Wanaka We left Makarora in the morning and headed for the town of Wanaka. Lake Wanaka actually starts from Makarora so it is rather large, and in fact in some parts it is 400m deep. Before reaching Wanaka, we made a stop at Puzzleworld. This was actually quite fun because there are different puzzle rooms and a big maze. There is a room with hologram pictures and another with famous faces which look like chocolate moulds (i.e. indented) but when you walk around the room, they look 3D and their eyes follow you around the room. There is another room with a tilted floor and I laughed so hard watching everyone walking into the room because they walked at such funny angles. Finally, there was a room which when you walked into it you would look like a giant or a dwarf. Manon and I walked into this room and couldn't figure it out - so what if the ceiling was low on one side and high on another, the floor was tilted so where was the trick in that? We only found out alfter we watched the video of ourselves walking around the room.... one of those situations where you just had to be there I suppose :-) Finally, we wandered through the maze and you had to reach each of the 4 towers at the corners of the maze. DC our driver said his record returning out of the maze was 23 minutes and he challeged us to beat that record. I managed to do the maze in 21 minutes so I was quite pleased with myself. We then got back ont he bus for lunch in Wanaka before the bus moved onto Queenstown, but 4 of us opted to get off. Wanaka is not an overnight stop on the Stray bus but you can get off if you want and catch the next bus the day after or again after that. It's a pity it is not an overnight stop because it really is a beautiful place. It was so nice, the 4 of use decided to stay 2 nights. Our driver had also found a nice motel for us to share so it was luxurious for us compared to the hostels we had been staying in as we had our own kitchen and TV and towels etc... and we only had to share with 3 others. I spent a lot of time relaxing beside the lake, taking walks and enjoying snacks on our verandah in the evenings looking out at the lake adn the mountains around it. This was a place to kick back and step away from partying and constant activities. We went to the movies (saw Apocolypto as directed by Mel Gibsion) because the cinema is known for having couches and comfy chairs to sit on. There is even the shell of an Morris Minor in the theatre and this is where we sat, which was cool until my feet got nibbled on by some mosquitoes which I reckon were breeding in the car. I was not too pleased about this as my feet has already been under attack over the last few days by mozzies and more specifically sand flies. I've had to buy all sorts of creams to soothe my feet as they look awful - I describe them in several ways: 1) they look like hobbit feet 2) the look like a Valley of 1000 Itchy Bites and 3) I look like a leper..... anyway, hopefully they will heal soon. I also went to try rock climbing seeing as I had given ice climbing a go, and spent an hour at the rock climbing centre. I did not enjoy it because they have plastic grips/walls for you to try on as beginners and I find it really difficult to get a grip as your hands get sweaty. As the grips are plastic you can't use chalk/powder. Anyway, again I can say I have tried it but it is not for me. Again, the fear of falling was present but I did manage to get to the top of at least 2 of the walls so I was proud of myself. Two days in Wanaka was not enough but I am glad that I at least got to see it. Queenstown Wanaka is not actually that far from Queenstown but on the way in the bus stops at the Kawarau Bridge which is the original site of the bungy. We all hopped off and I was still uncertain as to whether or not I would jump. We got to watch a short video on the history adn secrets behind the bungy and once I had seen this I just decided that I would do it. There were about 8 of us keen. The height of the bridge over the river is 43m and there are 2 other bungies in NZ which are even higher at 47m and 134m. I thought I would just start with the smallest one and see how it went. Somehow, I was on that bridge and had my feet strapped in within minutes. So I didn't have too much time to think about it until I was made to shuffle to the edge of the ledge. When I watched the DVD, you can actually see me breathing as if I was at a pre-natal class and you can see me mouth a swear word (it's quite amuzing how scared I looked). Anyway, the guy behind me told me to look ahead and dive forward then said are you ready, I said no, and he told me to jump anyway....so I did. It was scary for a second and then it was all good. I enjoyed it and I know I will give it another go sometime...not while I am in NZ because I want to save my money for different activities but it is exhilirating. Next time I am going to perfect my dive! Queenstown is a very pretty place and it is growing very quickly as there are a lot of developments going up. It is easy to walk around. We spent a lot of time sitting by the lake enjoying the views and taking a load off in between activities. I spent 3 nights in Queenstown and I was disappointed to find that it was not as 'heaving' as everyone told me it would be - but I did have a good time trying to find the bars/pubs and playing some pool...so yes, there were a few very late nights. The sun also sets later than in any of the other towns I had visited so you tend to go out later in the evening too. I also tried a "Ferg burger" which had been recommended to me by each bus driver who quoted them as the "best burgers in the world". It was a very delicious burger but as I had opted for the falafel burger and not a traditional meat burger maybe I missed out just a little bit. By day, I tried river surfing and hang gliding. River surfing was fun - again it was me and 8 boys so I had to make sure I could hold my own. We did two trips down the river covering a total distance of 12km. We had wet suits, booties, fins and helmets to wear adn were each given a boogie board which we had to strap to our wrists. We were told to travel down the middle of the river because the water flowed a lot faster here and we were told to look out for 'adventure' spots in the river where we could try neat tricks (yeah, sure). The first time we all just ended up floating on top of one another because we did not have the skills and were practicing what we had been taught. I actually had more control the first time round because on the second try, I got stuck in a bad section of water and one of the guides had to lead me out of it and it upset me a bit and I forgot everything I was shown. Anyway, again I can say I tried it, but it's not really for me unless I get to practice in a wave pool beforehand. I also tried hang gliding which I thoroughly enjoyed. Unfortunately, there were only light winds so we could not stay in the air as long as we would have liked because you are reliant on the air to keep you up. I did a tandem hang glide with an instructor but he let me control the frame a bit so that I could experience the sensation of 'freefall' for a few seconds when we pushed the frame outwards and brought the glider to a complete stop, before pulling it in again and picking up speed. The most interesting bit was actually running of the side of the hill and taking off... your feel just get lifted off the ground! So, I enjoyed Queenstown and could have stayed there longer, but I would have liked to have seen it in all its glory with all the bars jam packed and pumping. Christchurch/Kaikoura Although I had started my trip in Christchurch I had to loop back around to it to get up to the north. I decided to only stay one night as I had seen all the sights and I made plans with Adam (ex work colleague) to go out for a few drinks. We had a great evening and it was so good to see Adam again as the last time I saw him was in March. We had a good old chinwag over a few beers (and not much grub) so we stumbled out of the pub at about 1am with me creeping quietly into the hostel (all my roommates were fast asleep) and him catching a cab home. He is also travelling to the north island so hopefully I will cross paths with him in Wellington and Auckland. I have a few other people to see in Auckland so it should be good. The final overnight stop before catching the ferry across to Wellington is Kaikoura where I have stayed before. This time I um'ed and ah'ed for justa few minutes too long, so again I missed out on the whale watching. Not a huge problem as I may get another opportunity some other time...place...year :-) This is where I will leave you as I'm heading to the pub for a few rounds of toss the boss.....so hopefully I will be sipping a few free drinks tonight. See you all again in the North Island. First destination ... Wellington. | 