During the final week of our time in New Zealand we settled into our little cabin after one final nights stay in the van on the 1st. We met our Swiss friends at their hostel on the 2nd with hopes of getting to a Post Office to exchange ownership details. It was still classed as the Public Holidays and we were told nothing would be open until the 4th!

This did put a little spanner in the works but fortunately for us we had already picked up the ownership forms when we first got the van and so back at our camp we all sat around the table exchanging details and for that night they decided to stay at our holiday park. We figured that the next morning if nothing was going to be open we would let them leave with “Po” and trust them to complete the ownership changeover without us being there to witness it. We did this too when we bought the van but it is recommended that you don’t let the van go until you see proof of change, however there had to be some lenience as otherwise they’d be having to stay with us for the next 2 days.

After money was exchanged and forms signed we handed over the keys and retreated in our cabin! The night before we’d experienced a 5.5 earthquake when we were in the van and more were happening throughout the day. When our Swiss friends eventually left the next morning with “Po” we waved them goodbye and were ready for a week of not really doing much.

The cabin was a good space with bunk beds, a desk, chairs, a fridge and some drawers we were being spoiled with all this space! The only problem was that most of the tremors were taking place around 10km away from us at sea and so we felt nearly all of them most of the time. It was an unsettling week of aftershocks having never experienced anything like this before, and before long we were guessing the scale of the shock followed by Dave who would look it up on GeoNet A website which updates every 5 minutes after each tremor.

During that week we took the number 5 bus nearly every day to either do a little shop, change money or go to the beach. One day we went to the Christchurch Museum in the CBD, it reopened in September and is host to historical and contemporary artefacts. The same day we walked around the gated closed off area of the city centre. It sits still like a ghost-town with a few people photographing what they see. Its a sad state of affairs as the city can’t really move on with all the aftershocks taking place and it’s going to take a long time for the recovery. We really hope that something positive starts to happen as we could tell it was taking its toll on people who live there.

One little spark of positivity comes out of the Cashel Street Restart, a purpose made shopping area of shipping containers located the fringe of the city. It actually looks really cool and has coffee shops, some eateries, fashion and gift shops. There was a little hive of activity going on but as Dave said with an air of sombreness.

Back on our side of the city we enjoyed a day at Sumner Beach which sadly has also been badly affected by the earthquakes. The beach itself is fine but the houses on the cliff tops…not so good. We watched surfers waiting for big waves and Helen had a bit of a beach day, although the sun didn’t really come out.

Towards the end of the week we managed to meet up with our friends Vic and Dave and enjoyed a walk around the Botanical Gardens followed by a tasty pub dinner in one of the pubs still open in the area. It was lovely to see them again and we look forward to hanging out with them in Melbourne further on in our travels.

And that was that, we were waken nightly by earthquakes and on the last night we experienced a 5.2 which felt far worse being in our cabin than a 5.5 in the van. Helen panicked and thought we would be stuck out in Brighton, unable to get the shuttle to the airport in the morning, but alas at 7.30am when the shuttle arrived we knew we would be getting to our flight out.

We were definitely ready to leave after what felt like a long week but sad to say goodbye to a country we have loved travelling in and enjoyed and now have such a bank of memorable occasions and places. New Zealand is a real treat, a home from home, safe, clean, beuatiful and very welcoming.

Next stop, Sydney, Australia.

(Olympus PEN, 17mm f2.8 & 100mm f2.8, processed in Lightroom 3)

On our way to Kaikoura we drove into Christchurch and started putting the wheels in motion for the sale of our wonderful van ‘Po’. Dave had designed some really cool posters ad we decided to print them onto yellow paper so that they would stand out…sneaky!

Most of the hostels are located around the CBD which is now completely closed off from the public since the February 2011 earthquake. It’s a disaster zone and as it was over New Year it was eerily quiet. Still we managed to find the hostels and could see many backpackers were still staying in Christchurch, although we weren’t met with much enthusiasm from the staff members who wished us good luck in the sale of the van. Posters went up in around 8 hostels including The Old Countryhouse, The Jailhouse, Kiwi Backpackers, Vagabonds and a few more we can’t remember. Along with the posters we had an advert on Gumtree and on the Backpackersboard.co.nz.

