Down South

The Sunday after we finished work, we took Boycey the Subaru down south to meet up with Geordie and his 'Stray' busmates. We took in a couple of tuna sandwiches and Lake Tekapo on the way (the lake waves were surfable!). It was great to catch up with Geordie - a couple of Jaegerbombs, a wetsuit and flipper race, teapot cocktails and two Fergburgers later, we hit the sack in the (very) Base Backpackers in Queenstown.



Queenstown was a bit of a washout the following day, but redeemed by pizza in the Cow in the evening. On Tuesday the three of us stocked up on supplies (bananas, peanut butter, bread) and drove to Milford Sound - still raining, but with waterfalls galore there were plenty of atmospheric shots to be had. After a night in the Milford Sound 'Lodge', we awoke to find that the rain had turned to snow and settled on the tops of the peaks, with blue sky views all around us. We had a great boat trip to the end of Milford Sound (a bit too far past the end actually, as a couple of waves swamped the keen photographers at the front) - saw a pod of dolphins (1 up to Wildlife Spotter Wilson) , a few seals and more u-shaped valleys than a geeky geographer could dream of.



We stopped overnight in Queenstown for a surreal video conference job interview, which was closely followed by a Mexican and a BIG glass of red wine (not in that order). In the morning we were off again en route to Mt Cook. On the way through, we called in for a fruit stop and Geordie introduced us to 'Wheatgrass' or as he put it "the most revolting thing to have passed his lips". Unbelievable as it sounds, imbibing one shot of Wheatgrass, is equivalent to 2 kg of vegetables and contains 1600 calories. We knocked them back and then proceeded to sit still in the car for another 2 hours.

Arriving at Mt Cook full of grassy energy, we booked into one of the Hermitage's motel units (it was a third cheaper to book online - from their computer in the lobby - than to pay at the desk...), and then headed straight for the Hooker Valley walk Two hours march over swing bridges and boardwalks took us to the end of the Hooker Glacier, with great views of Mt Cook and plenty of lake reflection / icebergs as foreground interest for the cameramen. That evening, filled our bellies with crisps and pasta and we went star gazing with a very amiable NZ Patrick Moore.

Last day on tour - K's birthday - we woke up to a 'belter' of a day - blue sky and not a cloud in sight. After getting our money's worth (some more than others) at the complimentary Hermitage breakfast buffet, we strode off to the Sealy Tarns track. Within a few minutes, the strides turned into large steps, scrambles a
nd for some of us, crawls. An hour and a half of serious stair master workout later, we arrived at the Tarns. They were quite small. Happily, they were accompanied by a snowman and some pretty impressive views. Those who had working cameras, with memory cards, used them. Back to Christchurch in the afternoon - stopping for pie and cake in Tekapo - a quick shower turn around, then dinner in the evening with Ann and Ray and a foiled attempt at drinks with Chelsea and Marrenna (Good Friday drinking rules).



Geordie's last day in NZ kept pace with the previous 20 - a quick drive up to Godley Head for some photo opportunities, BBQed Green Lipped Mussels and steak sandwiches all round, followed by 30 minutes of sight seeing and souvenir buying in Christchurch, then on to the airport. Job done. And now we're packing and cleaning. Ugh.