Waitomo Cave - Caravan park last night of fun

Waitomo caves were fantastic, the highlight was a boat ride through a giant cavern in complete darkness, and all around were glow-worms (over 5000 of them) lighting up the cave roof as if they were stars. The spooky dripping and splashing in complete darkness certainly made it an atmospheric trip although we weren't allowed to take photos.

This is our last night in the playbus and we celebrated, looking forward to staying in a five star hotel in the centre of Auckland for the next couple of nights. Lee below enjoying the trampoline at the campsite.

Waitomo Caves - Scenery from National Park

Waitomo Caves - Waterfall by the side of the road

Waitomo Caves - Driving through National Park

More driving! Drove through a couple of National Parks to Waitomo Caves, we will actually go and visit the caves tomorrow. The drive up was certainly exciting with parts of the road completely washed away into the river down below and a new rough diversion made across fields. We drove through some gorgeous scenery (again!), in particular we drove past Mt Rupaheu and could see from a distance the mess that the eruption had left. Ski fields up there are back open although some pistes close to the summit are closed in case there is more activity in the next day or two.

Wanganui - Heading back to Auckland

Well we drove through the wine-making region of Marlborough back on our way to catch the ferry at Picton headed for the North Island. On arriving at the ferry terminal there was a big sign saying that the crossing was expected to be "Heavy". We laughed at it as we drove past and onto the bigger ferry this time. As last time we decided to go and watch a film in the cinema. In this ship the cinema was actually on Deck2 below the car and truck decks. So there we were in darkness watching an action movie when the boat started to really go up and down. This really was like being on a rollercoaster in the dark with a loud action movie on. Anyway a couple of people left to throw up but we managed to make it through, although we were both very relieved to get out the cinema at the end. So we climbed the steps to take us back to Deck10 with some really large movement and thats when we noticed people throwing up, people lying down in the corridors with blankets on, a sick bay with announcements for doctors and nurses on board, people braving the waves outside to get fresh air. We survived without getting sick although we both felt very glad to get off the ship when it finally docked after three hours.

Next we drove up from our campsite to stay in Wanganui about half way between Wellington and Waitomo Caves our next destination. On the front of the newspaper was Mt Rupaheu, the first active volcano that we went snowboarding on a couple of weeks ago. There had been a small eruption at night with some small injuries! Crazy to see the pictures of the crater with mud, ash and fresh craters around it. We shall be driving past it again on our way to Waitomo Caves so perhaps we'll get a photo. Up to 4100km now in the playbus.

Kaikoura - Campsite

Continuing to head North we reach Kaikoura and decided to spend a couple of nights in a campsite here right by the beach. Seemed a lovely location with nice facilities, it was only when we settled in that we realised about 20 feet directly behind our pitch on the other side of a wire fence is a railway track for goods trains, worse it seems to be just before a signal because the trains wait right behind us revving their engines for 15-30 minutes. Oh yes and when the trains aren't there you realise that just on the other side of the rail track a couple of hundred metres away is a helicopter landing sight with 3 helicopters. The van shakes when they are taking off and the noise makes you wonder if they are actually flying over the van or into it!

All part of the fun! At least they have some internet access!

Mt. Hutt - Snowboarding

Heading back North on the East side this time back up to Picton to catch our ferry back to the North Island. Stopped in a very small village called Glentunnel to spend a day snowboarding at Mt. Hutt one of the bigger resorts in the South Island. The village only had one shop, which was also a gas station, except it only had one pump, with only unleaded gasoline (no diesel or leaded). We watched someone trying to fill up a car with it, it took five minutes to put two or three dollars worth of petrol in, it would have been quicker sucking it up in a straw!

