Takaka

I've been staying with some family friends  in Takaka. I was lucky enough that they were in Nelson the day I was coming to them so I got a lift from there which saved me the hassle! I've spent the past couple days hanging out with their eldest son (Zak) who I took mountainbiking when he came over to the UK. Naturally he mountainbiking as soon as I arrived. I fell spectacularly on the first hump and have been left with a fair amount of cuts and bruises. Despite this I still really enjoyed it. The first night we had a fire on the beach with Zak's friends and just hung about with them. The stars out here are amazing.

The next day they took me to Wainui Falls and a number of beaches along the coast. Totally amazing and such good weather! I tried skimboarding which was good fun. We travelled all around. All of Zak's friends have cars so we drove all over the place. In the evening we met up with some more of Zaks mates and went to this local community 'party' called the Backsendale Bash. It was good fun and there were some great live bands, some sounding like the Hot 8 Brass Band. The next day I played some sunday league football which was fun, although was very draining in the 30 degree heat. I scored a couple goals. In the evening we went to the Roots Bar where there was a kind of club night on. The Upbeats were playing (apparently they're a big deal in terms of New Zealand drumb and bass). It's not really my kind of music but the atmosphere was great so it turned out to be a good night.

We went bodyboarding at Fletchers Beach, a really quiet spot that you'd have no hope finding unless you were with a local. Was amazing.

We also went for a look around at Wahariki Beach.

I'm doing the abel tasman coastal walk starting tomorrow. It's one of the Great Walks.

Nelson

I hitchiked from Kaikoura to Nelson today. It's normally a 3 hour drive and I managed to hitchike there in 4 which I think is a record for me so far! I caught the first hitch in about 10 minutes from Kaikoura with a wedding florist who was driving up to Renwick for a wedding. We stopped along the way and I helped her get some cuttings from a eucalyptus tree for her to use in her arrangements (which are actually quite nice, check out rocknrosieflowers on instagram). She's from a small town just outside of Leeds and used to live in Newquay and used to work in a shop in Magwan Porth (Roo's). She even knows some of the kingsurf guys! She dropped me off in Renwick and I waited maybe 15 minutes for a hitch from a guy in a very flash mercedes e-class. He dropped me in Havelock. You could see out just a little over Pelorus Sound which is beautiful.

I waited about 5 minutes for a hitch who dropped me at Pelorus bridge. I had to wait about 30 seconds before I was picked up by 2 kiwis and a German  who were off to a downhill mountain bike race just outside of Nelson. They had some pretty amazing bikes with them and dropped me right in the town centre. Hitchiking is an awesome way to travel, you get to meet so many interesting people!

It was nice to arrive in Nelson and escape the rain. Its very sunny here unlike everywhere else I drove through today. I had a wander around, went to the botanical gardens and Christ Church Cathedral which was stunning. The sound of the wildlife here is constant and there isn't a moment where you can't hear it. I think I'll come back here for a few more nights

Admitedly in the morning it rained. But Nelson is quite good in the rain because basicslly all the pavements in the city centre are covered so it's easy to keep dry. I'm getting a lift to Takaka today from some family friends who I will be staying with. Which is cool as it saves the hassle of getting a hitch. 

Kaikoura - Seriously, don't go to the supermarket when you're hungry

It was a long drive from Tekapo and we did get lost a few times along the way but the drive was beautiful. We seem to be managing to stay just ahead of the rain but I know it will catch up to us eventually. I don't know how but I seem to have lost all my socks except my walking socks.. So naturally the first thing I did when we arrived in Kaikoura was treat myself to some more socks (I got black ones, I know you were all wondering). This hostel is amazing, one of the cheapest we've had yet and it has a swimming pool and a hot tub! I washed my clothes for the first time and had my first shower with soap for 2 weeks. So feeling pretty clean!

I went whale watching and saw 2 Sperm Whales. They are the only kind of Whale with teeth and have been known to eat sharks. They have a top speed of 40km/h and are normally around 80m long! Pretty incredible. The birds seem to really enjoy the boats and play around them. Some huge albatrosses. 

In the afternoon Yannick and I did the Peninsula Trail. There were Seals on the shore resting and you could get quite close to them. There were some gulls nests in the cliffside aswell. It's just a shame the weather wasn't better. But was still pretty cool!

Lake Tekapo - "don't go to the supermarket when you're hungry"

It was nice to escape from the wind and rain of Mount Cook. The weather in Tekapo is considerably better. It's amazing how quickly the weather can change here. Lake Tekapo is another huge glacial lake, hust take a look at the photos. Theres a tiny church called 'The Church of the Good Shepard' which looks strange all by itself on the lakeside. It's a nice little place.

On the second day Yannick and I walked up to the top of Mt John where there's an observatory with 5 telescopes. We're still in the dark sky reserve and Mt John is meant to be one of the best places to stargaze from in the Southern Hemisphere. Unfortunately we have been blessed with cloudy nights since we have been in the reserve so no decent stargazing yet.

There's one of the upright turbines from the nearby hydroelectric dam in the town also which is quite cool.

We also went for a swim in the evening, was warmer than Wanaka

We decided to take advantage of the bbqs at the campsite and made some burgers to signify the end of our time in Tekapo. 

Mount Cook

Mt Cook is the highest mountain in NZ. Still snow topped even in the middle of summer. Jasper has decided to come with us so we drove up to Mt Cook village in his car. The road goes alongside lake Pukaki which is glacial, which explains why it is so blue. It is truly beautiful. The weather has been a bit crazy. One minute it's sunny then it's raining then both. It changes so fast. The only consistency has been ridiculously strong winds. Luckily the tent has survived so far! The campsite is great you can see the glacier from the hut (there's a big room with tables and sinks that you can use for cooking etc when the weather is bad).