After a long day we stopped over at Brighton South Holiday Park on the coast, and during the night we had our first taste of the Christchurch aftershocks that have been taking place all year. Helen thought someone was shaking the van! Before we went to bed though we had a few calls from people interested in viewing the van and we booked them in for the next day.

The following morning we washed and cleaned Po as much as we could with a bucket and sponge and a dustpan and brush. We worked hard. At midday we met our prospective buyers, the first couple didn’t seem too over-thrown by Po and her magic, we think they were after something more modern. Their honest offer at $3400 though was way below our ideal and so we moved onto our next appointment. It was only down the road at The Old Countryhouse and we were met by 3 Swiss travellers looking for a van that would fit all 3 of them. We could tell straight away that they were keen on the van and it was perfect for them as it still has the first row of passenger seats in the back. After a test-drive and a little bit of bargaining we agreed on a sale price of $4050. Result! Having bought the van for $3800 we were making some profit.

We were holding onto the van until after the weekend so that we could get our trip up to Kaikoura in and decided that the following week we would take advantage of the cheap accommodation on offer at the holiday park and booked into a cabin for the final week of our stay in New Zealand. The owners offered us 10% discount from $48 a night, if we stayed for a week, this worked out to be far cheaper than staying in any hostels in town and the transport links are good from that area.

To see what we did for New Year visit the Kaikoura post.

We were up early and packed ready for the off to Mount Cook, it was going to be a long drive today with around 300km to cover. Again we had fantastic weather which only mean’t we would get hot in our non-air conditioned van but windows down and with a bit of a breeze we would be fine. Our first stop was at the Moeraki Boulders, unusually large spherical boulders sitting on a stretch of Koekahe Beach. It’s a popular tourist stop as we were met with crowds of travellers making their way up or down the coast. They are pretty random though and worth a picture or two if you’re passing.

So onwards from the famous boulders we turned onto State Highway 83 and started making our way inland towards the Mount Cook region. Not far from Duntroon we stopped to check out some Maori rock paintings on the limestone cliffs, they’re talked about in the Lonely Planet and so we thought it would be a good little spot for lunch. So with around 150 km to go (which in ‘Po’ means a good 2 hours of so) we continued on with our journey. It’s difficult not to stop as you approach Mount Cook because the views and colours of Lakes Behmore and Pukaki are shockingly blue with snow-tipped peaks all around. It’s a breathtaking part of the country to visit.

When we eventually arrived in Mount Cook Village we nipped into the DOC to get some information on walks for the next day. After some good advice from the warden on duty we picked up a route map for the area and decided we would take the Mueller Hut trail the following day up to Mount Olivia.

Our campsite for the evening was at The White Horse DOC camping ground, it’s the only place to camp in the area and was packed full of camper vans and tents. it’s a really popular place and has a large communal cooking shelter with lots of extra toilets to so for $6 per person it’s not bad at all. In terms of location it is fantastic, we were practically at the foot of Mount Cook with a lot of major paths leading from the campsite to various sites and valleys in the area, we walked out along the Hooker Valley track for around an hour before getting back to the van for a night in!

The next morning we were up early and ready for our hike, we’d heard it was pretty tough so we were ready for a work-out. Plus this would be a chance for us to test out our new packs and start getting in some training for Nepal. We loaded up our packs although both of us knew that in reality we’ll be carrying more weight, but we have to start somewhere. The hike itself is very tough, especially the first 2 hours up hill, we weren’t quite expecting it to be so steep and so we really were getting quite a sweat on. The terrain is a mixture of large steps built into the pathway, rocks, shale and snow, so we had it all as well as more fantastic views throughout the valley. We knew this would go on our list of epic walks as soon as we started out.

Closer to the top we were hit with cool wind and so wrapped up again before making our way around the corner to Mueller Hut. Here we stopped for lunch and had a good nosey around, they have volunteer wardens who stay on a weekly basis during the season to keep an eye on the place, so we enjoyed a good chat with them. Not long after we decided to take the extra hike up to Mount Olivier, although we didn’t make it quite to the top (it’s a little unclear as to where this is) we were at around 2000m and enjoyed being there very much indeed.

