My last day - Sat 23rd Jan 2010

I woke up quite early and wondered about the possibility of squeezing one last excursion in before setting off to the airport at about 3.00pm. Having showered, had breakfast, packed and stored my baggage I set off to walk downtown to the Britomart travel centre to enquire about the feasibility of going to Karekare Beach which I had only just discovered was the beach where 'The Piano' was filmed. For some reason I had always thought that it was in some remote spot on the South Island. It turned out the be about 35 kms west of central Auckland. I thought it might be possible to go out there on the bus and get back for lunch in Auckland. It turned out that that was not possible as no public transport goes there. You either have to go by car or book a special excursion. There was no time for that.Instead I set off back up Queenstreet to go the Auckland Art Gallery. It was not such a brilliant day weatherwise as it was cloudy and drizzly again although still quite warm. I had toyed with the idea of trying to get to Dress Smart at Onehunga once more, to see if I could get a possum/merino jumper, but did not fancy another long bus ride in traffic. The art gallery was a good choice with lots of interesting painting, sketches and photographs by artists who told the story of the development of New Zealand. Paintings of Maoris by Goldie and others and a tremendous painting of the white and pink terraces destroyed by the eruption of Mt Tarawera in 1886. Also entertaining was the work of Colin McCahon, whose landscape paintings of Canterbury and Nelson areas I was especially struck by.

By the time I came out I was ready for lunch. I had decided that for my last meal I would walk around to the Auckland Fish Market which was recommended to me as a great place to have a really fresh sea food meal. The walk there is very pleasant and only takes about 15 - 20 mins along the harbour front.

I had a look at the fishmarket itself first. It rivalled those I have seen in France. This tank with the eels in was spooky:

I then went for a meal. Oysters to start and once again my complaint about oysters in the antipodes. They open them earlier in the day and refigerate them which means that by the time you get them they have dried out a bit. Still they were nice. But better still was the yellow fin tuna steak I had to follow. It was pink in the middle and very fresh. Mild and sweet tasting. No wine this time. I did not want to feel sleepy in the afternoon. Then back to the hostel to do a bit of blogging before setting off to the airport.

Well that is it for my NZ adventure. I have done most of the things I wanted to do. I have certainly seen fantastic volcanic and glacial scenery. I rather regret that I did not get to Franz Jospeph glacier as that would have given me a chance to walk on and in a glacier. However I would not change any of the other things I have done and in fact the weather was not good at Franz Joseph when I arrived at Mt Cook (which I had chosen to go to instead). I have been very very lucky with the weather. New Zealanders have been complaining about their cool rainy summer. Each time I arrived in a place the weather cleared and I got sun. I have met some fascinating people and all my travel arrangements have worked well.

As to the New Zealand I imagined from my A level studies it is and isn't like the picture I had. There is something 1950s in the look of the place at times. It is driving along country roads and seeing bungalow type houses. The roads are mostly single lane and there is not much traffic in rural places. It is a very clean place and there is hardly any litter or graffiti any where. In a place like Murchison the pace of life is slower and more rural. Towns are so far away that shopping apart from occasional big shop in the city is done locally.

I expected the landscape to be very green and it is, but not as green as the UK. It is very brown in places especially on the east side where there is less rain in summer. I imagined it would be a wild unspoilt place and it is nowhere near as built up as the UK but 90 percent is cultivated. I thought that environmental issues would be very important and there was certainly plenty of recyling in the cities but none whatsoever in small towns such as Murchison. Even glass bottles went in the general waste. There is less crime that in the UK. Whenever I checked the latest news for the UK online I was struck by the number of headlines about murders and attacks. You don't see that in NZ newspapers or on TV. It is not a country under the shadow of terrorism either. There are political tensions over things like Maori land rights but they do not seem to be as extreme as at home. Perhaps that is because of the famous laid back attitude of the Kiwis. Lastly the weather was better than I would expect in an average British summer but it is by no means perfect. They get a lot of cloud and rain and it gets cold in winter especially on the South Island. There can be snow as far north as the Auckland though it does not settle.

I think it is a great place to go for a holiday and is a wonderful and beautiful country but not the perfect paradise that some people repute it to be. Apart from missing my friends and family I also missed the vibrancy of British cites and the sense of being in the centre of things in a European country.

Well as I wait for my car to the airport I realise I have come full circle. I started my journey here in Auckland and have returned here. But I have done it in another way as well. Some time ago I researched my family history on my mother's side and discovered that her father had been an interesting character. After WWI he had got involved in various business enterprises one of which was director of the Bank of New Zealand. As I walked down Queens Street on my first day I spotted the original bank building (now converted into shops) and wondered if my grandfather had ever been here. He travelled abroad a lot and had a brother in Oz so I thought it perfectly possible. As I walked past I speculated that I could be treading where he had trod. Awesome.