First day Jasper slept and Yannick and I hiked to Hooker Lake. One of the glacial lakes near the bottom of Mount Cook. The wind was so strong and the clouds meant that we couldn't see the peaks but it was still fun. We're back in glacier country now. In the evening we played cards with these 2 guys who were also staying on the campsite (German).

The first night the wind was so strong it was very hard to get a decent sleep. The wind continued through to the second day and got even worse. It was so so strong. It's because were only 50km from the west coast so I'm blaming the weather on that!

The second day we all did a hike along the Tasman Glacier, the longest glacier in New Zealand and it's very long, about 30km. It's far more impressive than the Franz Joseph or Fox Glaciers however it's a much harder hike with some really rocky terrain and thin tracks (there was no wind when we did it as it was in the next valley don't worry mum) but I'd reccomend the hike to anyone coming to NZ as there are so many less people (we saw 4) and the glacier is much more impressive. The mountains are still very much snow topped and you can hear the movement of ice from glaciers in the valley. Much if the glacier is covered in soil and small stones. So you can't appreciate the scale of the glacier until you realise this. At the bottom is a glacial lake (Lake Tasman) which is massive. Spot the boat in the picture so you get a reference point to how colossal everything is.

The hike ended at a little backcountry bunkhouse. Had Yannick mentioned this we would have brought our sleeping bags and stayed the night up here! Would have been an amazing spot to spend the night. It even has a luxourious toilet! We saw some keas aswell. Camping on the final night was just as windy with added rain. It will be good to get away from the mountains and hopefully back into the dry summer weather!

Camping - The wilderness near Twizel

Jasper decided to come with us atleast for the first lake. Which means we have a car for now atleast! So we drove along the Lindis Pass Alpine Highway to a campsite about 5km outside of Twizel. The drive was insanely beautiful. I don't even need to write about it the pictures speak for themselves. We passed a hydroelectric dam which was pretty cool. They have a lot of salmon fishing on the canals for the dams. It's hard to comprehend that 100km west of where these photos were taken is temperate rainforest.

The campsite is in the middle of nowhere. The toilet is a hole in the ground with a seat on it. It's between this small lake and one of the canals that feeds into the hydroelectric dam. You can see mountains everywhere you look in the distance. We cooked our first proper camp meal with real vegetables and everything!

We are also in the Aoraki McEnzie dark sky reserve unfortunately it was too cloudy to see any stars. But there isn't an electric light in sight!

The campsite is also free! Which is always a plus.

Wanaka

We tried splitting up to catch a hitch this time. I got a hitch within 30 minutes and they had 2 spaces so we drove down the road and picked up Yannick! They were a lovely couple from Christchurch who had come down to do a tramp (hike). We arrived in Wanaka (town this time) and the weather is great, much nicer than the West Coast. Its adjacent to the lake we camped on except just the other end (about 40km). We have an ensuite room. I think we got upgraded because this room is not normal for a backpackers.

One of the guys in our room, Jasper (German) drove past us in Fox Glacier and had space in his car.. He seems ok though but he did drive past us! 

We met up with the German girls (again) in the evening. Yannick and I went swimming but the girls changed their minds at the last minute. Was very cold but totally worth it. The water was so blue.

Afterwards we played cards and ate fish and chips which were very very good. Felt very British afterwards. Infact Yannick was suprised when I told him that I didn't eat fish and chips everyday at home! I think if you can make Germans laugh out loud you're generally winning at life

On the second day Yannick, Jasper and I hiked up Roy's Peak. It's one of the highest peaks around lke Wanaka and has an amaIng view. We climbed 1550m over 16km. It took us 4 and a half hours. Totally amazing view. It was strange to find that i had full signal at the top of the mountain. 

Went for a swim but was alot colder than the day before due to the wind. Played cards in the evening again. We don't have anywhere to stay tomorrow night. So we need to ring around in the morning. I don't really mind too much, I think I've settled into the backpacking mindset a bit more.

Camping - Lake Wanaka

Luca went North and Yannick and I went South. We spent 6 hours trying to hitchike in the rain. 2 guys stopped and said they would have picked us up but their car was totally full but just wanted to stop and wish us good luck. People travelling in the other direction who would have picked up were quite funny. We almost got a hitch from some americans but ended up pointing them in the right direction. They were fist pumping and shouting etc. Was quite demoralising.

Finally, we got a hitch from 2 Belgian girls. We're lucky they came when they did because we were just about to call it a day! They were really cool they let me connect their phone to their speaker and I was car DJ for an little bit. The best bit of the journey was when one of the girls started singing hotline bling. One of them is from Queenstown and they gave us a load of little places to go off the beaten track. One of the girls said I should go bungee jumping just because Mum told me not to do it. There headed to Queenstown and one of them is planning to do skydiving.

When we arrived at the campsite 2 guys came up to us and apologised because they came past us and couldn't pick us up as they only had 1 space. As I walked down to the lake, I was suddenly reminded of why I decided to come to New Zealand. We're camping in some woods 2 seconds from the water. This lake is Interlaken 2.0 it's so beautiful photos cannot do it justice. But I've tried anyway. I've never been to a place so quiet that all you can here is water lapping on the shore and birdsong. The only bad thing about this campsite is that sandflies are bastards.

It's nice to be off the west coast. We're now in otago county. The land is so rugged and ungulating it's like nothing I've ever seen before. Arriving here has been the perfect end to what's been quite a tough day. Slept for about 11 hours camping, one of the best nights sleep I've had since I got here.

Dad and Fred Gatley would love the driftwood here. There's tonnes of it!