The path down was steep once again and so we felt a little jarred afterwards, but we loved the hike, the views and the challenge. Perhaps it won’t be quite so enjoyable all the time when we’re in Nepal but we’re already starting to anticipate to the highs and the lows! Mount Cook is a must on the agenda if you’re travelling around South Island. Later that night we stayed at Lake Tekapo and decided we would be heading to Christchurch earlier so we could start planning the sale of the van.

(Olympus PEN, 17mm f2.8 & 100mm f2.8, processed in Lightroom 3)

We left the Otago Peninsula early so that we could get to the Otago Farmer’s Market taking place at the Dunedin Train Station. We wanted to get ourselves some fresh greens for our Christmas Dinner. We didn’t quite tick all the boxes but we did pick up a few extra treats such as delicious home-baked mince pies, vintage award winning blue cheese and Dave got himself some Vennison mince so he could make some tasty burgers. We had a look around the famous landmark that is Dundein Train Station, although perhaps not as impressive as some we have visited over our travels it was nice enough. We continued to buy the rest of our Christmas food from New World where we stocked up on booze, bought some lovely fresh salmon and a pudding! We were ready!

We couldn’t check in until after 1pm so we spent our time exploring Dunedin’s city centre. It’s a steep ascent from Hogwartz where we were spending our Christmas to the Octagon that is the centre of the city and it was a very hot day with busy shops keeping us slightly hot and bothered. We visited the Dundein Art Gallery which with free admission completely exceeded our expectations with the current exhibitions on show. The star attraction being the ground floor’s ‘The Beloved’ exhibition playing host to classic and contemporary pieces with our favourite artists being Gordon Walters, Ani O’Neill and Heather Straka.

When we left the gallery we took it upon ourselves to buy a few Christmas gifts for each other with the maximum spend being $20 and neither of us would know what the other bought! Exciting!! So off we went for an hour and when we met for a coffee later at Perc we sniggered at our gift buying experiences.

After checking into Hogwartz we were in our new home for the next few days which looked out across the city and St. Joseph’s Cathedral stood straight in front of us. Later on we joined the rest of the travellers staying there in cooking  a dish to go into the barbecue that the hosts were holding that night on Christmas Eve. So armed with a cous-cous salad and some booze we joined everyone else at the barbecue and enjoyed a great feast with some lovely company. Thanks to the owners Gilbert and Maja for putting in so much effort, they had so much meat and beer on offer. We ended the night with a Skype call to Karl, Em and Sukie who were all in good form and Emily had been doing her own skills in the kitchen in preparation for the Roscoe’s coming over for dinner on Christmas Day! Missing them loads!!

So Christmas morning came, and we started the day with the grand unveiling of our presents! Dave enjoyed the entertainment that was opening a whoopy cushion, a packet of poker chips, a selection of choccie goodies and a notebook (this would be useful!). Helen received a cadbury’s creme egg, 2 variations of the New Zealand classic peanut slab (milk and dark chocolate) but the pinnacle of her presents was a Shewee!! At long last Helen will no longer have to squat to have a wee when hiking, or being stuck on the back of a boat with nowhere to go! This was a fantastic present from Dave, it did stretch the budget though, but we think it will come in very handy!

So excitement over we took a few snaps and then a problem occurred! The leica froze, it got stuck on a card reading error and no matter what we tried we couldn’t get it to read any cards inserted into the camera! Hmmm! This was not good news and it definitely dampened our festive spirit for the rest of the day! There was nothing we could do so we picked ourselves up and drove out to St Clair beach where we enjoyed a lovely picnic and some very hot sun. It didn’t last very long though so we got back to the hostel late afternoon and decided to watch our Christmas movie of choice – Little Miss Sunshine. With the Leica at the back of our minds we enjoyed the film immensely and then decided to cook our Christmas dinner and eat with Kris and Kay our new found Xmas buddies.

Dinner was delicious, here’s what we had:

• Salmon fillet – baked (devine!)
• Honey roasted carrots and parsnips
• Roasted potatoes
• Broccoli and a few boiled potatoes
• Pam’s stuffing balls (from a packet)
• Lemon butter sauce

• Dave also enjoyed a pig in a blanket (sausage wrapped in bacon)

And for the pud:

• Pam’s Passion Fruit Cheescake! What a treat!