Killing time in Auckland - Fri 22nd Jan 2010

I slept relatively late - 8.30 - and woke to find the same sort of weather that Auckland had had the day before; sunshine and showers with temps in the low 20s C. I decided to go up the Sky Tower first and then do a harbour cruise. I arrived at the Sky Tower quite early and there was hardly anybody there. I found that as I went up to the first observation deck I got a touch of vertigo in the lift. There is a glass panel in the floor which enables you to see the ground receding below and at each level there is a glass widow giving you a view across the city from the lift. I studied the lift control buttons on the wall of the lift very closely!!

As the lift doors opened onto the first observation deck I got the most stunning, panoramic view across the whole city. The whole of the harbour was laid out in front of me with ferry boats and yachts leaving white wakes across the water which looked blue in the sun.


To my right there was the dark cloud of an approaching rain storm. Initially I felt very nervous of the height and tended to inch my way around sticking near the interior wall. The deck was cantilevered out and it was possible to walk out onto it and stand on a glass floor which gave a view of the ground beneath your feet. After a while I became more accustomed to it and was able to walk around and looks at the 360 degree views of the city and the constantly changing weather brought by the arrival and departure of the showers but I stayed away from the glass floor.

Eventually I worked up the nerve to go up to the Sky Deck which was another 37 m higher. For some strange reason this was not as unnerving and the view was more spectacular as it was less interrupted by window bars. After that I went back down to the observation deck cafe and sat there for some time with cup of tea and muffin watching the changing scene outside. I could see the north south route of Highway 1. It seemed a lifetime ago since I had set off on my drive to the Bay of Islands.

On coming back down to earth I went browsing in the shops and found a Whitcoulls, NZ's bookshop chain. There was a very good selection of NZ literature and I chose a book which is historical non-fiction but written like a novel. It is called 'Strangerland' by Helena Drysdale and deals with the experiences of an Englishwoman and her family who migrate to NZ in the 1850s. so far a good read.

After that I headed to Hobson's wharf for a cruise around the harbour. There is a bewildering choice and I decided to go for the shorter one and half-hour cruise around the main islands. It was fascinating and just about enough time on a boat. The views of the city and surrounding islands were great and we went up close to the harbour bridge which was impressive.

I then went for a nice meal. On the cruise they had mentioned that Prince William had recently eaten at the 'Waterfront' restaurant on the newly developed keyside area. I went to have a look at it and could not see what the attraction was. The menu was not very interesting and the place looked a bit scruffy. I decided against and went back to the old ferry building to eat at the Harbourside Restaurant. It was a good choice. I had a delicious meal of John Dory with a lovely glass of very interesting Waikeke viognier. Yum, yum!!

And then for my disaster of the day. I had been chatting to Liz and Tina about the idea of buying some possum/merino knitwear before going home. It is available in most tourist/souvenir shops but at inflated prices. They advised me to go to an out of town outlet called Dress Smart at Onehunga. I got on the bus no problem but then got stuck in traffic. Friday night out of town rush I would think. I arrived at 5.00 pm to find it had just shut!! Nothing for it but to take the bus back to town in equally dense evening traffic. This was extra frustrating as all the shops in town were open til 8.00pm.

I did my washing and some blogging and then off to bed to read my new book.

Siefried Winery and back to Auckland - Thurs 21st Jan 2010

Today was the day to fly up to Auckland from Nelson. Liz was driving me to the airport and Tina came along to do some shopping in Nelson. We stopped at the Seifried Winery on the way into Nelson and Tina and I did some wine tasting before we all sat down to lunch. The restaurant is run by a german family and the menu was interesting. I had slow baked goat which was delicioso and Liz had Bavarian dumplings which were interesting whilst Tina had chicken which was average. I drank a glass of Seifried 'Wurzer' which was the star of the tasting.
Liz and Tina dropped me at Nelson airport which is tiny and very basic. There are no shops so I passed the time watching 'Days of our lives' having finished the novel I had been reading all the holiday; 'Wolf Hall' by Hilary Mantel. It is a fascinating read and I missed not having it any more.

Back into Auckland by early evening and discovered that I had a room with a stunning view. I went to bed thinking that I had a day to kill in Auckland and that I could just as easily fly home a day early so I rang Emirates to see if this was possible. No joy, business class was fully booked so I planned a day of sight seeing instead.

