brilliant Free Tram down to the river and the National Gallery of Victoria. They have a collection of Terracotta Warriors and also a display of work by the Chinese artist Cia Guo-Qiang called “The Transient Landscape” it involved an installation of 10,000 porcelain starlings, called “Mumeration” this lead the way through the exhibition and to his artwork on Paper, or hemp, which is made using colour powder, and gunpowder!! He literally blows the art work up to create the patterns, it’s absolutely stunning.

There were several more wonderful exhibitions, Venetian Glass! Chinese Photography, again stunning and very political pieces. The photographs that showed the impact of the 1 child policy were very moving, as well as the changing face and culture of China.

We also spent a lot of the day walking down and looking for Melbournes famous Laneways, little lanes and alleys which have great bars, cafes, artwork, graffiti and just a cool vibe! We found quite a few and they were brilliant, loved the artwork, and the little hidden away places.

After here we walked through the city and up to the State Library of Victoria, which was in an fabulous old building with the most amazing Globe Room, with balconies. It was wonderful to see so many people making use of the library and it’s facilities. The exhibition about the world of books, with illustrated books etc was fab. This was also a perfect place to shelter from the rather miserable rainy Melbourne weather! We left here and popped into a fab little cocktail bar called Moat, we all had a yummy cocktail, all literary inspired! Very good. When we left the rain had stopped so we made our way to one of the bars on Rebecca’s Hit List ‘Eau de Vie’ which is a little 1920s prohibition inspired cocktail bar. Well it certainly lived up to its purpose, for a start it is almost impossible to find! We walk3d down the same bloody alley twice before asking someone and being pointed towards a very nondescript door, behind which was a world of Joy!!! OMG!! The cocktails were fantastic! Very theatrical and super delicious! The whole ambience was perfect. We left here and walked back to the apartment, stopping briefly for a Little Nasi Gorang!! 😍

After a good nights sleep for me, but not so much for Rebecca, and an early morning chat with friends! we were up and out by 10.

Today has consisted of visiting more Museums, The Immigration Museum, which is a must see, and had some fascinating exhibitions about tattoos from different cultures.  And also the history of immigrants into Australia, which I felt was so interesting and relevant and also very thought provoking.

We then spent the rest of the day, traveling on the tram, eating lunch, drinking wine, catching up and generally having a lovely time. We ended up in a little Laneway and spotted a Bar called Harley House Bar, which made these awesome Pisco Sour cocktails, which are Peruvian and bloody amazing!!

Rebecca had another Bar on her hit list, The Berlin Bar…..which has 2 sides, East and West! It was so up Grantleys  street! We were obviously on the East Side! The  cocktails were gorgeous and Grantley kept us informed of all the history and why certain cocktails were named after certain people, for example Frida Khalo, who was a communist and had a relationship with Leon Trotsky. Yoko Ono, who was a communist. It was a really fun evening.

The last few days have been so much fun, it’s been great to spend time with Rebecca and Grantley, catching up, laughing and sharing our experiences. I’m not sure if I’ve seen all I want of Melbourne, I think I’d like to come back and explore some more.

Tomorrow we are leaving Melbourne to start our road trip to Adelaide, along the Great Ocean Road! It’s going to be great to get out of the city and see the ocean, the views, the stars! Can’t wait.

Goodnight Lovlies.

Xxxx

 

 

 

Today is my last day in the Magnificent New Zealand. I am writing this whilst sitting at the airport waiting for my flight to Australia

Yesterday was not the best last day! Dentists were bad enough but I then had a massive panic that I hadn’t applied for my Australian holiday visa!! (I did this last year as well) 🤯🥺 l looked back through my emails….nothing, tried checking online, no luck as the internet thought I was already in Australia! The same with trying to apply online!! FFS!  I then remembered I had sent the link to G & G so I thought I could do it that way. It was at this point after panicked WhatsApps to people I knew would be up at 6.30am, that I realised I had logged in using a different email account . I subsequently found my application, but the confirmation had been sent to my usual hotmail and possibly ended up in my junk folder, which I had purged (most unlike me!) So, it would appear that I did apply and got granted a visa, however I have continued to have a low level of anxiety that I’ll get to Melbourne and they won’t let me in!! (No more ‘Border Force’ for me) Watch this space……😬

My thoughts on New Zealand? It is absolutely glorious. The scenery is out of this world. The people are kind, friendly and helpful. The public transport system is brilliant and affordable. The North & South Islands are very different both are stunning but in different ways. The Geology of New Zealand is phenomenal, and this is reflected in its landscapes and I think in all of its people; Strong, capable, adaptable, hardy, no nonsense, kind, welcoming and beautiful. It has been a huge pleasure to share this fabulous place, even for a short while.

It has been a real adventure. I feel very proud of myself for planning and  undertaking such a varied and fully packed itinerary. I’ve managed to get to the end having only lost 1 small glasses case, broken 1 pair of sunnies and a tooth! Not bad.

I will most certainly return to this wonderful, magical place in the future.

The next part of my adventure now begins (if I’m allowed in!) I am meeting my beautiful Rebecca and my Gorgeous Grantley in Melbourne to do a Road Trip up to Adelaide. Rebecca has planned it all, bless her and it all sounds fantastic. 😍

Please keep reading, and feel free to leave comments.

Kia Ora for the last time from the Wonderful, Spectacular, Stunning, Breathtaking New Zealand.

