5 Week Tour - 6, Dunedin

The Dunedin Speieghts Brewery.
This was THE moment! because we were the first tour of the day on a Saturday morning,there was only us four. The last part led us to the free sampling room, where the guide let us basically have free reign over the taps! We were in there for a good 40 minuets all chatting to each other and drinking Speights (including the guide). Unfortunately Jamie was driving and could only have a couple....but trust me......I drank his fill, and probably another two peoples!


















This was my absolute favourite out of all of them. mmmmmmmm Apricots!





































As you can see here, the after effects of a morning at the Speights Brewery..... not really. This is the record breaking Baldwin Street. The steepest Street in the world.










































We had some friends in Dunedin that we stayed with. One of Jamie's colleagues from Wanaka that moved back after the season had finished. Thanks Shane and Helen! This is their lovely cheeky monkey Grace.

5 Week Tour - 5, The South Coastal Scenic Route

Curio Bay.





















Jamie and I had a little beach holiday for two days. We spent the afternoon just walking along the beach and eating ice cream.
















We also walked up to an area round the bay, hosting New Zealands petrified forest. Instead of taking it "oh so" seriously, we where more interested in this crab we found, which inspired me.......





















......to do the "GB crab"!!!!!




















We also stopped along this little half an hour walk where we spotted this amazing miracle of a tree. Its as if the creator of this universe was painting the world and one day thought "hmmm im going to make this look like an elephant for no particular reason".
Honestly we were bowled over by this, and pretty much stood there for half an hour stunned with our mouths open.

5 Week Tour - 4, Port Craig Track (Abandoned Logging Village)

The Port Craig Track was a 7 hour walk along a bush path that weaved in and out of a few different beaches along the South coast. We did it in 5..... not tooting our own horn or anything.

The actual place of Port Craig is an old abandoned Logging village. The village was full of families and workman up until around 1940, when the company went bust, sacked everyone and removed pretty much everything including the kitchen sinks. The only bits left that remain are a few rusted up bits of machinery scattered in the bush (DOC have put up plaques and tried to preserve everything by making paths around it all for people to look and learn.), a dilapidated old pier, and the old school building (as it was actually owned by the government, not the logging company)which is now the DOC hut. Trampers may stay in for 10 dollars a night.

We stayed for two nights, as the area around was lovely. Below is the beach which is just a 5 min walk away. When we went down in the day there was two dolphins just 10 metres out at sea, and they were there all the time we were there.

The only problem was that the air was thick with sand flies, so there was know basking in the sun on this beach. If you just exposed your hand for 30 seconds you would have about 500 of them all over it.

We had just about enough stamina to pick some mussels for dinner then had to rush back up to the hut. In the night we came back down to look at the stars and on the way back stopped in the bush to look at the gloworms.

On the way back we randomly spotted this egg on the beach further up the track. Another sight Ive never experienced. Remember now, there is no other human being for miles and miles. I love all this wildlife stuff.















Me at the end of a very long 4 and a half hours!!!

5 Week Tour - 3, Milford Sounds, Under Water Aqaurium in Milford

The road leading up to the Milford Sounds hosts some awesome views of the mountains around. Its a really fun drive (from a passenger point of view) with lots of shallow windy turns, leading round corners that reveal even more amazing things.















The town of Milford is not really a town. Its more where all the staff that work in the area, ie, Guides, DOC workers and Cabin Crew, live when they are not working, with a few cafes and a restaurant. There is also the information centre which doubles as the museum as well.

Just at the end of the Town, the harbour is situated. The main attraction that brings people from all over the world is the opportunity to take a boat through the amazing surround. There are a few different ways to do this, including a large boat that you can stay overnight in luxury accommodation. This is not what we did. Boo! Oh well, What we did was take a small boat in and out that took 2 hours. It stopped in designated areas and the Captain gave you a overview of everything around. Unfortunately for us he had a really thick (European?) accent and we had a really hard time understanding a lot of everything he was saying (did give us a few giggles though!)

I chose the picture above because i thought it gave you a good idea of how absolutely enormous these sounds are. You can see a waterfall just in the left hand corner which, you cant see on the photo, but when we where there, you could see a little dot at the bottom, which actually was a large boat!

Another part of the tour was this Waterfall called Fairy Falls. It was such a light spray, more of a fine condensation, and as it was the right type of day, with the right type of sunlight we could see this double rainbow right in front of us. It was like you could reach out and touch it. Where's the gold!





