Around Murchison - Wed 20th Jan 2010

The morning started a bit cloudy and humid. Liz firstly took me up the valley of the Matakitaki river which is a tributary of the Buller. We pulled in at the start of a walking track up the Six Mile Creek valley. It was the site of a smalls scale HEP developed the provide Murchison with electricity at the beginning of the 20th C. It went out of use in the 1970s. After a walk up a steep incline the path led through undisturbed mountain beech woodland. There were bellbirds calling and a cheeky bush robin bobbed about on the path near my feet pecking at the insects I disturbed as I walked. Liz's knee had given out on the incline so she had gone back to the car and I was therefore enjoying all this completely on my own. At the end of the walk was a waterfall and weir to feed the intake which channelled the water down to the HEP powerhouse.

At one point the path on the way up had followed the side of a steep slope with a sheer drop down to the valley botto. By this time I was very aware as to how much this area had been affected by the Murchison earthquake in 1929. I knew that if there was such an event at that moment I would slide with the hillside into the valley below! Luckily it didn't happen.

On my way back I met two people walking up the valley wearing surgical gloves and one carrying a trap. I stopped to chat to them and they were Germans from the Munich area who lived in NZ during the summer and went back to Germany for the summer there. They had joined the local conservation groups and were out checking the traps set for pests such as rats and stoats. They are designed to help protect NZ birds which are often almost flightless. The bush robin is and example. Obviously they were having some success.

Next Liz took me back to town and we went to the Museum where there is moving display and memorial all about the 1929 earthquake. The photo below of the general store shows original Murchison buildings. Inside the general store there is all the victorian shelving and you can buy pans for gold panning!! We then went to her excellent butcher and Liz bought us two huge rib eye steaks for supper plus some of the bacon which was voted the best in NZ this year. We then went to the cafe over the road and I had a BLT containing some of the award winning bacon which was super. It was smoked and had a hint of honey flavour to it.

We then went over to the next valley which contained the Maruia river. This area showed the effect of the earth quake as the waterfall there was created by earth uplift, as was the cliff face that ran down the valley parallel to the river.

Liz then drove me over to see a well known lake; Lake Rotoroa. We looked for eels in the crystal clear water but there were none so we went for a walk through the woodland. Again it was original native bush. There were loads of sand flies around as it was a humid day so we prepared with lots of repellent. I have to say I have been lucky. Not one bite. This makes a refreshing change as biting insects usually love me!! Once in the woods we were less bothered by the flies and it was cool and peaceful. Liz took loads of photos. She is a very good, and now professional photographer and has some of her photos on sale in the Murchison gift shop.

After our walk we went home and after a rest ate the delicious steaks.

Cape Foulwind and Pancake Rocks - Tues 19th Jan 2010

Today after a lazy start we set off to drive to the west coast to see some scenery there. The morning had started fine and sunny with beautiful mists over the ranges which surround Murchison. The first part of the drive out of Murchison took us through the awe inspiring Buller Gorge. Photos

It took the best part of 2 hours to get to Cape Foulwind just south of Westport. There was a spectacular beach in the area called Tauranga Bay. There were four boys surfing and a couple of people with children on the beach otherwise it was empty.

Liz took me around to the rocky headland of Cape Foulwind, so named by Captain Cook because he had bad weather when he was offshore. We followed a cliff pathway round the headland and came to the area where there was a seal colony. They were fur seals, as were all the other seals I have seen. This time though there were mothers with pups. Liz took the stunning photo below
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It had been a bit cloudy but as we drove around the bay to find The Bayhouse Cafe for lunch, the sun started to come out. We had a very nice lunch sitting on the veranda overlooking the bay. I had the world's smallest portion of Whitebait and Liz had fishcakes which were not cakes. But it all tasted good.

We then moved on to drive further down the west coast. The scenery became more and more amazing. The sun was shining on the sea. The forest changed to temperate west coast rain forest with tall Nikau palms and lots of tree ferns. It was all lush,original forest or bush, untouched by settlers as this is such remote part of NZ with few settlements. The coastal road became like the Great Ocean Road south of Melbourne, Australia. The road wound around steep cliff faces with sheer drops to the sea and awsome views of long stretches of coastline and rocky headlands.

As as we were going around one bend at about 80 kph we nearly came a cropper. There was a huge tractor travelling at about 30kph with a car and boat on a trailer stuck behind it. There was no way Liz could stop in time. She skillfully avoided impaling us on the prow of the boat by swerving around it and luckily there was nothing coming the other way so she was able to overtake the lot. Phew!!