Xxx

I did indeed spend the day chilling at the hostel in Te Anau, did my laundry, popped out for some lunch then boarded my bus at 5.30 to return to Queenstown. The bus journey was fine, a bit boring as it was dark, but we got to watch a cute film about a Kiwi motorcycle legend called Burt Munro!

I arrived in Queenstown at 7.40, checked back into the YHA and went straight back out for my last opportunity to have a famous and delicious Fern Burger! I queued up for 30 mins! But the lovely lady at the till saw me eyeing up the Baileys Milkshakes and gave me one for free! 😍 I took them both back to the hostel and they were yummy! After this I got into bed, did a little bit of social media then as I was reading an email I felt something funny, then that funny feeling turned quickly into fear as my bed started to rock back and forth, banging into the wall and the tv fell down on the shelf! Shit! Fuck it was a bloody Earthquake, I dived onto the floor (as per all the instructions I’d read) and waited for it to stop. When it did, I dragged on some clothes and ventured into the corridor, my heart pounding.

Everyone had come out of their rooms and were asking if it was an earthquake, quite a few of them were visibly upset and very scared, so I then went into Mum Mode, said I would get some information. I tried asking the staff member, but he was a young German guy who was as bemused as the rest of us, so I googled it!! And yes, there had been a 6.3 mag earthquake just off Milford Sound at a rather shallow depth of 10k. Milford Sound is actually only 45k away, as the crow flys, which is why we had felt it so strongly. I relayed this info to everyone and said that we might experience some aftershocks, pointed out the emergency exits and explained the procedure….Drop and roll! After this I went back to my room and took some deep breaths!! I then packed up all my stuff, and left it within grabbing distance. I also decided to sleep partially clothed….the thought of being dragged from the rubble naked was just to much to cope with! 😂 This plan would have been great if I’d been staying in any of the other YHAs in NZ, but for some unknown bloody reason Queenstown YHA is boiling!! Typical. I have to say it was a very scary experience and lead to a very uncomfortable and disturbed night.

Oh, and as if Earthquakes were not enough drama and upset, as I was cleaning and flossing my teeth (god forbid I should be rescued naked and with dirty teeth 😂) one of my teeth broke, or rather the sodding filling broke off! FFS! Seriously! I have a little bit of a phobia about breaking teeth……😳🤯 However in the grand scheme of things, I just thought, fuck it, it can be fixed.

After my rather eventful and sleepless night I was at the bus stop for 7am to catch my Tour Bus back to Christchurch via Mount Cook. I was very tired, but determined not to be one of those sleeping passengers. It actually wasn’t that difficult, the journey was amazing. We headed out through Otago and then up through some wonderful large valleys, which actually were quite brown and dry but surrounded by mountains. We traveled  through some great little towns making our way towards Lake  Pukaki. This is another Alpine Lake which has Mount Cook at one end! The colour of this lake was unbelievable, I have never seen anything like it. It was a bright milky Turquoise, it almost looked didn’t look like water. As we  looked down the lake in the sunshine and blue skies at the end was this big area of cloud and weather, that was Mount Cook, the largest mountain in New Zealand at 3,724 metres.

We drove towards Mount Cook, where we would be stopping for lunch, alongside the Lake. As we drove the winds picked up, then picked up some more and at a few points it was so strong it was blowing the coach of course!! 😲💨 It was a little hairy. In the 25 minutes it took to get to Mount Cook we had gone from sunshine and blue skies to heavy cloud, thick snow, sleet and high winds, how fantastic is that!

It was like being in a different country, it was a shame that we couldn’t see the top of the Mountain, but,  not to show off or anything, but I have seen it already 😂

From here we drove back along Lake Pukaki towards Lake Tekapo, which was great but not as jaw dropping as Lake Pukaki. We then drove through some more of the Southern Alps and through Mackenzie Country, lots of sheep, and cattle, hills and forests.

The journey takes approx 12hrs, with lots of stops along the way and is a fantastic way to see the country. The last hour was not so great as it was dark, but even then I managed to stay awake!! Go me.

I arrived at my hotel (yes a hotel, not a hostel!) at 8pm, tired, hungry and a little bit out of sorts.

I went out a grabbed some veg rice, my fav. Then came back to the room for an early night. I was very, very tired.

I had a great nights sleep, fabulous  pillows, warm, quiet, Bliss.

Today has been….Interesting! I was up early despite my best intentions. I headed out, got my nails done! It’s important! Then had a wander around the Christchurch Museum, great. The Christchurch Art Gallery…..stunning. They had an exhibition on and one of the pieces: Orion 2018 by an artist called Hannah Beehre, was literally out of this world. It is a painting on silk and velvet with crystals, which sparkle like stars.  It is a huge piece and I absolutely loved it. I stayed in the gallery looking at it for quite a long time. Gorgeous.

After this wonderful experience, my next stop was not so fun! The dentist! Yes, I had to go and get my bloody tooth fixed, Joy!

The dentist and his nurse were lovely but this didn’t stop me from crying, I really don’t like the dentist, but things have to be done. I did some deep breathing (before they stuck everything in my gob!) and 30 hellish minutes and $350 dollars later I have a new filling! Yeah 🥺😫

The last few days have been a mixed bag. Lots of amazing things and some scary and horrible things. This might account for why I feel a little discombobulated. However, in a  massive positive note I am flying to Australia tomorrow and will be reunited with my Rebecca and Grantley, sadly Georgia won’t be there, as she will be busy looking after lots of birds and various marsupials! I will see her very soon though. ❤️

Thats all for now guys.

