South Island
NEW ZEALAND | Sunday, 30 September 2007 | Views [140] | Comments [1]
We got on our ferry to head to the south island... this was very exciting because we knew on the other end we'd have a comfy big coach bus as opposed to out 11 seater van. On the boat Steve (travel buddy) unscrewed a small table top from in the bar... and I said we should sign the bottom w/our names and stray tour 2007. Ali told us to leave out the stray part, so we're forever on the ferry from north to south island..silly but funny. Murray and Marc met back up w/us and joined the bus. We drove straight to a winery to do a wine tasting. The first place we strolled in to made their own liquers and creamy liquers... we did three shots and headed to the wine shop and had 5 glasses... nice way to start off the day. The winery is Bouldevines... if you see them try their Sauvignon Blanc... tasty. I killed a whole bottle almost by myself two nights ago. We drove on to Abel Tasman, a national park, and stayed at a place called Old Mac Donald's farm... There really was a guy called Old Mac hanging about. It's for sale for 7 million if anyone's interested.. mom? lol That night we had the best group dinner that ali organized. Fish, chicken, hash browns, yummy salad and more. We lit a fire and met the new people joining the tour. Three American boys from Georgia, a kiwin/eng couple, two 16 year olds, and A mom & daughter combo. The Am boys brought a great vibe to the group... they are funny and crazy. The next morning we did a sailing trip all day around the park and a few small islands. The weather started off really nice and sunny and ended just a bit cold and windy... but the wind was good for the sailing bit. I definately will do that again. We went to a deserted island and picked some mussels and clams and cooked them on the boat later for a late afternoon snack.. yummy. Our skipper was an intereseting kiwi.. kinda seemed off, like crazy. That night we lit another fire and hung out and the skipper came out w/a few locals... they were all out of their heads. The skipper was pretending to be a snake and crawling behind everyone... he ended up passing out in a corner or something. The next day we planned to do a horse ride, but it was pouring .. we just caught up on laundry and took a walk around etc.
Barrytown was next. Oh my... Ma runs barrytown... she was intense at first. Very strict seperated us into diff groups and so many rules. If the boys dressed in drag we would get an extra hour of happy hour... so all except on did. It was hillarious... they had clothes for girls to dress up, but none of them wanted to except me... so I did and then a couple joined in later. I hung out w/a few of the locals. The cook, simon and ma's boyf, the beast (cant remember his real name). They were so much fun... ma and I got to tlaking and really clicked. She's so sweet, orig from fiji. She told me about two hip replacements she had and in one she got to keep a piece of her own bone, which she then carved into a charm and is now a piece of jewelry in her collection. I did a bit of bone carving the next morning and made a very cool fish hook/twist. It symbolizes safe journeys over waters and bonding friendships. I added three notches on the side to represent the travels and friendships with my sisters... cheesy i know, but I'm happy w/it. The guy who owns the business told me I could go work for him if i decided to stay in NZ.. sweet. That day ali asked me to draw a tattoo for him... of the all blacks fern w/a symbol he made up to represent things in his life. I've been working on it.
Off to Franz Joseph... Franz Joesph and Fox are the two main glaciers in New Zealand. They are special because they grow quicker than most and are the only one's besides on in South America that is right next to a rain forest. I signed up to do a full day hike the next morning. Jaymie wasn't going so she stayed out late w/the group. Our hike was set to be six hours on the ice and two off. Oh my god what did I get myself into? It was amazing. We had great weather.. a sunny day. Denise, vicky and steve, and ben were in my group. Ben and Steve bonded quickly and were the comic relief all day... which was greatly appreciated ... it helped lay off the tension of cuts and scrapes and cliffs and falls. We took naps and then headed to the pub for happy hour. It was our last night in FJ so we decided to stay up late. When it came time to heading home (2 am ish) I headed to Vicky and steve's cabin w/ben to much on some cereal and chocolate and then headed back to my room... which was locked. I really had to use the lu.. too much beer. So I tried the cabin next to mine and two girls were asleep... i quickly used their lu and headed back to V&s's cabin laughing to myself the whole time. We chatted for another hour or so and then I thought to go to sleep. I walk in Denise says hello and I say hi ... turn on the bathroom light and could see another figure from the corner of my eye and double take. It was murray w/her. I fumbled and laughed and said.. don't worry I have a place to stay... see you in the morning. Headed back to V & S's and ben was there again because he was in the same situation. We found open cabins and fell asleep there. Oh we had a great few laughs the next day..
Next was Makarora... beautiful place w/Chalets. Oh it was lovely. J and I set out to do a walk and saw the sheep on the farm next to us. Ali bet us drinks all night that we couldn't pet them. WE did.. he lost... turns out they are pet sheep w/names and not farming sheep... poor guy. We decided only one drink to be fair. I met some really neat locals. Ang who was amazing in pool and also the chef for my amazing mash potatoes lol And two other men... one a farmer who said he could cure me of my vegetarian problem and another a pilot who does the day tours of the parks. It was a great night of karaoke and pool... I played the best game of my life.... Kiwi rules are a bit diff.. no double shots for scratching and if you scratch on the 8 ball or miss completely you're out. That night we stayed up til about 5 am just talking w/the roomies. I really love the people I've met... I don't want to split up =(
On our way out and to queenstown we stopped at puzzle world. It had a wicked maze. It took me over thirty minutes to do. ... the hardest part was finding the exit. Then there was a crooked room that just f* w/your head! I was so dizzy after that.
More to come about queenstown....
xoxox
Tags: Sightseeing
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