This was all enjoyed with a bottle of Monkey Bay’s Pinot Gris.

So with our stomachs stuffed we went on to enjoy a few more Skype calls home, one to Barb with Louis joining us live from Perth, and one with Jan, Den and Alice! Merry Christmas all!

Boxing Day was a shopping day which saw us take advantage of the discounts on offer. We bought our trekking rucksacks from Bivouac who had a 40% discount off two Osprey packs perfect for our trip in Nepal, and Helen bought a pretty loaded sleeping bag from Mac Pac. Never more will she moan about feeling the draft at night as this 800+ loft sleeping bag will keep her snug at temperatures as low as -7. Fingers crossed for the Himalayas.

After enough of the shops we went back to Hogwartz and made a few plans for travel connections and had a plan of action for our camera repair. We decided to stay another night at Hogwartz to take advantage of having a room and some space to spread out. We also designed and printed a poster to advertise our van for sale. It’s easy to get used to having a little bit of luxury but we’d be back in the van as of the 27th. Christmas in Dunedin was nice, the weather was fantastic which is a change for us Brits, but we did miss our home offerings! Looking forward to being back with the family next year!

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0, 18mm f4, 90mm Tele-Elmarit f2.8 & Olympus PEN, 17mm f2.8 & 100mm f2.8, processed in Lightroom 3)

Continuing the exploration of the Caitlins we drove to Nugget Point. Luckily it was a nice morning and we got some excellent views of the iconic landforms that reach out from the coast to the ocean, the lighthouse and the rocky inlets. Its a short walk down to the viewing point and its well worth it.

Onwards towards Dunedin and upon arriving at the popular St Clair Beach we strolled along the sandy beach and watched the dogs playing in the waves fetching balls and sticks thrown by their owners. This was a quick stop over as we would be backtracking to Dunedin for Christmas in a few days time. For the next two nights though we decided to stay on the Otago Peninsula, famed for lush hills, extinct volcanoes, beaches, albatross and penguins. We pre-booked to stay in the Portabello Tourist Park ($31 NZD/night) as we weren’t sure how busy it would be so close to Christmas.

This private camping ground is a very nice spot indeed, with a short walk to a shop, pub and an award winning chippy in Portabello. We decided on a walk towards and along the Okia Flat. This takes in “The Pyramids” (volcanic hills), a beach / coastal walk and a crouching elephant made from volcanic rock. The walk took a few hours and we spent the time exploring further into the Papanui Inlet with its soft crunchy sand that swallowed our feet!

Later on we drove up to The Royal Albatross Centre located at the very tip of the peninsula which offers viewing (over the hill where the birds are nesting) and a museum/cafe. As we did not want to pay for the pleasure we took up a vantage point, with lots of other tourists, on top of the cliffs to see if we could spot any birds returning from their day fishing out at sea.

We did see several albatross in amongst the pretty large gulls, and they are HUGE, the photos really do not do them justice. Seagulls also have a big nesting site here and do create a fair amount of shrilling and screaming all on their own. On the other side of the cliffs you can make your way down to the bay and watch the Blue Penguins returning to feed their young. They only come ashore once its practically dark so we waited for them with around 100 other people.

This is also a free area for visitors to watch the penguins and luckily there are volunteers in the guise of marshals (in high vis vests). They offered an informative insight into the penguins and how long they have been there for as well as keeping order amongst the crowds. The elderly male warden has done this job for the past 5 years and was a nice bloke, but his people skills left something to be desired, clearer communication would have made it simpler for people to understand what to do and where to stand. He was however very passionate about the protection of the birds from public! After some shouting at idiots who couldn’t turn their flash on their cameras off, the little birds made their way up to where we were standing, one even walking inches from both of us and producing a little poo. Helen loved it.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f/2.0, Leica 90mm f/2.8, Zeiss 18mm f/4 ZM processed in Lightroom 3)

A windy night ensured some light sleeping in the swaying van over night but waking to find a seal outside your van is a nice morning surprise. This is perhaps the most scenic spot we have camped at looking straight out toward huge waves crashing in. We were hoping to hire surf boards but as we couldn’t get any cash from anywhere we just packed up and went onwards along the Caitlins scenic route.