Kia Ora from a shaken but not stirred, tooth intact me!!

Xxx

 

After a slightly less cold night, due to being wrapped in 3 fleecy blankets and a duvet! I was up and ready for my trip to Doubtful Sound. I have been really looking forward to this trip as I’ve heard such wonderful things about it.

The small coach collected me from the YHA at 8.45, the weather was looking pretty good, some blue skies but it was cold. The coach took us round past Lake Te Anau and then on towards Lake Manapouri, the lakes looked amazing, quite still with the snowy mountains behind and some low lying cloud and mist, very atmospheric.

To get to Doubtful Sound you have to cross Lake Manapouri, traveling down it’s left arm then cross over the Wilmott Pass before arriving at the pretty remote Doubtful Sound.

While I waited to board the boat to cross the lake I watched a large group of older guys loading up a whole heap of stuff, cases, boxes, food, a ton of cool boxes and other assorted items. Turns out they are going on a week long fishing trip, with rather a lot of Beer!! 😂😂

The Trip across the lake takes approx 50mins, at nearly 40 knots! The views were again absolutely gorgeous, the sun was shining on the mountains in the distance, the lake was calm, the clouds were lifting and all was good!! I spent most of the time outside either taking pictures or just soaking up the views. Once we arrived at the other side of the Lake we boarded 2 coaches that would then take us up and over the Wilmott Pass, the only route to get to the sound and built in the 1920s but was updated and maintained in the 1960-70s to enable the transportation of equipment needed to build the Hydroelectric Dam on Lake Manapouri, it is now looked after by the tour companies that use it. The tour companies have to pay a tax for each person they transport, which is then used to help the conservation of the area, which is a superb idea. It is a fairly short but very steep pass cutting through forests and mountains. The forest is dense, with lots of ferns and moss, waterfalls, which can get very large during heavy rain. Then you arrive at the Sound, stunning!!

The journey on Doubtful Sound took 3hrs. It is a huge Fiord, several times larger than Milford Sound with lots of arms heading of it and at least 2 entrances to the Tasman Sea.

I honestly don’t  know how to describe this place, it is beyond stunning, once again huge towering granite cliffs soar above it with waterfalls, trees, birds, there are islands dotted about, large and small which offer shelter from the winds that whistle down the sound. The colours of the sky and the water are beautiful. Seeing the snowy mountains reflected in the water is awesome. We headed out to the mouth of the sound and the Tasman Sea, which looked very dark and brooding. We saw lots of fur seals resting on a large rock in the mouth, and I also watched one poor thing struggling to get out of the sea and onto the rocks!

When we headed back into the sound the wind stepped up a fair bit and the captain took us down Crooked Arm (an arm of the main body of the sound) as soon as we entered it the wind dropped, the lake surface calmed and then we stopped and turned of all the engines and sat there in total silence for 5 minutes. It was awe inspiring, moving and totally magical.

I have a friend, Tom, who’s mum did this same trip and during the silence she experienced something incredibly powerful and spiritual and from there she went on to become a Vicar. I can completely understand how that could happen, even though I’m an atheist. This place is so powerful and really very spiritual.

Todays Trip is another staggeringly beautiful, wonderful experience, one that I shall treasure.

The pictures are amazing but can’t capture the extent of the beauty.

Put this on your bucket lists!!

Today I am mostly chilling in the hostel, before heading back to Queenstown. Fiordland has been everything and more than I could have ever hoped for, Thank you.

Kia Ora from a very blessed me.

❤️❤️❤️❤️

Once again I was awake bright and early for my bus to Te Anau. It was a short walk from the YHA but it did involve dragging my case down 2 flights of stairs (easier than dragging them up 😳) As usual I got there in plenty of time then stood around waiting in the cold and dark, the buses here Actually very punctual, and this one appeared only 3 mins late. Unfortunately I was unable to get the best seat on the bus, this was grabbed by a group of Americans, but my seat was still pretty good. As it was still dark I had no idea what sort of weather we were going to have so I just sat back and waited to enjoy the journey. As we left Queenstown, we followed Lake Wakatipu past the Remarkables and then down through what’s know as ‘The Devils Staircase’ a series of steep and twisty turns in the road which were a little hairy! After which you come into a large valley, carved by glaciers many moons ago.  The weather was beautiful, a lovely sunrise which bathed the mountains in a soft pink glow and the valley was full of mist and frost, really gorgeous.

I have to say at this point that some (well, quite a few really) bus passengers really bloody annoy me. You have paid lots of money to travel from USA, China, Japan, Australia, wherever, presumably to see this stunning country and all its glorious scenery?? So why the Fuck are you sitting in this bus, in a prime seat playing Candy Crush on your tablet!! Or as is the majority of people, fast asleep! Get an early night, Jesus, you are all young, what’s so hard about staying awake for a few hours!!! I just don’t get it! It makes me cross. “Life is about the journey not the destination” wake up, look up, be in the moment, soak in the beauty of this amazing country. If you can’t be bothered to do this stay the fuck at home and let me have the good seat!!! 😳 Rant over.

