We started the day with a run along the Clutha River bank before getting ready to drive to Queenstown. We took the scenic route along The Crown Range Road, which is a quicker alternative to the recommended driving route, we think this is more for bigger vehicles and in the winter. This time though it was perfect for us and we enjoyed fantastic views throughout whilst catching up on some UK gossip via the Richard Bacon podcast.

We stopped a few times along the way to document the scenery around us, looking down through the valleys toward Queenstown, it was a really clear day. We then took a little detour to Arrowtown…the home of golden nuggets, and some very quaint shops. It all looked a little staged for us but we did find some good in a discount outdoor store selling Ice-breaker gear.

When we arrived in Queenstown we paid for parking and decided to have a walk around the town taking in the busyness that is Queenstown. To us it felt very much like Banff in Canada, an alpine resort, overpriced and pretty commercial, but set on the lakeside and with all of the activities on offer its not a place to be missed. We didn’t fancy any bungy jumping or canyoning so we were happy to sit and have an ice-cream in the sun on the  pebble beach.

Instead of staying in Queenstown for the night we drove 14km along the Glenorchy road and turned off for Moke Lake along another gravel track. Set amidst mountains Moke Lake is host to a big DOC camping ground costing $7 per person and there is a warden that comes around to avoid people not paying their fees. It was a very hot day so we opted for a swim in the lake to cool down and were pleasantly surprised by the temperature of the water which was unusually warm. We decided that we would drive to Te Anau the next morning as we weren’t really up for spending too much money in Queenstown.

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

Another day and another move to a new destination, this time Golden on the Kicking Horse River. Along the way we stopped to have a look at the the spiral tunnels which take the Canadian Pacific Railway trains on a spiral journey through the mountains. It was pretty cool to see the train making its way through, I’m sure a train spotters dream!

Another stop to break up the journey was at a waterfall and then further along at Lake Yoho where we embarked on a 5k walk around the lakes edge. It was nice to stretch the legs and the sun was warm so very pleasant. A few brave souls even took a dip in the icy waters!

We arrived in Golden, picked up some provisions and set up camp at the edge on the river as well as the main Pacific Railway route, good job we packed some ear plugs, those trains are over 100 carriages long! The group of lads decided to cook an Asian inspired dinner which was pretty awesome and we had an early night, white water rafting is why you come to Golden and that’s tomorrows plan.

Through Wet ‘n’ Wild and with safety instructions observed and standard issue wet suits adorned we boarded an old school bus and headed to the start of the rapids. For 75 CAD we were to be flung down a level 3 section of the river with an option to take on the level 4 if we desired. Both of us found the level 3 pretty straight forward and wanted more so we stayed on, moved further down stream to miss a level 5 and started again minus three of our comprades. This was more adrenaline fuelled, but again we wanted more, maybe we should try it again in the rainy season. David even piloted / steered us through a level 3 which was good fun. Upon paying for the extra session it was 25 CAD each so a total of 100 CAD each, which we felt was a little expensive, but not as much as we were expecting.

After three hours of rafting we were all pretty tired so it was great news to hear that the tour guides, Eric and Zak, had decided to cook us up an all American BBQ! A real feast… stuffed. A quick lesson and after no time about eight of us were all playing some poker, matchsticks as coinage, which was good fun, especially when some people thought they had a great hand, when in fact they had nothing! Hehe sorry Wym!

Up very early again the next day for our long journey to Vancouver at 7.45am. We stopped at a Redwood Forest as well as an area called Skunk Cabbage, but this was closed as a family of Bears had moved in. Another stop in Hope, famed for the filming of Rambo, was a surreal experience. A 7.5hr van journey saw us arrive in the Vancouver area and set up camp for the very last time (on our intrepid tour!), followed by a visit to a pizza restaurant.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f/2.0, Leica 90mm f/2.8, Zeiss 18mm f/4 ZM & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX5 processed in Lightroom 3)