Goodbye South Island

We're falling behind with our post writing and once you start, it's hard to catch up so I'll summarise what we've been up to in the week since you last heard from us at Lake Matheson, just along from the Fox Glacier.

Franz Joseph glacier
The next day, Saturday, we woke up to bright sunny skies and anticipation of the day that we had planned ahead of us. We were going to spend the day trekking on the Franz Joseph glacier!Apparently named after the beard of an Austrian emperor some time ago, this is one of only three glaciers in the world which end in a rain forest (one of the others is Fox which we saw yesterday). Our day started at 09:15 when we received our various vouchers for our shoes, jacket, hats and gloves for the day. After getting kitted out we jumped into an old Chinese manufactured bus and headed to the start of our walk to the glacier.

Franz Joseph is a bit more of a distance away to walk than Fox but we trudged on through the rainforest and then through the river bed until we reached the familiar yellow rope fence covered with warnings of a dire fate should we decide to cross. After a little chat, our guide helped us to climb over the fence and rounding a corner we stopped again to put on our crampons. Now crampons are neat spikes which are attached to your boots which make it very difficult to walk on normal terrain but are fantastic when walking on ice. Which was good, because for the next 5-6 hours, the ice became our best friend.

The climb up the many steps cut out of the side of the glacier ("steps are my friend") were sometimes steep, sometimes slippery and sometime treacherous but in the end the sense of achievement when we reached our turning point and the beauty of the age old ice was worth every minute. Our encounters with the local Kea's were just the icing on the cake. Not even the slight rain after our picnic lunch, which was served on the nice cold ice, could dampen our moods.

Pancake rocks
Sunday, after failing to find a church open (the local Anglican services operate bi-weekly, ie. next week) we noted the rubbish weather and decided to press straight on to our next stop in Nelson. The only major stop was made at the notable pancake rocks, an unexplained but beautiful geological phenomenal.

Abel Tasman
Admittedly we could have done our homework a bit better as we discovered once we'd reached that Nelson was still some way from Abel Tasman national park which was the next place that we wanted to spend some time. Still, we had booked a room in a local hostel complete with swimming pool and hot tub which we decided wasn't so bad and exhausted from the full day's driving we collapsed into bed.

The next morning we woke up and slowly made our way to Abel Tasman, stopping to pick up some delicious, locally grown cherries from a stall by the side of the road. We got to Motueka, the entrance to the park, just before noon which was a little late to catch the water taxi to do the half day walk that we'd planned. No problem, we weren't too late to rent a double sea kayak and paddle our way to the famous New Zealand icon, split apple rock.

Unfortunately the sea just wasn't playing ball that day and after half an hour of hard graft in the choppy seas, we managed to make it just a quarter of the way there. Disappointed and tired we pulled into a lovely little beach for a rest and to take stock of what we wanted to achieve. We agreed that though we were both quite tired from the last couple of days and wanted to get a bit of rest, we also wanted to see the NZ iconic rock. The guidebook provided and alternative, land-based, route to the rock so after braving the rough seas again to return the kayak we drove over the hills and took the short 15 min trek down to the bay to finally get a glimpse of the rock.

Nelson wasn't all wasted though, we did discover a lovely micro-brewery operating a few minutes walk from our hostel where you could buy some of their beer in unmarked two litre bottles which you can bring back for refills. Visions of bootlegging cross your mind when the bartender quietly hands you the bottle around the side of the bar so you quickly stuff it into your knapsack and walk off at a quick pace, hoping that no-one is following you...

Renwick
Pronounced Renwick by the locals, this lovely little village was only a couple of hours away from Nelson and our only destination the following day. We checked into the loveliest hostel so far where we decided to treat ourselves to an en suite double room and relaxed for the rest of the day in the twin hammock hanging up in the garden.

Renwick is also in the middle of the Marlborough wine country and so the next morning we procured a couple of bicycles, a map of the region and headed out to sample the regions wares. Now I've never been one for white wine but as that was the predominant offering I decided to try to figure out which white wines I actually liked.

My favourite cellar doors were:
Te Whare Ra - great blend called Toru
Villa Maria - best Sauvignon Blanc
River Falls (will need to check the name) - best Pinot Noir

and Johan discovered that he quite liked the wines with the German sounding grape - Gewurztraminer, and also the local micro brewery that tapped various interesting beer on actual glass bottles with a cap. Which means we will not have to explain to customs officials what kind of liquid are in the plastic 2-litre bottles. That is bound to make the entry into the U.S, much less eventful.

For dinner we stopped by a local butcher and picked up some lamb chops and some BBQ sauce and slapped them on the bar-b-que back at the hostel and chatted with the other travellers while drinking some micro brewery beer. A very lovely day.

Goodbye South Island
So now, Thursday, I'm writing this while swaying from side to side on the ferry carrying us and our car and a few hundred other passengers from the South Island at Picton to the warmer North Island at Wellington.

The South Island has been undescribably beautiful at times but to balance that the weather has been really rubbish on some days and the roads a little more windey than my stomach would like. Some of the experiences that we've had like the climb up Franz Joseph and the reflection of Mt Cook in a calm Lake Matheson will stand out for the rest of our lives while some, like the sandflies at Milford Sounds and bedbugs in Nelson, we will be happy to forget as soon as the itching stops.

As for me, I am now looking forward to taking a few days rest in Rotorua before we embark on our epic journey to Houston next week.