We arrived in Te Anau and I was the only person departing the rest of the coach were going to Milford Sound, a UNESCO site of outstanding natural beauty for them to all sleep through! 😢

The good weather continued all day, although I was told there had been heavy snow and rain the night before which had caused avalanches on the Milford Sound Road, so the road was temporarily closed until lunchtime. I checked into my YHA, one of the nicest I’ve stayed at so far, had a little walk around the very small, quiet town. I grabbed some essentials from the supermarket and went back to the hostel and made some lunch. For some reason I am feeling really tired the last few days, so I grabbed my book, sat by the fire and prepared to chill…..I kept nodding off and after an hour I decided that I shouldn’t be sitting inside on such a lovely day, so I hoiked my arse up and went for a 2 hour walk by the lake. After this, and still feeling tired I went out for and early dinner and more importantly and early night. This  YHA is very nice, but it’s also very cold!! I have taken 3 blankets from the pile left for guests in the lounge, but I was still cold!! This is not normal for me 🥶

After a cold night I was awake early again!! Even though I’m not being picked up for my trip until 9.30! Today I am going to Milford Sound. I am very excited, it is supposed to be beautiful. Unfortunately the weather isn’t as good today, cloudy and wet. The coach picked me up, and it was already pretty full as it had come from Queenstown. The first part of the drive was good,  it you couldn’t really see the mountains due to the low cloud. But as we climbed higher the clouds got a bit better. We drive through mountains that are very prone to avalanche, so it’s a little hairy, you can see the evidence of previous avalanches all around. We stopped at a place called Monkey Creek to admire the view, taste the glacial water and to also see some Kea, Kea are a native parrot type bird that are highly intelligent and very inquisitive. We were lucky to see a pair that seemed very taken with the coach and trying their best to take it apart!! 😂😂

from here we climbed up through the mountains until we reached the Homer Tunnel. This is a 1.2km tunnel dug through the Granite Darren Mountain range. The tunnel was started  in the 1930s and completed in 1954. It travels over kilometre beneath the huge mountains, in an area with a high rate of both avalanches and more worryingly Earthquakes!! The tunnel itself really does look hand dug, no smooth sides, just a jagged, long, high hole through the mountain! A remarkable feat of civil engineering.

As you emerge from the tunnel the view is staggering!! Right down a snow capped valley towards the sound!

I was lucky enough to be traveling on a lovely old boat called The Milford Mariner. We traveled the full length of the Sound, which is in fact a Fiord. (Not sure of the difference,  google it!) it is named after Milford Haven in Wales, the town where John Grono who discovered it was from.

It is absolutely stunning! Another breathtaking place with huge towering cliffs, waterfalls and just unbelievably beautiful scenery.  We were extremely lucky to see a  Fiordland Crested Penguin, which are quite rare, ( I took pictures, but he was very small, so you can’t really see him, but I promise he was there and very cute) and some seals. We went right to the end of the Sound and out into a rather calm Tasman Sea, before heading back, into the wind and rain! I spent most of the time outside trying to get photos, and just soaking in the scenery, which meant I got a bit chilly!! The whole experience was magical. Although the weather was a bit wet and cloudy, this makes the Sound feel very brooding and it also means the waterfalls are in full flow! Another true remarkable experience.

The journey back was quicker, as we made no stops, the driver needed to get going pretty swiftly as there is bad weather predicted and the road often gets closed!

I arrived back in Te Anau around 5pm, and instead of going back to the hostel I headed straight for the pub! They have a fire and food! I am now back at the hostel writing this blog and sipping a nice glass of wine, which is very chilled, as it’s been in my room all day!! ❄️🥶

Tomorrow I am going to Doubtful Sound, which is supposed to be even more amazing!! ❤️

The photos do not do justice to the magnificence of Fiordland.

Kia Ora my lovely blog readers!! 😘😍XX

 

 

I finished my last night in Franz Josef by popping to a restaurant next to the hotel for a bowel of soup, Corn & Bacon Chowder! Yummy. Then got a pretty early night.

I woke up in the night at 3.30, the same time Georgia should have been landing in Australia! I couldn’t settle whilst I waited for a message to say all was well, I tried checking the flight on line, but couldn’t find it, Which didn’t help my anxiety! Finally at 4.45 I got a message to say she was safe and sound with her siblings in Australia❤️ I couldn’t get back to sleep so did some checking of my itinerary etc, then finally drifted off to sleep 20 mins before my alarm went off!! 😬

I was taking a tour bus from Franz Josef through the Southern Alps, past lakes and through Westlands National Park,  Mount Aspiring National Park and on to Queenstown. The coach picked me up at 7.25, then picked up some other travellers from various spots in town before leaving at 8am (kinda wished I’d been last pick up!) I got a great seat at the front so I had a fantastic view, as always I chatted briefly to the driver, Ray, he seemed liked a nice guy. The weather was pretty dismal, low cloud, rain you could barely see the mountains as we drove through to Fox Glacier. Such a difference from yesterday and made me realise again how lucky I had been with my Helicopter Flight.