We drove rather sedately the last few kms to the Pancake Rocks near Punakaiki. They were faabeewlus. There was a walkway which took you down to the rocky headland. Here the limstone was being eroded by the sea to form arches and stacks and coves. In addition the limestone itself had been laid down in such a way that when the weather got at it, it was worn into what looked like stacks of pancakes. I spent a good hour wandering through here. The most amazing thing was the booming noise made by the sea as it bashed against the cove.




The tide was on its way out so the water did not spray up through the blowholes but it was still mighty impressive.

Liz had had a well earned rest from her driving whilst I was browsing. We then set off to go back home. We went south the Greymouth which according to Liz fits its name. A rather Grey industrial town in an area renowned for its coalmining. It was another drive of nearly 2 hours to get back. There were two incidents on the way. The first was when we encountered the fire brigade who were slowing traffic right down. Around the corner we found out why. A large lorry had gone over on its side on the bend and had been on fire. Two camper vans seemed to be involved as they were pulled up on the roadside. We spent a few minutes speculating about the scenario there. Further on we came to a windy bit of road in a gorge and noticed double black tyre marks going around the corner. Clearly a lorry had been braking. We found it around the bend in a ditch and thought that its brakes had failed in some way. Anyway we got home safely and spent another pleasant evening having supper and chatting, joined by Liz's fellow Deputy Principal, Tina. Liz had some superb ham on the bone which she had bought from her local butcher. It was delicious.

Flying to Nelson to see Liz - Mon 18th Jan 2010

I got and excellent night's sleep. No street revellers this time. I went for the bus to the airport at 8.30 and as there is stacks of time had a good browse in the airport shops. I was flying to Nelson but had to go via Christchurch. The weather was cloudy, grey and cold in Christchurch. The next plane was very small and propeller driven. It was cloudy all the way but it cleared on landing at Nelson. The view over Nelson was of an area of flat land next to and range of hills. The flat land looked like a river delta. The land was clearly fertile and covered in vinyards and market gardening. There were lots of green houses and it looked like Holland in miniature.

I met Liz at the airport and we went for lunch. A beautiful bayside restaurant over looking a blue sea as it was really sunny and warm. Nelson wins prizes as the sunniest place in NZ. We then went to do a supermarket shop up before the hour and half drive to Murchison. I love supermarkets abroad and had a good look at all the exotic NZ produce and bought some manuka honey famed for its anti bacterial properties.

The scenery on the way to Murchison was again spectacular. Firstly there was a huge area of coniferous woodland which is a big commercial forest for the area. We then went through some impressive gorge scenery before arriving in Murchison. Liz showed me around her house and then we went for a walk to look at her school. Liz is Deputy Principal and lives in as school owned house next door to the school. There are 150 pupils, from primary age to high school age. It sounds like bliss and I think she is really happy in her work.

We then walked to the centre of town which has one mainstreet with an hotel, cafe, butchers, museum and the church. The location is certainly impressive as the town is surrounded by large forested hills. As we were walking it was getting towards evening on a very warm day and the good old sand flies were beginning to get active so we went home for a good chin wag and some supper.

Back to Queenstown - Sun 17th jan 2010

Next morning after breakfast another early morning cruise down the fjord and out to sea looking for whales again. The weather was especially calm again and apparently they only got the chance to sail out to sea like that 2/3 times per year. There were no whales but we did see lots of seals again. As we went down and back up again the captain sailed the boat into the base of the main waterfalls. This is a trick that most of the cruise boats do and some tourists go for a free shower. It is only possible because of the straight deep sides of the glaciated valley flooded by the sea to form the fjord. This is a picture of the Stirling Falls which we sailed right into.

We were back on shore by 9.15 am and I realised that I would have a very long wait for my Intercity bus which was due to leave at 3.40pm so I paid to go on an earlier bus run by Real Journeys. This turned out to be a mini-bus for the first part of the journey to Te Anau. We stopped and looked again at some of the same sights we had seen going up. They were just as spectacular as before. Once again our driver was very informative. Above is a view down the Hollyburn Valley which we stopped to look at. And below is the Lyttleton River.

There were three lads in the mini-bus who had been on the 'Wanderer' cruise. Two of them Kevin and Colm were picking up their hire car in Te Anau and offered me and the other lad Marcus a lift back to Queenstown. As this would be quicker than the coach I took them up on the offer. Marcus was from Brazil and Kevin was from Chorley and Colm from Derry. We had an interesting conversation about our travels and where we came from etc. As we came over the brow of a small hill we saw a police car parked on the side of the road with its lights flashing. Colm who was driving slowed down and then we realised the policeman was signalling him to stop.

