Wanaka, Queenstown, Doubtful Sound, Mt Cook, Rangitata and to the North Island

Our next stop was Lake Wanaka which was a little way inland from Franz Josef on the way to Queenstown. On the way we had some very scenic stops at the famous ‘mirror’ Lake Matheson (shame the drizzle made it a bit blurry) and at a beach for lunch where we saw very rare Hectare dolphins with their curved dorsal fins. When we got to Wanaka we had a wander around the cute town and to the lake. In the evening there was a battle of the buses between us and Kiwi Experience (we were cheated!) which was great fun! The next morning we anxiously looked out the window and saw bright blue sky’s (much to Nicola’s disgust) which meant we could do our skydive!! Very excited but a little terrified, myself, Katie and Nicola heading over to the airport to be prepped before jumping out of a perfectly good aircraft at 15,000 ft!! We couldn’t have asked for better weather and the view was stunning as we went up in the plane looking out over Lake Wanaka and the beautiful snowcapped mountains surrounding it. The only bit that I felt nervous at was when they opened the plane door and I realised I actually had to jump out of a plane! It happened so quickly though that as soon as we were falling I completely forgot about being nervous and tried to smile for the guy with the camera! It was absolutely amazing and I would definitely do it again. We also found out a fun fact a few days later that when Orlando Bloom was in NZ filming Lord of the Rings he also did a skydive at Wanaka…I possibly jumped out the same plane as Legolas!! When we got down to the ground we got to pick the music for our dvd’s (I’ll show you all when I get back…it’s hilarious!) and then got picked up by our bus who all cheered when we got on!

That afternoon we got into Queenstown which was beautiful. It’s got the real feel of a quaint ski resort and has beautiful views over the lake and of the mountains called ‘The Remarkables’ in the distance (used in Lord of the Rings!) In the evening we went out for pizza and drank cocktails out of teapots at World Bar. Nice and early the next morning me and Nicola set off on our bus out of Queenstown to Fiordland National Park to go on our very sophisticated cruise of Doubtful Sound. First we took a ferry across Lake Manapouri before getting a coach (with a v. monosyllabic coach driver) across to the port at Doubtful Sound. The scenery along the whole trip was absolutely stunning and the food they put on was absolutely amazing!! We sailed along for a few hours (experiencing every type of weather) before going out on a smaller boat to have a look at the land closer in. In the evening we saw the beautiful sunset over the water before enjoying an all you can eat buffet for dinner (complete with amazing deserts!). We got woken up at 6.45 with the anchor being raised and looking out our porthole (yes we had a porthole!) it was completely black outside. Another all you can eat breakfast before heading out outside to see the Bay of silence and see the dolphins swimming along with the boat. We also saw very briefly a blue penguin swimming along! It was so peaceful and quiet at Doubtful (we were the only boat there) it seemed strange to head back to Queenstown but we soon made up for it with a slightly impromptu night out with everyone from our Stray bus which ended up at 4am at Fergburger. Good times!

The next morning feeling slightly worse for wear we went up the gondola to watch our friend Michele do the ledge swing (it looked terrifying!) and also see the stunning views of Queenstown. It was snowing when we got up there which made it seem even more like a ski resort. Back in the town we took a wander around and walked through the beautifully autumnal park before heading to Fergburger for dinner (For people who haven’t been to Queenstown you have to go just to go to Fergburger! They are amazing burgers bigger than your hand which are famous throughout NZ and delicious!)

The following day I jumped on a new Stray bus over to Mount Cook through some more beautiful scenery. Everywhere in New Zealand is so different and I’ve taken hundreds of pictures! That night we stayed in a beautiful lodge that overlooked Mt Cook (NZ’s highest mountain) which is currently covered in snow. In the evening we took part in the most random pub quiz and didn’t do too well! We had a nice leisurely start the next day before driving over to Lake Tekapo which was a beautiful turquoise colour where we stopped for lunch. Our accommodation that night is a replacement for Christchurch since the earthquake and was literally in the middle of nowhere on a sheep farm but it was very quaint with a log fire, free chocolate pudding for desert and the strangest 3 tier bedbunks I’ve ever seen! We had a great movie night complete with ‘The Holiday’ (not the boy’s choice) and popcorn.

 The next morning we began heading back up the coast to Christchurch to drop a load of people off before driving up to Kaikoura again. Yesterday we got the ferry over from Picton to Wellington (it was really choppy!) where I’m now spending a few days before going up to Auckland to start my tour of the North Island.

I’m absolutely loving New Zealand and reading this epic blog post back (if you’ve read it all I’m impressed!) I’ve realised how much of New Zealand I’ve seen and how much I’ve loved it so far….you should all come!

Speak soon! All my love,

Ro

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