The north island of New Zealand has treated us so well and have loved every second of it! The scenery, the activities and people have made it a complete hoot! So let’s see what the south island has to offer.
Pancake Rocks
First of all we need to get to the south island. This involved a 7.20am pick up from our hostel to the ferry port by the kiwi experience bus. We had arranged this with the office, who told us to stand on the corner and look out for the bus. 7.30am arrived, and the kiwi bus drove straight past us. Getting worried, I decided to give them a call to confirm they hadn’t forgotten us. They explained, ‘there were two buses running today, one of which would be with us shortly.’ This never happened!!! Luckily, the first kiwi bus that drove past us, turned around and gave us a lift to the ferry. Which was nice of him….well we thought. He launched into a tirade of abuse at both of us, calling us ‘idiots, stupid and morons, that we had missed the bus’. Rich lost his head at this point, frustrated and angry, he explained that we had been told by the office where to be, but no one came. The driver then wanted to kick us off the bus, for arguing our case. As the peacemaker, I calmed the situation down. The next 2 minutes was an awkward silence, whist he drove us to the dock.
This was no way for anyone to talk to us, nevermind someone who we have PAID to take us from place to place. We later got a grovelling apology by another driver, who had been informed of his colleagues inappropriate behaviour. We decided to sweep it under the carpet and move on. We did make it to the ferry, and proceeded to sleep for the entire journey. It was 8am after all!
The first stop on the south island was a spot of wine tasting at one of the famous NZ vineyards.
Since being in NZ I have drank alot more wine, becoming a bit of a connaisseur along the way. But I am mainly drinking it because it is cheapest. I I bought a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, 2012 (it was a good year) and is now my fav! This was a 45min stop in the roaring sunshine!
We then reached Kaiteriteri, a quiet beach resort on the edge of the Abel Tasman National Park. It was a beautiful location, with a golden sandy beach and turquoise sea.
We planned to drink our wine and relax with our new bus buddies. Unfortunately this didn’t happen as my wine got convisgated before I even walked through the door! Another dry hostel!! Buggers! Instead, we just got to our new bus and relaxed at the lodge a minute from the beach. The following day, we didn’t do alot, as there wasn’t much free stuff to do. We did manage to walk to the viewpoint over looking Kaiteriteri, swam to the sea pontoon for some penguin diving (head first dives, arms by your side) and played some Uno in the bar with our fwiendssss!!!
Back on the bus we go….next stop Nelson Lakes. One of the most picturesque places I have ever been. Mountains, valleys, river and a massive lake….making a picture look like an oil painting on canvas.
There is a famous picture that everybody takes whilst here and that is jumping off the pier with the beautiful setting in the background. We were no different, even though it was bloody cold (800m above sea level).
Continuing with my trend, I was first to strip off and bomb into the icy cold water!!
After a quick supermarket stop (essential items; wine, baked beans, tinned spaghetti, bread, carrotts, apples and bananas) got to love Pac n Save)). We were on our way to Westport. As the clipboard made it’s way round. We were given the option of a $30 dorm room or a $20 tent. Obviously being the tight travellers we are, we elected for the tent, knowing full well, weeks earlier this tent was underwater. It turned out to be an inspired choice as it was decked out with mattresses, duvets and blankets….oh….and me and Rich were sharing with 4 other girls 🙂
Being on a new bus we had to make some new friends, which is pretty easy when on the kiwi. This time instead of getting to know there names; we just went for nicknames; so let me introduce you to; Gino De Campo (Gina), Tic Tac Jack, Minty Fresh (Julia), Popadom (Tom), Capulet (Juliet), Hobbit (Rich) and T-Rex (me)….I still can’t escape that nickname even whilst half way round the world! Also joining our crew later that day was Anja & Kerry, also our tent buddies!
Some of the crew
Our driver Andrea (a bit of miserable bugger) did take us to the beach for a bonfire, sing along and to drink copious amounts of alcohol! After all it was St Paddy’s day!
Anja & Kerry
As the bonfire got bigger, so did the drunken antics and the out of tune singing. We got a group picture with the 9 of us which then escalated to the whole bus joining us. The only way you could join, for the big photo was to take a pic, the ‘PASS IT ON’ to the next person. We ended up with this beauty!
The night finished with us heading to an Irish bar in Wesport for more drinks and a boogie. They called it an Irish bar but it had no guiness!!! What a complete travesty. The night was finished with a sausage sandwich, before getting some sleep.
In the morning, still worse for wear we waved off our nickname friends, and vowed to catch back up with them in Franz Josef. It’s amazing how in a few hours you can make such good friends!
As we had booked an extra night, we had some chill out time, did some admin of booking hostels and decided to get a haircut, it was well overdue. In the afternoon the next kiwi bus arrived with Sandra & Catrina on it!! We are now with them for the next 2 weeks of NZ! Yay!
We made the effort to make some new friends and was looking forward to round two of a bonfire. Unfortunately, the next kiwi driver didn’t have this in her itenary! RIGHT….let’s get a group together and make our own. We took 7 of us to the beach (plus a guitar) built a bonfire and chilled on the beach.
An hour later, 30 people on the kiwi bus turned up! The driver, Lisa had been pressured into taking them all!! We stayed until the fire died out before staggering back to the tent! 2 bonfires in 2 nights!! Awesome!!
Feeling quite fresh the next morning we hopped back on the bus and headed to Lake Mani-mani-puha (Mahnipuha ‘hard to pronounce’). This stop was a party stop, with a designated theme. ABC – ‘All But Clothes’. A pretty simple, but a theme you could get creative with. We stopped off in Greymouth for 2 hours, to get everything we needed to make our outfits. Without a plan in mind, I wondered into a party shop, bought two laundry bags and purple facepaint and of course wine!! (I promise I am not an alcoholic mum!) No idea what I was going as, but I knew I would be a big purple stripey mess!
On reaching our accomodation, a staggering $50 (alot of people gawped at this price, really should be less for what you get). We checked in and headed straight for the lake. A short walk from our accomodation. We chilled on the pontoon, diving in, throwing a rugby ball/frisbie around, trying to catch it before it hit the water (with some success).
We got to know Dan, Faith, Emily, Emily, Twan, Amie, Koen & Lauren a bit more along with our quartet of me, Rich, Sandra & Catrina.
On heading back to the accomodation, we all went our seperate ways to get our costumes in order. Some people had put alot of effort into their costumes. I guess mainly because there was a free Canyon Swing on offer.
It turned out to be one of the best nights out, since being in NZ and by the end of it had made friends for life! Dancing on tables, smashing glasses (accidently), singing my heart out and being last man standing at the bar; were just some of my few recollections!! I love NZ!
bettsys big adventure 