The bad weather continued for the first couple of hours, with just occasional glimpses of blue in the sky. Ray became very chatty, telling me Information about the area, stories about things and people (I feel he should have been doing this through his microphone for everyone, but hey ho!) He seemed to know lots about everyone, even people who lived in what looked liked the middle of nowhere, Ray knew then! He talked a lot about our first stop, which was going to be at a Salmon Farm with a wonderful Cafe, hot Scones, log fire it sounded awesome! The reality didn’t quite live up to my imagination! It was cold, the scone was warmed in the microwave to within an inch of its sad life! the salmon were swimming round and round in little tanks 😢 and Ray decided to sit with me and regal me with more stories about the wonderful cafe, the best scones! (Trust me I’m now an expert on the cheese front, and these are not the best) He also told me a story about Lighthouses in Cornwall, which he had already told me twice…..which was a worry 😳 Hey Ho, off we went on our way, the weather still not great, but improving a fraction. We had to cross over the Haast Past a long high, steep winding road. We stopped halfway up to change drivers, we stopped at a wonderful place called Thunder Falls and had time to walk down through the forest to look at the Falls, which were amazing. The colour of the rivers are stunning, as I’ve said before because they are Glacial rivers they have this magnificent blue colour. Sadly this meant that chatty Ray was leaving and as he left the bus he gave me a slightly awkward, hug/handshake thing!

On the way here we pass literally 100s of creeks, some large, some small and some barley there, but as the weather had been so poor I had been pay attention to them, the reason being that the New Zealander’s very kindly name each and ever one, on bright yellow signs. The names were brilliant. Some better than others. I’m not sure who names them but I feel there are lots of different people, with varying levels of humour and wit! I started noting them down and here are is a selection of my favourites, chosen for a number of reasons, which some of you will know!

Random Creek, Grant Creek, Wilson Creek, Dick Creek, Stinky Creek, Beccia Creek, Mossy Creek, Gentle Annie Creek, Dancing, Dismal and Dizzy Creek (one after the other!) Windbag Creek and my favourite Glitterburn Creek!! There where many many more. 😍

Once we had changed drivers, we climbed steadily out of Haast Pass and seriously it was like entering a different country! The sun was shining the sky was blue, unreal!

The Views again are stunning, we were traveling through a valley with mountains either side, I saw lots more Kareakea (New Zealand Falcons) which are awesome. Then suddenly we were beside the most gorgeous turquoise Lake. It is Lake Wanaka. A huge glacial lake. Then we headed through a Pass called the Neck which separates Lake Wanaka and Lake Hawea the 2 lakes are simply beautiful and huge and almost untouched and pure. We stopped for a short while on the shores on Lake Wanaka, before heading through Kawarau Gorge, which used to be a huge Gold mining area, it still mines gold but not to the same level as 100 years ago. You can still see some of the old shacks, and equipment, the gorge feels very different to the openness of the lakes. The river again  is a stunning blue!

Then we exit the gorge and through and Gibbston Valley a big wine making region and there is Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu!

Queenstown has lots of Ski resorts as it’s surround by huge mountains! It attracts lots  of Young ski enthusiasts and adrenaline junkies! There is Bungy Jumping, Jet Boats, skiing, heliskiing, zip lining, It is the home of the first commercial bungy! It definitely has a party town vibe going on!

By the time I arrived it was evening so I checked into my YHA then went out to have a look around, the lake looks awesome and everything is close by, and walkable which is good. I had a glass of wine and got chatting to an American lady, Donna, who I would say was my age or possibly older, she is apparently here in NZ to make a film, I asked what film and she said a kind of horror and…….then became a bit evasive, it’s quite low budget so I suspect it might be a bit like Debbie does Dallas but with Zombies and Kiwi fruit! 😂😂

After another drink by the lake I went to get Dinner and the place to go is FergBurger It’s a small takeaway Burger place, with queues out of the door, It took me 20 mins to order and get my burger, which is made fresh, but it was worth the wait! It was delicious.

Today, having checked the weather, which was due to be raining by lunch time, I got up earlyish and took the Skyline Gondola to the top of another mountain, which offers the most amazing views of Queenstown. I have to say I’m not a huge fan of the Gondola…bit wobbly and insubstantial for my liking, but once up there the views are fantastic. I watched people doing Bungy jumps! Why?? Seriously, it gives me palpitations just watching it! The rest of the day I spent looking in Art Galleries, walking by the lake and then reading my book! Lovely.

I have a very early start again tomorrow as my bus for Te Anau leaves at 7.05am 😳😬

Kia Ora my lovelies. 😘💖

 

 

Last night I went out to a local Asian restaurant that Marc the coach driver had recommended, it was yummy, I had a delicious Massamam curry, not quite as good as a Kahuna one but not bad!

Then I climbed into possibly one of The comfiest beds I’ve slept in in New Zealand! All crisp sheets, soft pillows and snuggly duvet! Unfortunately I was shocked out of my slumber by the stupid fancy Clock, iPod docking station, alarm contraption that went off at 5.45! 😱 It was pitch black, I tried bashing the bloody thing but this only succeeded in turning it up! Eventually I had to turn on a light, scrabble around to find my sodding glasses before I could turn it off! I managed to go back to sleep for another 30mins….yippee!

After I dragged myself reluctantly from the lovely bed I went down for some breakfast. It was a buffet style, and I ended up with a random selection of, chipolata sausage, baked beans and some tiny little samosas, followed by toast and marmalade (I am british you know! 😁) it was rather tasty.

The weather was looking quite good, so I headed over to the helicopter office to check about my flight for the afternoon, they said that it would be better if I could go earlier as they can’t guarantee the weather will hold. I rushed back to the hotel and got them to call the Tour operator  I’m supposed to be going with this morning and change it to the afternoon, which they did I then ran back to the helicopter office and they said they could get me on the next flight, leaving in 20mins!! Oh Wow/Shit….excited but also very nervous!! I’ve never been in a helicopter and I’m not a massive fan of heights, so probably not the best idea!!! 😳😬 But I feel that I should do it. We had our safety briefing which did nothing to help my nerves, then walked down to the landing site, we watched the helicopter come in, it’s very small! Then we were climbing aboard. There were 5 passengers and the pilot.