Back to Mt. Hutt, another hair-raising access road, not as outright scary as Treble Cone but 17km of it so around twice the length. Like all access roads here, it is just a dirt road, hanging right on the side of the mountain with a massive drop down, and no barriers or markings or anything distinguishing the edge of the road, except for a giant drop. You can see the road on one of the photos. For part of the road you are on the top of the ridge line exposed to the wind and a drop on either side of the road. They close the road for strong winds, the 70-80km/h gusts we had were almost strong enough to close it, which would have meant a night up the mounain. Fortunately the road was clear of snow although apparently the locals say the road is much smoother after snow!!!MAD. Gale force winds on top of the mountain but the pistes were great with lots of dry powder, uncrowded friendly slopes and some great jumps scattered about.

Mount Cook - The Cloud Piercer

Took a day trip today to see Mount Cook, the highest mountain in New Zealand. It truly was magnificent, snow capped with glaciers below. We took one of the short walks from Mt Cook Village to get a closer look at the mountain and the glaciers. Next to the mountains was another of those bright blue lakes, blue from the rock that has been ground down and carried to the lake by the glacial water. It rivalled the blue lakes of Canada; Lake Louise and Moraine Lake.

Omarama - Different Scenery

Drove a fairly long drive from Te Anau back up North to Omarama near Mt. Cook. Actually on the other side of Mt. Cook to the glacier that we went exploring on earlier. The weather was lovely and warm and we stopped off in Cromwell for a pub lunch, sat outside in the sun, remember this is Winter and it was almost 20 degrees. Barely saw another car or van on the five hour journey and enjoyed the scenery. Off tomorrow to see Mt. Cook the highest mountain in New Zealand, hoping that we have another sunny day.

Te Anau - Te Anau Lake on an evening stroll

Te Anau

We have seen lambs just about everywhere, with 40 million sheep in New Zealand I guess that is not unexpected. Vicky finally got to play with them using bribery.

Milford Sound - under a waterfall

Milford Sound - Mitre Peak

The white tipped mountain in the background is the Mitre Peak named because it looks like a Bishop's Mitre (hat).

Milford Sound - One of the many waterfalls

The captain of the boat took us right under lots of the waterfalls where Vicky and I got soaked standing on the bow of the boat, with the sun and spray there were rainbows everywhere. One of the waterfalls we were under was about 2.5 times the height of Niagara Falls although a lot narrower or we would have been even more drenched.

Milford Sound

Milford Sound

The mountains popping out of the sea here should more correctly be called fjords because they were carved by glaciers rather than old flooded river valleys like Marlborough Sounds. Being carved by a glacier the sides of the moutains were extremely steep but still had trees clinging on and waterfalls popping out everywhere. The cliffs were gigantic, again scale is deceptive here, but some of the cliffs were twice the height of the Empire States Building.

Te Anau - Mirror Lake

Took a coach trip and cruise to Milford Sound today from our base in Te Anau. This is mirror lake and it is quite clear why it is called that. On the way to the Sound we saw plenty more snow-capped mountains with most of the windy road having warning signs about avalaunches. It is also compulsory to carry snow chains in the Winter. It turned out to be a gorgeous summer day. Milford Sound rains more than anywhere in New Zealand but we turn up on a sunny day! It meant we had a lovely cruise getting wet on deck from the spray from the waterfalls but drying quickly in the sun. It did mean we missed out on the spectacular waterfalls that appear on every cliff face after a good rainfall.

Queenstown - Views as we crossed mountains from Wanaka

Queenstown- Coronet Peak

We have spent a couple of days in Queenstown which has not been as big or touristy as we expected although maybe that is because it is Winter. Certainly every type of adrenalin sport seems to be on offer here with multiple variations on the bungee theme. We spent a great day snowboarding on Coronet Peak and hope to have a go at the Remarkables tomorrow. It is great getting to see lots of mountain scenery while snowboarding. After tomorrows snowboarding it will be back to sighseeing for a little while as we head further South to Te Anau.

Wanaka - Cardrona

The following day we tried out Cardrona, more of the same, great wide pistes with very few people and awesome powder. There was also a very large terrain park where Lee got a lesson to practice his jumping skills. Another lovely sunny day.

