We left Wellington under a big raincloud, even Lisa and ex-DB Wellington native couldn't sort the weather out for us but she did give me a nice tour of the place.
Sea Kayaking
On Wednesday we jumped on the ferry and headed south to sunny Nelson and from there I dragged Eoin off to the Abel Tasman National Park for a spot of sea kayaking. I don't think his heart was really in it until the bit in the safety briefing where we were instructed on how to use our emergency flares, it all started to seem a bit more manly then. Since he was steering the thing, he also refused to answer to any other name than Captain. It was a beautiful place with stunning beaches all around, we kayaked around a couple of islands, watched birds eating the fish they caught, picnicked on the beach, swam around - great day out.
Seals
On Friday we headed further south to Westport from where we did a great cliff-top (ish, not too scary though) walk to a seal colony. They were very cute and there were loads of pups playing around. Eoin was a bit disappointed not to see any of them balancing beach balls on their noses but got over it and took over 70 photos. Oh dear! I could hardly drag him away
West Coast Scenic Drive
Friday, we hit the road and drove down the west coast. Eoin told me that he had seen it listed as one of the top ten scenic drives in the world but he still managed to read his paper and get some shut-eye en route. It was a spectacular drive - rugged coastline, rough sea, rivers, lakes, glaciers, the lot. We stopped at the Pancake Rocks - very good - then all the way to the Franz Joseph Glacier to make the most of the fab weather while it lasted. Apparently the west coast gets about 5 metres of rain a year so we're lucky not to have a cloud in the sky.
Glacier
Today, Sunday, we hit the glacier in style, arriving for our hike in a helicopter. What an amazing experience, zooming around in the helicopter and then wandering around on the glacier. Its stunning up there, like a whole new landscape made of ice with lakes, caves, rivers and waterfalls. We were guided around for a couple of hours and then back in the chopper to get home. Honestly, darling, it's the only way to travel.
Camping
The tent has now regained it's dignity with the replacement poles and is doing well. It is vastly superior to some of the other backpacker tents which look like some has sellotaped a couple of sainsbuys bags together and stuck some poles in. However, this did not stop a herd of mosquitos somehow getting in and feasting on us last night as I discovered when I massacred them this morning. We might be camping near a glacier but we are also in a rainforest.
So that is that for now, after all this, i think we're going to leave tomorrow and sit still for a couple of days..