Jamie minces as he realises where we are.















On the way back from the Sounds you can pay a bit extra and visit this small Underwater Aquarium. They have managed to grow their own corals underneath as a certain part of the way down the water changes from fresh water to sea water. That's why on the top you cant see anything below the surface. But once you get below, the view is like the picture below.
That's why the Milford Sounds has a such abundance of wildlife, as it has both habitats.

We did get hundreds of photographs with lots of fishies swimming around, but I don't want to overwhelm you......Ill do that when i get home! Bet your looking forward to that, he he he he xx

5 Week Tour - 2, Franz Joseph & Fox Glaciers And The Copland Track

This is the best shot of Fox. I love it as you just cant see anywhere near this much of it if you go up close. Its an amazing sight to get that close, but at the same time, there are only parts of it that look like a glacier, the rest just looks dirty and muddy. To get into any of the actual ice holes and for the experience to feel as if you are actually on a glacier you have to pay a gujillion bujillion dollars! Which is O.K if your on a two week holiday, but we have been buying budget, budget, budget!




















As the Glacier melted in one go, Jamie hopped onto a wave with his imaginary surfboard.















As you can see, this IS the glacier. Looks like a bunch of muddy rock that im touching aye?




















This was our second big walk called the Copland Track, which for us took 5 and a half hours walk in, then 5 out. We walked 35 kilometres in two days.

Here is Jamie (I've found water baby!!) pretending to be an idiot.... woops sorry he is an idiot, my mistake! .... Love you baby!















The special thing about this walk was the area that you were aiming for. Just 1 minute away from the DOC hut (which I might add was miles from anything, and it was TWO floors!) there was some natural hot springs. Oh JOY! It was looooovely!































Dont look down!

Oops, looked down!!!

5 Week Tour - 1, Lake Daniels, Pancake Rocks And The Crazy Roads!

The first trek we did was a lesser known track called Lake Daniels. It was through a really lovely magical forest where you could just imagine little gnomes running around and fairies flying through the air (he wasn't flying but there was Jamie, ha ha ha ha!). The ground was covered in soft squishy moss, and with every step we took it was like walking on a mattress.

At the end of 2 1/2 hours we came out onto a clearing with the DOC hut that we stayed in for the night looking out onto this amazing lake.











We had the place to ourselves so I decided to strip off down to me kecks and jumped off the pier. Nice and refreshing after sweating so much but it was so cold i could only stay in for a couple minuets. The water was so clear. Its pretty much like that everywhere in New Zealand.





















We both decided to invest in a few camping supplies including a cooker. This was the obligatory English stop for a cup'o'char.















Pancake Rocks. We popped up there on the way to smelly Greymouth.












If you havent already noticed, the bridge below is both used for the trains and cars! There wasnt even a barrier to tell you that there was a train coming, you just had to look behind you before you got on there. It was was also just a one lane bridge so you can imagine the traffic jam when a train goes through......traffic jam. What a silly word, you would proberly get two cars, but in New Zealand terms THAT is a traffic jam!

A Week In OZ With Mummy Mel

These are some piccies from our brief time in Victoria, Australia. We managed to fit in so much, and we where so happy to be with our great friend from India. Mel was a member of our travelling family, and we will remain friends for years to come. She is already planning her trip over our way when Jamie and I eventually have our wedding (not for a while yet Mel...Sorry!)

During the week we managed to fit in taking her gorgeous family doggy Pugsey to the local Lavender Farm, saw a film about organic farming (not what you think, it was actually really funny and hugely interesting), crashed a "bush doof" (party in the bush where you hear a doof doof doof doof doof !), had a "happy 30th Mel" BBQ, took an excursion off to the Grampians with the help of Mel's car she lent us for a couple days and then spent one night in the City of Melbourne.

We will see you in a few months Mummy Mel !

A Week In OZ With Mummy Mel

Mt Cook

This was our only stop when we left Wanaka, on the way up to Christchurch for our flight to Oz. But what a stop. I can quite happily say that personally I thought this was the most beautiful area of the whole south island. I felt so relaxed at the time, with so much to look forward too.
Jamie and I did a walk up to the glacier of Mount Cook and got some awesome views. The area itself is just so vast. It was just utterly breath taking.
We stayed in a DOC campsite with an amazing surrounding as you can see below which has no power but is only 6 bucks to stay the night!

Mt Cook