We ended up having quite a sightseeing day starting with a much needed coffee at the Whistling Frog Cafe on the road toward the McLean Falls which is where we were headed next. We walked up to the base of the falls which at 25 minutes return was a little quicker than the 45 minute forest walk advertised on the Southern Scenic Route info. We soon found out that they were way off on their timings after walks to the Matai Falls and the Purakaunui Falls, we also felt like we were suddenly on a tour of New Zealand’s waterfalls. They’re all lovely though with Purakaunui coming out top and also attracting the most tourists.

As we followed the route round we came across the Lost Gypsy Curios shop and gallery in Papatowai. This place is very intriguing and full of surprises and quirks. Containing old and the forgotten we spent some time playing with the gadgets, reading the funny signs and taking it all in. You can’t miss this place as there is a dummy outside holding a ‘Curios’ sign and the main gallery is housed in an old bus. Before making our way all the way round to Pounawae we decided to back track and visit Cathedral Caves, open only 2 hours either side of low tide. So we got there not long after 3pm and paid the $5 entrance fee, we were the first people on the beach which is private access only and along with a few other sight-seers we went to explore the caves.

It was only just low-tide so we had to climb onto rocks in order to get into the caves and make sure we were far in enough to avoid the tide coming in. We were able to loop round to another cave entrance where more shallow waves were splashing in but it was getting less and less. They were fairly impressive caves and the walk to and from the car-park is equally as enjoyable. We had a good chat with the warden about the caves and local birds and the like, the carpark was full so whoever is running this attraction is certainly doing okay!

When we continued along the road we stopped off in Owaka the Caitlins largest town with a sort of cash machine at the 4-square, accommodating only New Zealand account holders! We were able to pay on card though which was a good thing and so we stocked up and then made our way to the lovely Pounawae Bay where we would spend the next two nights at the Pounawae Motor Camp (lovely owners and really good facilities).

The following day we drove to Surat Bay, it’s not that far from Pounawae at all but we were heading for Jack’s Blow Hole straight after which was too far to walk. Surat Bay is a beautiful untouched bay stretching for a mile or so. Seals try to cool themselves in the sand whilst flies pester them and we also came across a dead seal and the remains of a sheep, harsh life!! Aside from this though we enjoyed a really nice walk along the full stretch of the bay as the sun came out to warm us. From now on the weather was looking to be good through to Christmas so we were happy about this.

When we left Surat Bay we drove west to Jack’s Blow Hole which includes a pleasant 30 or so minute walk to the hole. This blowhole is in the middle of a farmers field some 50 meters or so from the cliff edge. The waves come through to the hole underground and crash against the walls of the hole pretty much all the time, although high-tide is probably more impressive. It’s a pretty awesome sight though in terms of what is happening there. It’s closed off during the sheep-sheering season too which gives you an idea of its location.

By the afternoon we simply decided to chill out back at the campground, we were more than happy to read, work on the blog and cook some nice food before getting ready for our next drive to the Otago Peninsula the next morning.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f/2.0, Leica 90mm f/2.8, Zeiss 18mm f/4 ZM processed in Lightroom 3)

First stop for the day was Anderson Park, an impressive Georgian-style residence set in 24 hectares of landscaped gardens. The art on show in the house was of local New Zealand artists and is worth a look as well as the gardens and the Māori house located at the rear of the house.

90km from Invercargill is the lovely (and remote) Curio Bay. During the drive along the scenic route which takes you along the coast we stopped at Waipapa point to explore the beach which is home to seals and a lighthouse. Curio Bay has one hostel that we could see; along with a few guest houses and a camp ground located on the beach, no shops or ATM’s. In the trusty van we checked into the Curio Bay Camping Ground and at $8 each is great value.

The location is what you are paying for. The showers are fairly antiquated and the kitchen is the size of a shoebox but with a glorious bay famed for surfing and endangered Hector Dolphins to the left and a Jurassic period petrified fossil forest with Yellow-Eyed Penguins (arguably the rarest of penguin species) to the right what more could you want?