We lifted off very smoothly,  then headed straight towards the mountains! The pilot said we would head for Fox Glacier, then see how the weather was and if possible land, then head to Franz Josef Glacier.

OMG!! I can’t begin to tell you how absolutely out of this world it was! We were so incredibly lucky as the clouds lifted, the sun came out and we had the most glorious uninterrupted view of both Mount Cook and Mount Tasman. Breathtaking, and then we landed on this tiny little ledge just above Fox Glacier with Mount Tasman behind us! As I got out of the helicopter I burst into tears it was so incredibly stunning! I couldn’t believe I was standing on a Mountain Glacier!! Me!  The colours of the Glacier are unreal, it’s this perfect pale steely ice  blue, you catch glimpses of it through the crevasses, we spent about 10 mins out of the helicopter just looking at the view, oh and taking the odd picture!! Then we climbed back onboard and took off again, we then flew very low over Franz Josef Glacier, and you got a fabulous view of the formation of the ice and the glacier. Then we headed down the glacier valley and you can see the lowlands and the valley spread out before you right to the coast and the Tasman Sea! Unbelievable. The landing was as smooth as the take off and walked away with a lump in my throat. Possibly one of the most amazing things I’ve ever done or experienced. Simply beautiful.

I felt tearful, elated and full of adrenaline, so I went and got a coffee and called Rebecca! I desperately needed to speak to someone and tell then all about it. Bless her Rebecca was fantastic, she didn’t try and hurry me along, she just listened, even though I know she was trying to get ready for work!! Thank you my darling girl. ❤️

After this mind blowing experience I had a little wander around the tiny town the went back to the hotel and had a small lunch and got ready for my afternoon trip!

This is also a trip to the Franz Josef Glacier,  it by bus then you walk to the base of the Glacier, well as near as is safe, which is a fair way away!

The walk is really lovely, taking you through the forest (which is a rain forest, which is weird being next to a glacier) there were lots of waterfalls on the mountain side and I also saw a few rainbows! I followed the path until it reached the glacial river, at which point you can cross using the large flat stepping stones. But, here is the thing. As some of you may know I have a propensity for falling over, I can fall over nothing, muffins, off chairs, out of mini buses, on the dance floor, in the street! Now granted this is usually after a drink or 2, but not always! So as the Young fit girl in front of me slipped a little on the second stone I had to make a decision, do I risk trying to cross and probably break a limb, get soaked, lose my dignity or do I decide that the day has been great so far and turn around?  Common sense won out and around I turned! (I was only 10mins walk away from the viewing area anyway)

I walked back up the trail and sat at the top of the river and just admired the stunning views, the rainbows and chatted to a few people…bliss.

After this I took another path round to a wonderful ‘reflecting pool’ and again sat in silence just listening to the waterfalls and the birds.

As I sat back in the car park waiting for the shuttle, I sat on a bench facing the Mountains and everyone else sat on the rocks facing the other way, some on their phones or chatting which is why they all missed yet more beautiful rainbows!

Im now back at the hotel, writing this and thinking I’m not sure if I’ve done the day justice? It was simply one of the best days ever.

Kia Ora from a blown away me.

🏔🌈❄️❤️❤️

 

After my lovely wine tour I was a little tired, so I nipped out for a quick bite to eat. It’s very strange that in a City the fast food places are closing at 8pm on a Saturday Night! Odd. I then had a relatively early night.

After a good nights sleep, the bed in this YHA is huge, very comfy and warm! I woke quite late 9.15ish 😳 I decided that I needed to find a 24hr doctors, as I’ve been fighting a throat infection for the last 5 days. I have been gargling with strong anti bacterial mouthwash and necking vit C like smarties but unfortunately it hasn’t worked. The nearest open 24hr place was a 40min walk away, so off I trotted, the weather was ok, cloudy but dry and not to cold. The wait to be seen was nearly 2hrs, but hey ho, I’d bought my kindle so I sat, drank water and read my book. As suspected and self diagnosed I have a throat infection so I was given a prescription for penicillin and off I went £50 poorer ( I actually think this isn’t that bad!) I walked back into the city centre. Again it is so weird to be in a city with so little traffic, people, things happening! I know it’s a Su day but still the whole population can’t all be at Church?! I had a little mooch around the shops, some of which were closed and nearly bought a pair of fabulous zebra print ankle boots…..but somehow I resisted! Then had an early dinner/late lunch back in the Irish pub, and had the same again a yummy Shepherds Pie! I think my throat and I needed something warm, homely and delicious. After this I went back to the hostel, climbed into bed and had a very indulgent evening reading and watching TV.  I Set my alarm for 6.15 as tomorrow I’m taking the Tranz Alpine Train through the Southern Alps to Greymouth…..very excited!

