Mobs & I have had some amazing adventures since we landed in Wellington. Since I am rarely on the computer, I haven't had time to update the blog. We leave for Atlanta on Sunday, so not sure I will add much more. We were in LOVE with Wellington. The botanic gardens were gorgeous. There was a rose garden with fabulous flowers. We went to NZ National Museum (Te Papa) later that day. I couldn't have been happier because there was a special Monet exhibit at the museum. Monet is my favorite artist, so I was going INSANE. It couldn't have been more perfect. The exhibit had so many of his paintings, as well as paintings from his earlier years & art from those who mentored/inspired him. Ahhh. I was in heaven. Anyway... I lost my backpack on a bus on the way to the ferry that took us to Picton-- that was QUITE the event. But it all worked out with the help of a carpet store owner, bus driver, Interislander ferry attendant, & the Wellington bus company. Once in Picton, Mobs & I did some karaoke with the hostel people. It was the weirdest hostel ever-- they had regulars. Mobs & I sang "Say a Prayer for You"-- tried to get the crowd clapping like in My Best Friend’s Wedding but def heard crickets. Haha it was horrible. I threw in a little rumble in the throat (most of you should know what that means) & we got one clap/cheer.
We picked up our rental car the next morning & drove all down the west coast. We stopped in Nelson-- not much there but good views & a shoe sale. We drove all the way down the coast, taking pictures of sheep & beautiful scenery. I have never seen such gorgeous landscapes. Didn't know it was possible. We stopped at the Bull Gorge for some bridge walks & a little hike. We also went to the Pancake Rocks, which were really good. The scenery along the coast here is out of control & these rocks look like tall stacks form Ihope. Crazy.
We finally had dinner in Greymouth-- smallest town ever. All the towns in the south island are SO small-- a few pubs & small shops. We met a local who had lived in Greymouth her whole life. We ended up waiting an hour for dinner/wine so we got to know this woman really well. She was waiting for chips to bring to her grandbabies. Since our food took forever, she complained to the waitress & got us our wine for free. The waitress was so embarrassed that a "local" was upset. We've relied on strangers to look out for us... We drove to Hokitika to spend the night. It's a nice town on the shore. There are a few cafes, but I ran/walked the town in a few minutes-- in the rain. Anyway, the hostel we stayed in was so nice. It was small-- there were only a few others there. Once we settled in, we joined the other guests in the living room. They were playing old school Monopoly. It was hilarious. I'm sure you guessed this, but there's not much to do in Hokitika past 9. The hostel owner's parents were watching out for the place for the night. They were so cute. The dad (pop) just kept saying "yep" after everything. I loved it. Our room was so nice, too. It was like we were all a family hanging out-- inviting each other on hikes/adventures the next day.
The next morning we jumped in the car & headed to Franz Josef Town. We had a fabulous lunch & hot tea at the Landing. Now that we're staying up in the mountains & are farther south-- it gets pretty cold so anything hot will do. There weren't ANY places to stop & eat on the way (besides some opossum meat pie joints) so we were ready for a good meal. Afterwards, we walked about the town & checked into the Chateau. It was such a cute hostel-- much bigger than the ones we've been to. We shared a kitchen, bathroom, tv (with VHS, baha) with 2 other rooms. There were also other gathering spots around the property with bigger kitchens, tv rooms, spa (US translation: hot tub), computers... It was interesting. Once we walked the whole town, Mobs & I needed a breather so we made some popcorn (free), snuggled up, & popped in a VHS. It was nice to have a break from all the driving. It was weird, though, being "trapped" in a little mountain town, waiting for dinner. It was great because at 6pm we grabbed our bowls from the cabinet & joined the other backpackers for free vegetable soup in the main kitchen. After some soup, wine, & crackers, we headed to the Blue Ice Bar with our vouchers from the hostel. It's pretty much the only bar in FJ, but it was SO fun.
Next morning, Mobs & I boarded the bus to hike the Franz Josef glacier. We somehow ended up in the "fast group" & were literally running to the glacier. I made the mistake of challenging our guide, Kevin. The walk to the glacier usually takes an hour-- we made it in 27 minutes. It was one of his fastest times. I mean we were literally running in hiking boots—up hills, through streams, & down cliffs. Once at the bottom of the glacier, we strapped on our crampons & started hiking up. It was AMAZING. We were just scaling the glacier. The view from the top was insane. We also had some fabulous people in our group—we were the only Americas. We were climbing through tiny crevices, going up insanely steep cliffs, & holding on to ropes for dear life. We loved it. Once finished with Kevin (he gave us a shake of the hand & left us because he had to go up with another group) we walked back, got in the car, & headed out to Fox. We stopped at Lake Matheson on the way (also known as the Mirror Lake). It was cloudy, though, & there were ripples on the water so we didn't see much of a mirror. We then scooted the Silver Bullet to the Fox Glacier where we took some pics & marveled at the bright blue glacier pools.
We then drove through all the small towns, stopping at little spots, like Knights Point (where we saw the most vast/beautiful ocean in the entire world), Bruce Bay, & Haast. Then, after too many windy roads, & a few stops to look at the brilliant stars, we were in Queenstown!
Mobs had a friend in Q Town that went to UGA, so we stayed with him & his 2 roommates for 4 days. We had so much fun. The first day, Mobley & I explored Queenstown, checking out the cute harbor town & beautiful fall colors. We had lunch at the Fergberger, which was SO good. I honestly don't think I've had a burger this good in my entire life! Ha... And Julie they have a burger called the "Sweet Julie." After enjoying the local eatery, with people running around, cooks calling out orders-- so authentic-- we then drove to Glenorchy. The drive along the coast is AMAZING. We were stopping every few minutes to take pictures. Below is a picture we took at a little bay along the road. The picture of us on the jetty is from the little town of Glenorchy. It was a qauint little town, & had magnificent yellows, reds, & orange trees amongst the sheep/cow farms. We spent most of the arvo walking around little trails to take pictures.
Once we got back to the boys' place, they took us to Deer Parke Heights. This place was hilarious. Cameron drove the red rocket up this mountain/hill, put $20 in the deposit box, & filled a can of feed. We then drove through the area feeding a random collection of animals: deer, elpackas (small version of a lama), lamas, goats, bison (weren't allowed to feed those), cows... It was so funny. At one point, a heard of goats started storming up a hill. They came out of no where & attacked Steven (because he had the feed). The picture below is of the elpackas. They were hilarious.
That night, Steven made an amazing venison meal. He’s a gourmet cook—making us ham/cheese croissants in the morning… It’s fabulous. After his meal & a little teamwork cleanup, we headed down the steep hill/mountain to town. We had SO much fun. All of the roomies went out, along with their British neighbor, Jesse. We went to the cutest mountain/ski town pubs. It was FREEZING, though, & Mobs & I didn’t pack closed toed shoes, so we ended up pulling the Asics & jeans. It was hilarious. Also, we didn’t have the proper clothing, so Cameron was dressing us up in his coats, hats, & socks. We had so many layers on. Everywhere we went, we had to de-layer & create a massive stack of clothing. I think Cameron had on 6 layers. Apparently I looked like some kid from South Park because my coat was so massive… It was such a good time—constant laughter. At the end of the LONG, but amazing, night, we walked up the hill/mountain. It was quite the workout, but beautiful because all the stars were out. Loved it. Then Mobs & I snuggled up next to the fire, her on the couch & I on my cot.
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