The time seems to have come, now I've stopped travelling round for a bit to update this and let you know what I've been doing for the past month or so...
From Hokitika we continued our journey along the beautifully rugged west coast, which madfe driving the long distnaces between settlements (often themselves little more than a tavern and gas station) much less monotonous. As driver I enforced regular pit stops for loo breaks and coffee refuelling- one of the best was at the Bushman's Cafe where they cook up all sorts of roadkill and put it in pies etc! Tomn was naturally first to the counter and we all sampled a bit of his Possum Pie- tastes unremarkably like chicken! After our gastronomic drive we arrive at Franz Joseph village, the towniship alongside its namesake glacier. After a few wranglings and huffing we decided to walk up to the terminal ice (i.e. the front of the glacier) and leave heli-hiking on it for a future occasion! Both glaciers were impressive and although Joseph is the bigger and more famous of the two, I prefered Fox as you could get close to it and it was set in a more impressive and dramatic landscape- a sheer sided valley that looked straight out of Lord of the Rings.
We then drove to Lkae Matheson where, following Lonely PLanet's instructions, we woke at 5.30am to see the sunrise over the lake and get the best view of Mount Cook and the mirror like reflection. Typically (I think Dad would say 'can you credit it?!') it was cloudy and althought the view was still beautiful, not being able to see the mountain rather dampened our enthusiasm and we sought comfort in a cooked breakfast at the Matheson Cafe! It clearly did the trick as 15mins later the clouds cleared enough for us to get a view and of course a photo of Mt. Cook- it was well worth the breakfast!
Continuing dwn and along the Haast Pass, where despite our previous experiences we were somehow unprepared for the lack of civilisation and a rather tragic meal of bread and jam for dinner. Ever since Tom has made sure he has a tin of baked beans (or 4) wherever we go- I think it effected him rather badly!
We arrived in Wankak at the perfect time to see it in its autumn colours and it was simply spectacular. The weather was beautiful and the blue sky really showed the red and gold of the leaves perfectly. It did however, make the nights rather chilly and after returning from the pub one night to find the tent stiff with ice we decided the time had come to check-into a hostel... the next morning we could be found at the nearest one, huddled round the log fire and enjoying the 180degree view from the comfort of a big couch- heaven! After a few days r 'n' r and much chelsea bun eating on my poart (seriously, if you are ever in Wanaka go to the famous bakery on the lake front!) we got a call from Pip saying he was in Queenstown and did we want to meet up? Weirdly Queenstown was next on our list and after a quick stop to see the famous trees of Arrowtown in their autumn splendour we arrived in time for a few drinks and a catch-up with Pip in the pub. Queenstown did prove to be rather expensive and considering we will probably return in the ski season, we drove on to Dunedin where we planned to get jobs and make money rather than spend it for a change! I couldn't have been luckier and the first place I e-mailed about a job were keen and somehow I managed to get work waitressing in 'Larnach Castle' on the Otago Peninsular, about 10mins out of Dunedin.
The place in beautiful, weirdly English though and is relly the overgrown folly of a rather eccentric bank manager and dodgy dealer. I work in the cafe which is in the ballroom and pretty awesome- one of my main jobs seems to be to keep the three large fireplaces stocked-up and burning all day. I take this very seriously as it can get pretty chilly otherwise! Clare and Tome were initially less lucky and what with the difficulty of finding work and Brenda failing her W.O.F (the kiwi equivalent of an M.O.T) we had a few stressful moments and a few tears. Now things are back on trakc and Clare is working in the cafe of the Otago museum and bringing home welcome treats that are leftover and Tom does whatever work the temping agency can throw at him. We are currently living in a hostel- called Hogwartz and are quite happily settled down for a bit. We have a big family room which is lovely but does remind me of staying in a hotel as a child as I have a little bed (but large enough) in the corner and Clare adn Tom sleep in a double... bit odd I know! What with us all having to work different hours it often feels like we should put a revolving door in! We do still make sure that we eat dinner as a family- talking of which it is my turn to cook and I haven't even been to the supermarket yet... better go!
Hope you are all well, great to hear from you- Nicki I'm waiting with baited breath for any news... I'm sure a name will come to you, no pressure! Try and enjoy the excuse to do nothing for a bit if you can!
Keep me posted on any news- missing everyone and can't believe I'm pretty much half way through my time away... as they say here 'crazy eh?!'
love tons
Anna
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
