Taking the winding road out of Akaroa we were soon into the countryside again. We were heading for Arthur's Pass, a road that weaves over the spine of NZ's mountain range and its assoicated ski fields. Blessed again with ludicrous views and perfect weather I have a further opportunity to alert you to how stunning NZ scenery is.
We eventually arrived in Pukekura, an odd place, which consisted of a pub, a giftshop and a few spaces for out-of-their-depth-and-frankly-a-bit-nervous campervan enthusiasts. Pukekura and its inhabitants (population 5) have a pathological dislike for possums. Introduced from Australia these critters are a real menace to NZ. The Department of Conservation can't control them and the tireless battle to eliminate them has been picked up by this village. Most dishes contain possum roadkill as their principle ingredient (drivers aim their cars in their direction so the roads are littered with their corpses) and I even noticed a sign that read "Possums: Chickens of the Forest".
Chloe was pretty unsettled here - and I don't blame her. Puke bore all the hallmarks of insanity that remote places seem to promote. I could't help but be reminded of a B&B I stayed at in John O'Groats that had similar characteristics of madness. The sun was barely up the following morning by the time we blazed a trail out of Pukekura (blazing a trail perhaps a little generous to the Campervan). We moved onto the Glaciers.
En route to the Franz and Fox Glaciers I picked at the remnants of my A-Level Geography glacier knowledge in a bid to impress Chloe. By now the campervan had become our own remote destination to go mad in typified by brain numbing glacial statistics from me. Another incident involved the two of us belting out a word perfect rendition of Always by Bon Jovi - an inclusion in this blog that I'm sure I will live to regret.
At the Franz Josef glacier there was loads of info on glaciers and although she never said anthing I think Chloe was impressed with the overlap in my glacier stats and the info placard...
The glacier was good to see, another example of the diversity of this country, but we didn't have the inclination to hike it or the money to take a helicopter over it so we moved onto Fox glacier where a road closure prevented us from getting up close and personal.
As we made our way to Wanaka more outrageous scenery ensued and at the end of our journey the town itself was beautifully set against a lake. In our one night there we found time to feed some ducks and I introduced Chloe to skimming stones - this crucial rite of passage somehow escaping her until this very moment.
Next stop - Queenstown.