Colm pulled into the layby as directed by the policeman and wound his window down. The policeman said do you know what the speed limit is in NZ? Colm replied that it was 100kph and the policeman said well you were doing 115 so that is an on the spot fine. He then opened the back door and asked Marcus what the law was with regard to seat belts in NZ? Marcus replied that in Brazil passengers in the back seat did not wear them. Colm was fined $80 and Marcus $150. The conversation died a little after that and Colm drove very slowly and carefully back to QT. I will say that we were saved the 'plodledegook' that you get from the average UK policeman. No: 'Sir you have been apprehended, by myself, have been observed, by myself, travelling at a speed in excess of the limit allowed on this highway' etc etc ...

In QT was very hot and humid. When I arrived at the YHA I complained about the disturbed night I had had before and the girl on the desk very kindly put me in a quieter back room. I went out for a walk up through the gardens and along the lakeside towards Frankton after having eaten a very welcome and delicious ice cream from a gelateria called Patagonia Chocolates.

Even though the ice cream was only one scoop it was massive and very filling so I had no supper and went off to bed very contented.

To Milford Sound - Sat 16th Jan 2010

A bad night's sleep as a result of waiting for the alarm to go off at 6.00am ready for getting an early bus to Milford Sound and the noise of all night revellers in Queenstown. The bus journey to Milford from QT takes 6.00 hours but was excellent. Once again a very informative commentary from the driver and lots of stops to look at views and take photos.

The scenery became more spectacular approaching the last range of mountains before Milford. The valley approaching the Homer Tunnel becomes a gorge with waterfalls and high steep mountain sides. some peaks had snow on them. The driver pointed out the signs of avalanches from the winter before. You can just see a pile of rocks and rubble behind the trees in this picture. They came down the mountain the winter before.When we got to the tunnel entrance we stopped and got out to look at the avalanche snow still piled at the side of the tunnel.

The tunnel itself was dug by hand and after several interruptions in progress, caused mostly by wars, was finished in 1954. It is one way so is controlled by a set of traffic lights. When you go inside it seems very basic compared to most European Mt tunnels. It has only recently had electric light added and the road itself is very bumpy. The roof is very low so large lorries and coaches can only just get through. There is no ventilation system. You wonder what would happen if there was an earthquake as you are going through!! Luckily it is pretty short.

On the other side there are more fantastic views of high mountain peaks with snow on them. We drove down the steep windy gorge of the Cleddau valley to Milford. The man who finally discovered Milford Sound was from Milford Haven, hence all the welsh names in the surrounding area.On arrival at Milford it was very hot and in previous days it had rained a lot so the sand flies were very active. I had prepared by taking a full strength anti-histamine and had sprayed myself thoroughly with repellent that morning. Even so staying outside in the sun was not an option. You were soon surrounded by a cloud of the pesky creatures. Whilst waiting for my cruise I watched many new arrivals go outside to sit in the sun. Within a few minutes they were back inside the visitors centre to take refuge from the little biters.

There is nothing much at Milford except the visitors centre which is also where the cruise ships berths are. Up the road there is a cafe and toilets and there is a lodge for people who want to stay overnight. The cafe was not an option to fill the time whilst waiting as that would have involved walking through a cloud of more sand flies so I stayed put.

Originally when I booked my overnight cruise it had come up on the YHA website and I had booked it through them. This gave me a hefty discount but the cruise was run by a company called Real Journeys. They offered two overnight cruises, mine on the 'Wanderer' was for young people travelling with a tour company called 'Contiki'. I realised I had made a mistake, as I would be spending the night cruising with the equivalent of club 18-30, and needed to be on the other ship the 'Mariner' which had a more sedate older clientele. I quickly changed. It involved and upgrade but was worth it to get decent night's sleep.

Just after 4.00pm we all embarked and after a safety briefing we found our cabins and then up on deck to look at the awe inspiring views. We sailed down the fjord looking at the waterfalls on the way. When we got to the sea we anchored in a small bay. Some people went sea kayaking or swimming. It was a beautiful sunny evening and the sea was very calm.












I went out in the tender with a small group and we explored the coastline. We saw some seals but not penguins. We went out to sea looking for whales but no luck there either.
Back on board and then a cruise out to sea in the sunshine. They put the sails up at that point.








As the evening drew in we sailed back up into the fjord and anchored for the night with the blackening rock faces towering above us. After a very nice supper off to bed and an excellent night's sleep.

