I told you she was crazy
*Sigh* This is a lot of typing I'm doing today but I plan to bring you competely up to speed with the goings on over here in Kiwiland. *Sigh*
It's not easy you know, this freewheeling travelling life.
So after Fiordland we headed back North. Stopping for a day again in Queenstown. From Queenstown we made our way back along the highway that runs first through and then along the southern alps. A range made famous by the Lord Of The rings movies. They were used as the Misty Mountains. Given that namesake quite a lot of the time its hard to see them but when you do... Amazing. Biggest mountains I've ever seen. The tallest being Mt. Cook. Which is over 12000 feet. It towers over the smaller mountains around. Completely snowcovered, at first glimpse I thought it was part of the clouds. Its summit just reaching over edge of the clouds. On our way back to the glaciers we camped in a little place called Gillespies Beach. Was pretty cool. At one side the wild Tasman Sea crashing up the beach and then at the other over a small band of vegetation the alps looming in the distance. The atmosphere was ruined a bit by sand flies thoguh. For those of you who don't know, the sand fly is an evil little creature. Kinda like the mosquitoes smaller more evil cousin. They bite, a lot. And there was millions of them
on this one beach. It's not nice walking through a haze of flies trying to eat you alive all the time. So after a brief somewhat restless stay at the campsite we worked our way up to the Franz Josef glacier. Meeting up with Eva, Lisa, Pauli and Kadi again. Went to the thermal hot pools(at the expensive of a pair of my jeans). Terribly boring, like taking a bath with loads of people just without toys or bubbles. Had a night out, good night. Entirely uneventful, no people attempting to throw me out. Then went for a a guided glacier walk in the morning. Day started out pretty crap, miserable rain. Though in my oppinion the mountains around look much better and more dramatic in the rain. Just not too nice hiking up a glacier in it. The glacier itself was nice. It's a big pile of ice. With crevasses and caves and such. When I say a big pile I mean it's about 12km long and moving. Though you don't see it moving, it changes constatly. So they say, not before your very eyes or anything but from week to week and such. So for all we know they could be lying really...
Oh fine thats a bit ridiculous.
It was good though.
After this we spent another in Franz Josef and then headed to Greymouth for a last night with Eva and Lisa. Greymouth as it name might suggest is not very exciting. After 5 in the evening the entirity of its population flees to thier homes. Honestly looking at the deserted streets you expect a posse of rampaging lunatics to come storming through at any point. So we hung around there for the day, then had a few drinks in the hostel bar. The next day we said goodbye to Lisa and Eva.
Eva is unfortunately being shipped off to a new more modern mental institute in Australia. The cells here in New Zealand failed to hold her. And Lisa is gone back to hang around the North Island for a while. They figured without Eva's influence she was okay to realease into the public again. Have spent the best part of the past week travelling with those two (and being forced to be roomates with Eva). I must say I'll miss the pair of them, even though one outrightly refuses to come and visit me and the other has the mental age of a 9 year old(and is insisting on coming visiting me. Probably to "plate" my hair again)
Anyway good luck to the pair of ye if you're reading. Til we meet again.
So after Greymouth we headed back up the west coast to the Pancake rocks of Punakiki. Coastal limestone place with rocks in layers. Maybe more impressive if you don't come from a county with like the best coastal limestone landscape ever...
Area was much nicer this time. The west coast is pretty impressive. The forest clad mountains come right down to the sea, where they are met by huge waves. Reminiscint of the west coast back home on bad days. The whole coastline is dotted with golden sand beaches. Here we camped again and spent our time hanging around with Pauli and Kadi. We went our separate ways the next day. Though I'll be meeting up with them again. And that was yesterday. So after that we came over Arthurs pass and to Christchurch. From the west coast to the east. And here I am now. So I reckon that'll do ye for now. Maybe not the most interesting two blogs but I've filled you in as much as humanly possible I believe.
So until I've something more interesting to write thats it.
Oh, we changed cars today. The registration had run out on our trusty steed Sam the nissan Sunny so we swapped him for Sam II. Now much cooler in Navy Blue.