The petrified forest is 180 million years old and was once a forest of conifers which were buried by ancient volcanic mud flows and gradually replaced by silica to produce the fossils now exposed by the sea. We had fun exploring the rock and the rock pools as well as watching the rough sea swirling around the masses of kelp.

We returned to see the Yellow-Eyed penguins later in the evening and saw a few returning from their fishing trips. People are allowed to watch FROM A DISTANCE! But as usual, people / tourists get in the way of these rare animals to snap a photo or two or hundred and stop them from reaching their nests and young. It really drives both of us mad. If you do go please show some respect and keep your distance, most people do not and its such an infuriating thing to see.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f/2.0, Leica 90mm f/2.8, Zeiss 18mm f/4 ZM processed in Lightroom 3)

We were up early and avoided the sand-flies by eating breakfast away from where we camped in the forest area. Today we were journeying to Invercargill, mainly to break up the drive to the Caitlens. We drove through more lush mountains ranged and started passing lots of sheep in the fields, something that Southland is famous for. Our first stop was at Colac Bay, famous for its surf and antarctic winds, which we felt straight away. The only nice thing going on was a wedding on the beach, it was a chilly day for this though and so we quickly got back in the van to continue on. Our next port of call was in Riverton where we had a little wander around the streets and drank chai at the Beach House Cafe, it was a good place for us to stop a while.

When we eventually got to Invercargill we were starting to get used to the cooler air but we happily hid in the van for lunch before going into the Southland Museum for a spot of culture. Its a free museum which is always a bonus and is home to New Zealand’s endemic reptile the Tuatara Lizard. They have around 25 at the museum with an area for each stage of their lives. Tuatara have been around for around 200 million years and the oldest there is around 111 years old and still reproductively active! Good going Henry!

So after we spectacled at the lizards we had a look at the art. There was some insightful imagery taken from one of New Zealand’s heroes Burt Munro along with some very cool block prints influenced by Maori and Polynesian culture.

When we left the museum we nipped up to the water-tower a place recommended to us by the I-Site staff saying it was open today so we must go up and have a look. In all fairness it was really quite good, the interior of the water-tower itself is very interesting and we were more than happy to photograph the views looking out across flat Invercargill.

As we were heading out of Invercargill we had a look at the town and then decided to camp out towards the Beach Road Holiday Park close to Oreti Beach. We thought they offered a really good price for their facilities at $11 each and the owners were very friendly even though the lady at the I-Site said this place was a little…rough! So we enjoyed a good evening here along with some wine and some nice food cooked in their canteen style kitchen.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f/2.0, Leica 90mm f/2.8, Zeiss 18mm f/4 ZM processed in Lightroom 3)

We left Gunns Camp after a good little exploration of their museum and grounds, it is full of quirks this place and we most definitely recommend staying here in terms of value for money and facilities. So onwards to Milford Sound it was, which was a pretty epic journey. We stopped as we passed by huge waterfalls bursting out of the rock and close to the road-side before gradually reaching the famous Homer Tunnel. Up until this point we were faced with low cloud, rain and a very grey landscape but as soon as passed through the tunnel we could see the cloud lifting on the other side. The Homer Tunnel is a good little adventure in itself, it’s narrow, dark and very much feels like it’s just been dug out of the rock. It’s one way traffic and you may have to wait a little while at either end for the red light to turn green.

On the other side we kept stopping to take more and more photos aswell as stopping at a few more landmarks along the way. We spotted a few Kea’s getting very close to people’s cars and vans in search of food as bus loads of tourists started to be shipped in. We guess this is the main downside of visiting such a place as Milford Sound…the tourists!! But if you can cope with crowds it’s beauty does manage to distract! Waterfalls come down the walls of the mountains like sheets of ice, it’s difficult to tell at firs that all the white bits on the rock are waterfalls pouring down.

We were surprised that the cloud lifted from this point on and we were faced with sunshine. We later learned that it hadn’t rained for the past 10 days which is very unusual for this area which boasts to receive around 220 days of rainfall per year! We took advantage of the good weather though and photographed from the Milford Sound pier and village. You can only go further than this point by boat.