Off to Queenstown - Fri 15th jan 2010

Another good night's sleep in the shared dorm. Not something I would chose to do normally but if faced with no choice I would certainly cope with it again and it is definitely economical at less than 15 pounds per night. I spent the morning waiting for the bus to Queenstown and so packed up then blogged and read and at lunch time went back up to the Hermitage for a very substantial buffet lunch before departing at 2.30.

The coach turned up on time and it was the same driver David, who had driven us up from Christchurch three days before. We got chatting again and I became something of a driver's moll as I was invited to sit at the front and talk to him. He was glad of the opportunity to converse about home and I was able to ask questions about the passing scenery and agricultural activity. We drove past the beautiful Lakes Pukaki and Tekapo:

which are coloured by the glacial flour floating in them. Going up to Mt Cook they had looked a stunning blue colour with the sun on them but this time it was cloudy and grey and the water just looked creamy. We heard more about the HEP schemes and the irrigation schemes which features huge and very expensive metal structures which proceed across the field spraying water. It seems odd in a country which gets so much rain that water is such an issue but the east side of the mountains are very dry in summer. It is somehow worth the farmers while to spend thousands of dollars on irrigation in these parched regions in order to produce enough pasture and crops to feed the animals.

We drove on through the spectacular Lindis Gorge and then through Bendigo and the former gold mining area which is now a tourist attraction. The former mining settlements are being restored and tourists can go panning for gold. After passing the town of Cromwell we came upon an important fruit growing area and stopped at a road side fruit farm. I bought cherries and they were delicious.

Finally we arrived in Queenstown at about 6.30 in the evening. The cloudy weather had given way to sun and QT was hot. I checked into the YHA and the luxury of an ensuite bedroom. I dumped my bags and went for a welcome stretching of the legs. Queenstown is very attractive to look at as it is set right on the lake front. There are gardens which you can walk up through and there is an old paddle steamer which takes trippers up and down the lake. There are also lots of lake side bars and restaurants. It is a very vibrant town which caters for youth culture. There are lots of adverts for bungy jumping, sky diving and power boating etc. It turned out to be a bit too vibrant as that night I got very little sleep. The revellers were out in the streets all night long, shouting and screaming. It was made worse by the fact that I knew I had a 6.00 am start to get the coach to Milford Sound the next day.

Some very steep steps - Thurs 14th Jan 2010

A much better night in the shared dorm. There was a change of occupant in the bunk above me and she hardly moved all night. I woke up to find it was grey and raining and thought about moving on to Queenstown earlier than planned. However by the time I had had breakfast the weather had started to clear. I needed to catch up on some housekeeping chores such as washing and realised that if I moved on it would involve complicated changes to my schedule. After making some enquiries I decided that I could have a go at another walk. This one is called the Red Tarns track and involved a steep climb up a stepped path to a corrie area with some tarns in it, coloured red by algae. At the top there would be spectacular views. The friends I met in Kaikoura had told me about another walk in the area called the Sealy Tarns walk. It is a similar steep climb with spectacular views but I thought I would struggle to cope with it as there was a longish walk just to get there and I was tired after all the walking the day before.

I set off with my packed lunch and a bottle of water in some trepidation as I wondered if I could make it and how good the path would be. The weather got better and better and by the time I had started climbing I was really hot and I had to stop and put sun screen on. I was also being bitten by insects so that involved another stop to spray on insect repellent. There was one lovely shady bit of woodland near the start of the walk in a small patch of the original forest, podocarp and mountain beech trees. There was convenient bench for a rest and a drink. It was fantastic to spend a few minutes thinking this is what the land must have been like when the first Maori arrived. When the Europeans came they burned off these ancient forests to encourage the growth of grass for sheep farming.

The walk was very different from the day before. There was nobody else there. I saw 7 people during the entire walk. In fact it was not a walk it was a climb as it was steps all the way. I kept stopping to rest and look at the views which became more and more amazing as I climbed. I could see right across Mt Cook village and to the end of the Meuller Glacier and then as I got further up I could see into the Hooker Glacier valley as well. The walk was meant to take 2 hours both ways but I think that it must have taken me nearer an hour and half to do the climb.

As I got nearer the top I nearly gave up as I came to a bit where the path gave out and it was bare rock. I hate rock climbing and knew I would get vertigo and be stuck there. I stopped for another rest when two fellow walkers turned up. A girl from Israel and a boy from Taiwan. They gave me courage to go on as they moved up the slope I could see where the path went over the rocks with clear steps on it after all. Having let them go ahead I kept going. After 5/6 steps I would think that my legs would go not further and stop and rest and finally after doing that loads of times I saw and bench and outlook point which marked the top of the hill. I had made it!!