Wanaka - Treble Cone

First of a couple of days snowboarding, and what a place to start. Treble cone, which has a very scary, unsealed and very corrugated road leading up to the skiing area., was awesome. The views were magnificent with very steep slopes giving great views of the surrounding mountains and lakes. The slopes were pretty empty, the snow was great powder and we had a great day in the sun.

Wanaka - Treble Cone

Haast Pass - More scenery

Haast Pass - Lake Wanaka

Haast Pass - Great scenery

After a great day on the glacier we had a long drive South to Wanaka, only a couple of hundred kilometres but through some very windy mountain passes which took quite a while. Up to about 2500km now just in NZ in the playbus. The scenery was particularly pretty travelling on another sunny day through the mountains, with a couple of walks on the way to see more waterfalls. We travelled past the giant Lake Wanaka with great views of the snow capped mountains behind.

Franz Josef - The end

Well, after a brilliant day with glorious blue skies throughout, verdant greenery surrounding the glacier we started to make our way down. We descended into one of the deepest narrow cracks to find that part of the wall had caved in. Ok now it is about 4 o'clock in the afternoon and the guide wants to get us down quickly so she begins to hack away at the debris. We are in a crack with no room to pass each other, little chips of ice falling down on us for about fifteen minutes waiting for a path to be cleared. Finally a path is cleared but there is a problem, we have to wade through thigh deep ice cold meltwater. The piece of ice that has fell is melting and beginning to fill the crack with water. Oh boy, this was too much adventure. It was freezing and we still had half an hour descent. We couldn't feel our feet but it was still worth it. What a fantastic day and fantastic way to get up close and personal with a glacier. The photos show the crack we descended and Vicky wading through the ice cold water.

Franz Josef - Glacier part 6

Some of the gaps were very tight, this is called an Iris, a crevasse where the roof hasn't caved in yet.

Franz Josef - Glacier part 5

Vicky squeezing through one of the very many tight cracks, Lee had to take off his rucksack to get through this and then only just made it. We were on the ice walking up the glacier to the ice falls for about five hours, with an hours walk to the glacier and back to the coach.

Franz Josef - Glacier Part 4

Vicky getting some footahe on the glacier, a beautiful day for walking around, very carefully trying to avoid all the cracks.

Franz Josef - Glacier part 3

Those small cracks you can see from a distance in the ice; crevasses, yes they are actually big enough to squeeze through, just! We were taken deep through some very tight spaces with lots of ice towering above us, thankfully neither of us are claustrophobic.

Franz Josef - Glacier Part 2

Again, scale is very deceptive with the length of the glacier actually being about 10km with an elevation of about 600m. You could see helicopter landed just about half way up the glacier, they looked tiny like some kind of insect landing.

Franz Josef - Glacier Part 1

Even driving to the campsite was an adventure: distracted by beautiful white-capped mountain scenery, there was ice and grit on the steep and winding mountain roads to contend with. Also you had these tiny single lane bridges some of them extremely long. A couple were shared with the trains. So you had to give way to trains, or traffic coming from the opposite direction, quite nerve-wracking being on the bridge driving over the rails and wondering if a train is going to appear at any time, especially since there was only just enough room for the van!

Anyway we got to the glacier centre and got kitted out with crampons, waterproofs, gloves although it was lovely weather outside. Our first introduction to the glacier was this sign.

West Coast - Pretty Remote

Rugged coastlines, and lots of wilderness. A really nice days drive with varied scenery. Also diesel is very cheap out here, as is meat less than half the price of UK in most cases. We have noticed it starting to get a little chilly at night in the van with the sub-zero temperatures so we headed to a NZ bargain store: The Warehouse. Things are exceptionally cheap, we bought an oil heater (electric waist high radiator with oil inside) for £5, we could have bought a 2000W fan heater for £3. Drinking different NZ wines each night, Monkey Bay tonight, we bought it because it looked like Monkey Boy at first glance!