I woke with my alarm, jumped out of bed and got my self ready for my Shuttle pick up at 7.25. I head to reception at 7.15 to find another traveller waiting for the shuttle which she says is due at 7.15, I say no, it’s due at 7.25…7.25 comes and goes, 7.35 comes and goes, the staff start trying to call the shuttle company, finally at 7.45 a taxi appears sent by the shuttle company, who had clearly forgotten our bookings! I was relatively calm, the other lady however, a small Chinese woman was positively manic! By the time we arrived at the train station, in plenty of time to board she was very agitated, she then discovered she had booked only a single ticket but wanted to return later today….at this point I smiled and waved goodbye! 😬

The Train is fabulous! I have a window seat with no one next to me, large seats, lots of leg room, sky lights, it’s gorgeous. I have been so excited about this part of my trip, as this is supposed to be one on New Zealand’s epic Journeys.

Well what can I say!? The most stunning and breathtaking scenery! The train has an outside viewing carriage, which I ventured out onto a few times and the views and the opportunity to take good photos is amazing,  however it it is really cold! even for me!

The Train takes you through the Southern Alps, past glacial rivers, lakes, snow capped mountains and it is just magnificent! Truly amazing. It was the most wonderful 5hrs on a train ever! The pictures won’t do it justice as they are taken through windows or whilst moving, and the beauty is in the moments, like the moments you emerge from a dark tunnel to see a stunning vista laid out before you!

The Joy did not end with my arrival at Greymouth and the end of the Tranz Alpine journey. I then boarded a coach to travel another 3.5hrs across the other side of the Southern Alps to Franz Jospeh Glacier.

The coach driver, Marc, was brilliant, very informative, obviously a local and knew so much history and trivia it made the journey even more wonderful. We stopped in a little town called Hokitika, which used to be, and indeed still is a gold Mining  town, back in the 1800s  it was incredibly affluent, with huge gold finds and was a huge economic success, it was going to be the New Zealand Capital! It is now a small, odd little town which still has a pretty successful gold finding industry. I actually held a gold nugget worth approx £30,000 which was found here not that long again! The towns other claim to fame is a book “The Luminaries” by a New Zealand Author Elenor Catton, Which won the Man Booker Prize and has been made into a BBC series! It is based on the Gold rush and set in Hokitika! Watch out for it on BBC!

The whole area around the Southern Alps on the Tasman Sea side is Gold Rich! With some huge gold mining companies cashing in.

The drive also took us through Pukekura New Zealand’s smallest town, with a population of 2! Bushman Pete and his wife Justine! As we drove through Marc the driver honked his horn and lobbed Petes Paper out of the window! Classic.

The drive takes you closer to Mount Cook, New Zealand’s tallest mountain, and we were lucky enough to get some fantastic views, as the clouds lifted from the top! As we approached Franz Josef the views were amazing, clear and sunny!

I arrived at my hotel, this is the part of my trip that I did as an organised tour. The hotel looked really lovely,  but when I got to my room! OMG! The views! Stunning 😍😍

Having had a chat to the Marc the coach driver about things, as soon as I arrived I walked into town (2 mins!) and I have booked a Helicopter Flight for tomorrow! 😬😬😳 The Flight will take me up to the Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers ( you can’t actually visit the Fox Glacier at the moment as the road got washed away during storms earlier in the year) then it flys around Mount Cook and Mount Tasman! It looks and sounds unbelievable! I’ve never been in a Helicopter! So that in itself is going to be an experience! Fingers crossed that the weather holds! 🤞🤞

I have been writing this whilst sitting on the balcony and then in my room watching the sunset colour the clouds sitting over the mountains! Stunning.

It read been a truly spectacular day.

Kia Ora from an extremely happy Me! 😘😘❤️

I woke in the morning to a beautiful day, no wind, no rain (😄 no this isn’t the song by Diana Ross!) but sadly it looked like perfect Whale Watching weather, and I was heading out on a bus! 😳 I managed to spend a little time with Maui and also with the lovely Hong Kong girl, whose name is Candy! She is so lovely and got a little bit teary when I left, bless her, I hope she finds some nice friends soon.

I headed down the zig zag hill with my case, Jesus! Down is so much worse than up! 😳 I found a fab little coffee place by the station and bought a flat white and just to change things up a bit an Afghan Biscuit!

The bus arrived and I bagged a good window seat quite near the front, behind a couple of older women. The bus heads off and follows a gorgeous route all the way to Christchurch. It starts by following the coast on the other side of the peninsula, then up over and through some mountains/hills across a valley then onward to Christchurch. I was really looking forward to the journey, I had my coffee, snacks a view! Perfect. The journey along the coast was gorgeous, lots more seals and a calmish sea (I bloody guarantee they are whale watching today, fuckers!🐳😳😢) The Mountains and hills are incredibly picturesque. Everything was fab…except the bloody woman in front of me did not stop talking for almost the entire journey, seriously I’m not even sure she drew breath, just on and on and on in this high, winy voice, her poor friend (at least I hope it was her friend and not some poor unsuspecting passenger! 😳) hardly got a word in. After about 2.5hrs the friend died of boredom, or pretended to be asleep, I’m not sure which. We had a brief respite, approx 2mins! before she started talking to the driver for the remainder of the journey! FFS, STFU!

Apart from this the journey was lovely! I saw lots of NZ Hawks, I even saw one trying to drag the entrails of a sheep into the air 😲 I also saw lots of these fabulous ducks/geese They are always in pairs, one is black and one is reddish with a white head….I love them, I love that you never see them separately, also in pairs, so cute.

I arrived in Christchurch, the weather was good, quite sunny, I walked to my YHA which is pretty central, dropped of my stuff and headed out to explore.

