Crowded House
New Zealand has to be the least populated place we've ever been. Even if you give the Sheep honorary person status there wouldn't be enough to create a crowd.

Christchurch felt a bit like an English theme park. Beautifully manicured lawns, Victorian style gardens, good old fashioned food and for the first time since China a slight chill in the evening air. The unusually hot weather has given us a favourable first impression of this island, we're so far from home, yet so near.

After our coach and train journeys around other countries we decided we'd hire a car in NZ. After several calls we arranged to collect a car that needed 'relocating' to Auckland (about 2 days solid driving, including 6 hours on a ferry). The last thing I asked before we collected it was "Does it have a CD & air conditioning?", expecting to hear "of course", instead "no way, its a '93 Corrolla". What it lacks in style it makes up for in sheer robustness. Today we drove 100 km across gravel roads, through fords a bit deeper than intended, and not a murmur. It is filthy and Susie hasn't recovered from my attempts to qualify for the NZ WRC, but this aside we're growing to love the old heap.

From Christchurch we drove through the mountains to Greymouth, a really dull and uninspiring place that serves as a useful stop. The next day took us to Punakaiki (blow holes and pancake rocks) then on to Franz Josef. At Franz Josef we visited one of only 3 glaciers in the world that flow into a rainforest. By visit don't imagine a pleasant boardwalk, we climbed in / over / under and through this glacier with metal crampons that looking very similar to the pit traps from Vietnam. There is something very odd about hiking in hot sunshine, on a block of ice! it really messes with your head.

After Franz we headed further south along to coast to Wanaka. Not sure quite how the locals pronounce the name, I have my interpretation and I'm sticking to it. Wonder what you call a group of people from here? Would it be a bunch of Wanakars? The name aside this is a really pleasant place, alpine in nature and climate. In summer it is a playground for watersport / mountain bike nutters, in winter it become a ski resort, presumably catering for the nutcase end of the market again. At the moment we're trying to decide quite what we'd like written in our obituaries...

Tomorrow we're heading for Te Anau, then a cruise on Doubtful sound. The most dangerous activity we'll participate in here will be 'penguin spotting', apparently they occasionally leap onto the boat and start attacking tourists with their sharp claws and sabre teeth, most of the time they don't so we'll probably be Ok.

- posted by Adrian @ 6:59:00 AM