The views were fantastic and the sense of achievement even greater but the tarns were a disappointment. Just two or three little ponds.

I ate my lunch and chatted to the Israeli and Taiwanese about their travels and then after a good rest set off down the hill. Going down was much easier than going up although I had to tread very carefully and be careful not to trip as my leg muscles were very tired. One false move and I would have tumbled down a very steep ravine!!

When I got back in the early afternoon I went for a well earned cup of tea and then a shower and did housekeeping jobs and caught up on my blog.

In the evening I had decided to treat myself to a bit of luxury and book myself into The Hermitage Panoramic Restaurant for a meal. It was a very well presented meal and the service and surroundings were very posh but the food was not outstanding. I decided to try the salmon which was local farmed salmon from Lake Tekapo. Like a lot of farmed salmon it was soggy in texture as there is not much current for the fish to swim again to give the flesh texture. The thing I was really surprised about was that you could not get local line caught brown trout. Rod trout fishing is a bit activity in the area both for locals and for tourists and I am sure that would be a much more interesting fish to eat.

And so back to the hostel to get ready to leave the next day.

More glaciers - Wed 13th Jan 2010

The people in the room next door went quiet just after 11.00 pm. The girl in the bunk above continued to be very restless but I woke up at about 7.30 having gone into a deep sleep in the small hours. To my surprise I felt fine all day and must have had enough deep sleep to help me cope with the day without the need for a nap.

The forecast for the day was fine which was amazing because they had had three days of solid rain until I arrived. I packed up a picnic lunch and set off to do some walking or hiking as the New Zealanders say and which sounds more impressive. I first walked to Kea Point. There were no Kea birds there although I saw and heard, some flying overhead. (They are very noisy). However the view was terrific. I could see across Meuller Lake, formed by the melting of the Meuller glacier, to a huge wall of Moraine which formed a massive grey cliff. I sat and enjoyed the view for some time and then set off round to the next valley which contained the Hooker Glacier.

This walk was very spectacular as all the time I was walking towards Mt Cook the highest mountain in NZ. The scenery was fantastic. The only drawback was the number of people doing the walk. It was clearly popular with the large groups of Japanese tourists, on guided walks and who were staying at the Hermitage Hotel, .

Despite this it was worth it as at the end you get very close to the snout of the Hooker Glacier. The meltwater lake was full of ice broken off from the glacier and gradually melting. They say that some of the water crystals have been trapped in the ice for millions of years! Some people were taking them out and smashing them on the ground. This seemed somehow wrong to me.

By this time it had clouded up a bit and was spitting with rain. The number of people diminished and I was able to walk, scrabble across rocks until I could see the end of the glacier clearly. It was covered with surface moriane making it look grey not white but you could clearly see the blue ice cliff, striped with layers of moraine trapped inside it.

After that I walked back to the hostel and as I had been walking for 6 hours albeit with lots of stops I was ready for a good rest. After a wash and brush up I decided to go for an evening meal at the Old Mountaneers' Cafe up the road. Their speciality dish is Sir Edmund Hillary's Sausages. I checked the menu and the 'S is as I have typed it. Lucky they decided to make the sausage bit plural. Anyway it was OK. Sir Edmund's sausages were not that interesting and there was a bit of mildew on my cauliflower but the beer was nice and after a long walk a warm hearty meal was welcome.

Then back to the hostel to see if I could get a better night's sleep in the dorm.

Off to see a glacier - Tues 12th Jan 2010

Up at 6.00 am again in order to get the bus up to Mt Cook. Before setting off I went to a Subway sandwich shop just down the road from the hostel to get something to eat on the journey. It was raining and windy and the woman in the shop said that this weather was set for three days. My heart sank. I was going up to the mountains and wondered if my luck had turned and I was in for a few days of frustration unable to see the sights because of the bad weather.

Taking the bus turned out to be a very civilised way to travel. None of the pushing and shoving to get a seat etc that you get in England with National Express. I just had to wait in the waiting room/office which conveniently was just around the corner from the YHA. A woman came around and found the passengers going to Mt Cook, checked us off on a list and then labelled our luggage.

We were taken outside and our luggage was stowed under the bus. Then on to find a seat and off we went. David our driver gave us a commentary all about the places we passed through. He said that he and his parents had come over when he was thirteen shortly after WWII and that as a young man he had worked in the farming industry. As we journeyed across the Canterbury Plain which is the farming heartland of NZ he told us all about the crops, stock and irrigation methods. Of course we saw thousands of sheep, but also cattle, llamas, alpacas and deer. All were being farmed.