Unfortunately for us we’d booked to stay at the Milford Sound Lodge as we were heading out at 6am the next morning for our kayak tour. The reason is was unfortunate was the cost of staying in a carpark at $36, and pay for wifi…nothing is free nowadays! Anyway it did the job and we found time to work on the blog. Later on we revisited the path leading out from the road to a reserve on the water-front, as the tide was low we were able to go quite far and did a few long exposures during sunset.

So up early the next day we were picked up by Skirts (our tour guide) from Rosco’s Kayaks, you can see why we chose that company? He was a good guy with plenty of banter and good instruction with it. Our group was made up of 8 including Skrits and it was 2 to a kayak which suited us just fine. So all donned in our thermals, water-proof gear, gloves and hats from the lost property box we were good to go. Dave steered from the back whilst Helen mumbled instructions to Dave which wasn’t heard over the waves and wind, but we managed to get out facing the current into the open water.

As it was so windy we had to raft together a few times with the most laughable part being when a cruise liner came into the Sound, passed us and came back past us again as it did a u-turn. This was a little embarrassing for us; 4 kayaks rafted together in a huge basin with a massive ship going past, but the spectators loved it.

We got as far as Sterling Falls and had to raft up again. We couldn’t go any further which was disappointing but necessary as Skrits didn’t want to risk taking us into 40-50 knot winds. He managed to entertain us as we bobbed up and down with Kiwiana tales and poems lovingly recited with some hot orange. This managed to do the trick for a while but we had around a 45 minute wait for our pick up which didn’t help as it was pretty cold out of the sun.

Eventually though we got the pick up and were taken back to where we started. This is part of the Morning Glory tour but the pick up would usually be at the end of the Milford Sound upon meeting the Tasman Sea. So we didn’t get that far but we did learn that we are pretty good kayakers together which is always nice to know. We do feel that the tour was pricey for what we got out of it at $185 each, it promised so much but just didn’t quite deliver. Still we were at the base of the mountains as they jutt over 1000 meters out of sea. That’s not bad at all. We didn’t take any photos during the kayak as we were worried about the Leica and the waves and stupidly we didn’t take our waterproof camera with us! Doh!

Afterwards we managed to get back into the hostel without having to pay a further $5 each to use the facilities and went back down the wonderful Milford Road past Te Anau and onwards to a free DOC campground at Monowai Lake. We were ready for sleep that night.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f/2.0, Leica 90mm f/2.8, Zeiss 18mm f/4 ZM processed in Lightroom 3)

We drove back into Te Anau to get a weather update for the area, which was looking better as the days passed. From Te Anau we took the Milford Road north and once again took in the amazing views, from meadows and lupin lined roads, glacier formed valley’s to the mirror lake and mountains forming around us.

 We did a half day hike to Lake Marian which was a tough 3 hour return hike signposted around 7 km from Gunns Camp. We passed over a swing-bridge which led us through forest and to a pretty immense series of waterfalls. The track was steep with a few scrambles up trees and rock fall but the effort was well worth it, and chatting to a few locals they had been informed by a guide that this was perhaps the best half day hike in South Island, New Zealand. A statement!!

Lake Marian is in a hanging valley formed by glacial action, reflecting the Darran Mountains surrounding it. We waited for the low cloud to lift and a few blue spots of sky joined us too. It was pretty amazing and we worked up a good sweat along the way. Heading back was much quicker and less of an effort but we still had to be careful as parts of the path was slippery and steep.

When we left the parking area we drove down to Gunns Camp which had been recommended to us by friends Vic and Dave. It’s a quirky place with a lot of history and a free museum for guests which is well worth a peek. We learned a little about the legend of Davey Gunn aswell as taking some time to photograph the campground with it’s cabins and funny oddities lying around the place. It cost £12 each to stay in our van and they have good cooking facilities and a spacious common room. We enjoyed cooking a pretty fabulous dahl which was taken from the Wholemeal Cookbook purchased in Takaka. We know it was good because our American friends tried it and were raving on about it too! ha ha!

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f/2.0, Leica 90mm f/2.8, Zeiss 18mm f/4 ZM processed in Lightroom 3)