The city is in a valley, so it’s quite flat and it is also still in the process of rebuilding after the devastating earthquakes of 2011 when over 180 people lost their lives and the city was severely damaged. Cathedral Square gives the best indication of the severity of the quake. The cathedral was very badly damaged as were lots of building around it. I had a good look around this area, then went for some lunch, which turned out to be a liquid one! A fantastic Bloody Mary! Then I grabbed some supplies from the rather expensive intercity supermarket, dropped these off then went out for some much needed food!

i was so hungry by now that I was struggling to decide what and where to Eat! I finally spotted a menu that said Shepherds Pie and I was sold! It was in a rather busy Irish bar. I ended up sharing a table with a lady called Pat and her son Andrew from Yorkshire, who are over here visiting her brother. Pat was lovely, welcoming, chatty. Andrew…not so much! He looked shifty and uncomfortable and I have to be honest a little bit dodgy! Pat on the other hand could not have been nicer. She is in her late 70s and learnt to swim in her late 50s so she could go cage diving with sharks! She often travels to NZ on her own, Then last year she did a sky dive over Cairns!! Go Pat. Very impressive lady.

After my delicious and homely food I headed back to the YHA and an early night.

Today the weather  has again been beautiful. I spent the morning having a walk around the neighbourhood and doing some laundry. Then I went on a Wine Tour to the Waipara wine region. The group on the tour consisted of Karen, Christopher and Grace (Grace was their daughter who was 13)  from New Jersey USA and Karen from Melbourne. We ended up having a fabulous time, great scenery, great wine, great company! USA Karen used to be a social worker and psychologist, but quit a few years ago and now makes jewellery. She gave Karen and myself one of her beautiful handmade pendants, which is complex and stunning.  Such fun people to spend the day with. As we were heading back to Christchurch, Christopher said that I remind him of Dame Judy Dench!! Now, I have been told this before and I have decided that I’m going to take it as a massive compliment (and ignore the fact that Dame Judy is in her 80s!)

A really fun day today. Apparently the weather is due to get bad tonight! I think it’s following me.

Kia Ora from a happier and more chilled me.

Xxxxx

 

Sadly the information regarding the weather overnight and today was very accurate! I woke in the morning, after a very cold night, I definitely need more blankets even though there is an electric blanket which I used 😳 It is absolutely chucking it down with rain and hail, there are strong winds and very low cloud.

I decide to walk down to town and check at the Whale Watching office if the tour is cancelled, this seemed like a good idea whilst sitting indoors in the dry! Shortly after leaving the hostel the rain got even heavier and by the time I have got down to the bottom of the zig zag hill I was soaked, by the time I got to the Whale Watch Office, my clothes were saturated, my jeans were dripping water down into my boots! I walked in looking very bedraggled and pitiful only to be told that the whale watching was indeed cancelled! The lovely lady I spoke to changed my booking to the next day, and the weather forecast was looking more favourable. I stopped to have a Cup of tea and attempted to warm up a little, which didn’t work! I walked back through the rain and hail, up the zig zag hill which now resembled a waterfall and back to the hostel. I stripped of my soaking wet clothes jumped into a hot shower then plonked myself in front of the wood burner in the lounge with a cup of tea and a huge fluffy blanket and stayed there for the next 5hrs!! I was joined by a lovely French girl called Eliza, who is backpacking around NZ and is currently working  in Kaikoura, we were also joined by the beautiful Maui the cat, the hostels best attraction! 😍

when I had got warm and dry and my coat had dried out and the rain had stopped I walk back to town to get some lunch/dinner. There are facilities to cook at the hostel but when you are only staying a few nights and the supermarket is a ways out of town, what do you do!! I went to a nice local cafe and had a yummy homemade Macaroni Cheese, the lovely guy also made me. Baileys Latta under instruction from me! 😂 It was good, but not a patch on my Coffee on the Corner ones!!

After this I headed back to the hostel and my spot by the fire, with Maui! People came and went, I chatted to a really sweet girl from Hong Kong, who was very shy and seemed a little sad, she is on her own, but didn’t seem happy about it, is not liking the work she is doing and was very critical of her own English language skills, which as I pointed were  100% better than my Cantonese!  I felt sorry for her, and we ended up doing some breathing exercises and a little bit of Thai Chi! Thank you Hayley for my notes on all the moves! This at least made her laugh!

I went to bed, after leaving both my heater and the electric blanket on for hours and adding 2 extra blankets to my bed, in the hopes of a good nights sleep. I think it worked to some degree, but I still had a restless night.

I woke to sunshine and no rain and wind, but  looking good for my whale watching,  I was able to check out the status on their website and all morning it was saying “pending” then at 9.55 “Pending” changed to “Cancelled”!! Out at sea the wind is gusting up to 75mph, Absolutely bloody gutted!! I looked at staying another night in the hopes that I can go to tomorrow but it isn’t possible without incurring lots of extra costs and there is no guarantee that the weather won’t be rough again tomorrow.

It is such a bugger! The weather over the coming weekend is looking good, and winter is the best time to see killer whales as well as the sperm whales! But I guess it is not meant to be.

I couldn’t even visit the Ski Fields and Lodge, as yesterday the road was closed due to the heavy snow fall in the mountains and today I had missed the sodding shuttle!!  I walked around town a bit, visited the museum, then came back to the hostel and am currently doing repeat of yesterday!

I leave in the morning for Christchurch.

Bye for now from a slightly deflated me. 😘