After a while he mentioned that they would be linking with the flight companies to book in people who wanted to do glacier flights. I had already booked a flight for a couple of days later but as we had been driving the weather had changed and the sun was out. It was a glorious day and I might not get such a good day again. The assistant on the bus was a Japanese man called Sootoshi San he took my details and rang the company and my booking was changed. The bus dropped me and two other people at the airport. Meanwhile the bus took my luggage on up to the YHA in Cooktown.

Before I could say knife I was in the plane with the other people setting off down the runway. The last time I had been in a small plane like this was in 1972 over Grand Canyon and I had been terrified. My knees literally buckled when I got off the plane. Not this time though it was magical. The take off was very smooth and then we were up sort of floating over the glacier lake. Next we flew up the valley firstly crossing over the meltwater lake and then weaving from side to side over the bottom end of the glacier which was a mass of moraine where the glacier is melting away. We passed the Murchison tributary glacier which has also melted back a lot and then we flew over towards the peak of Mt Cook on the left on the map. Finally we were over the glacier proper which had a lot of fresh snow on it but also lots of uneven bits with crevasses and icefalls. We passed the Darwin tributary glacier and when we got to the head of the glacier the pilot turned the plane and landed very smoothly on the snow having lowered the skis by pumping a lever backwards and forwards. The great thing was that he turned the engine off so we had the silence of the place. Not that it is that quiet. There is the wind and lots of melt water streams on the slopes at the side.

After walking about on fresh snow and taking photos we all to quickly were taking off again. This is the view from the cockpit. The black line is some sort of light reflection which my camera picked up from the propeller. This time we criss-crossed the valley again to take a closer look at certain features such as the Huntstatter ice falls. This view is looking down the valley at the end of the glacier. Then back down the valley and down on the ground for a very smooth landing. Wow!! I was stunned at first that I had done it and got back in one piece! After that I just wanted to do it again.The glacier flight company took us up to the village and dropped me off at the YHA where my luggage was waiting for me.

Mt Cook turned out to be a very small place and development seems tightly controlled within the National Park. Apart from the YHA there are some chalets, a motel and the large Hermitage Hotel. There are no shops apart from a small one in the hotel. All the buildings are built in a slate grey colour so they do not intrude on the landscape too much.

After checking in and exploring I had supper a shower and relaxed. I then had to negotiate the problem of sleep. This was the only hostel where I could not get a room of my own and was therefore sharing an 8 bed bunk room. I was already a bit tired as a result of a restless night wondering if my alarm would go off OK ready to catch my bus. Things did not start well. The people in the room next door were very noisy. The girl in the bunk above me was very restless and every time she moved the whole of the bunk bed unit moved with her. Despite the fact that the window next to me was open I felt too hot. I wanted to get up a go to the loo but did not want to disturb anybody. I decided that I would just have to cope and that I would get a nap the next day at some point.

On the train again - Mon 11th Jan 2010

Lovely, a lazy day. I was getting the train to Christchurch but not until 3.28 so I slept in and then after packing up and clearing my room I had a slow start to the day. It was sunny after a rain storm the night before. I sat around in the sun reading and then said goodbye to my walking friends who were setting off for Picton to get the ferry back to Wellington.

I then went for a walk along the beach up to the nearest headland called the new jetty. In the days before the train and decent roads, people travelled to towns down the coast by ships. The New Jetty is no longer new or in use but the sea front was lovely. I was looking for paua shells. They were selling them in town as they are a bright shiny blue colour inside. No luck, just some broken ones, but it was worth the walk. On the way back I took some pictures of the interesting old buildings in the area around the hostel.

This is Albatross Backpackers in the old post office building

This is the Courthouse.

This is the cinema.

After lunch and more lazing about I said a sad farewell to Mark and Ruth at the Albatross backpackers and set off for my train. The train was on time and after checking in and loading my baggage I set off on another scenic trip to Christchurch. As with the train down from Picton the guard gave an interesting commentary on the scenery we passed through, telling us all about the geography etc. On arrival at Christchurch it was grey and raining but not very cold.

I checked into the YHA which turned out to have the best equipped room I have stayed in so far. I was as good as something you would find in a basic hotel. I walked around the centre of Christchurch which did not take long to do. Like the other major NZ cities it is not very big. However I liked it better than Auckland and Wellington. There is no harbour to look at but the city centre was more definite and it has lots of green spaces. It also has more intact older buildings around a central square.

I had a delicious supper in a Korean restaurant. Steamed vegetable wontons and a beer. Off to bed fairly early again ready for another early start the next day. This time to catch a bus at 7.40 am.