It’s time … get the passport ready!

After much backwards and forwards we are about to commence our next adventure. For those who have followed along you will have shared our experience of the North Island of New Zealand. Next Monday we head off to begin exploring the South Island.

You may wonder why we didn’t just do both islands at once. And of course that would be what most normal people do, but we are not normal! We have reasons for doing them separately. First, we wanted to enjoy each island for what it had to offer. We also didn’t want to be away from home for a super long time. And finally, we have a hike that we want to do and it is only offered a couple of times a year.

So, come Monday morning, we head off to the airport for a three week trip. We fly in to Christchurch and spend 5 days exploring on our own before joining our 7 day hike in Queenstown. Our hike takes us to the top of Ben Lomond, to Stewart Island, Milford Sound, the Routeburn Track, and the Hollyford Track. We then end up back in Queenstown to continue our own adventures along the west coast as we make our way back to Christchurch.

We are excited now, having had a few hiccups along the way which we have managed to navigate.

So … get your I & J couch passport ready and come adventuring with us again. There will be planes, trains, helicopters, ferries, high speed motor boats, adventure labs, food and a gazillion photos ❤️



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day Three ... Twizel to Dunedin

Image
We had set the alarm for 6.45 am but once again beat it and were up and on the road just before 7.00 am. Our first stop for today was to drive to the Hermitage Hotel for breakfast at the base of Mt Cook. We had planned to do this when we first saw photos of the hotel restaurant which has massive glass windows providing views looking out to Mt Cook. Our drive skirted along the edge of Lake Pukaki so we had beautiful turquoise blue water with mountains rising out of the waters edge.  We arrived at the hotel to find Mt Cook shrouded in clouds. Over a delicious buffet breakfast (yes we made pigs of ourselves) the cloud slowly lifted and the snow capped peaks appeared with glorious blue sky and hints of sunlight hitting the surface. It was magical. A sight we will never forget. We passed a lavender farm on our journey  ... fields of purple 💜  Into our car we headed back towards Twizel on route to the Clay Cliffs which are just out of Omarama. The cliffs are on private land and there is an
Read more

Day Seven … Stewart Island

Image
Today we headed to Stewart Island, the southernmost part of New Zealand and the third largest island of NZ. Almost 80% of the island is set aside as the Raikura National Park. The island has a population of just over 400. We left Invercargill at 8.30 and Rich drove the bus to the township of Bluff where we then caught the inter islander ferry to the township of Oban. The ferry runs three times a day (in both directions) and covers the distance of 35 km in just on an hour.  To say crossing the Foveaux Strait was a nice leisurely trip would be a lie. You know it’s going to be rough when you board and see the heavy tarpaulin covers they place over the luggage crates to stop the water flooding them, and the sick bags already neatly placed in the seat pockets! Luckily we had our sea bands and had taken some travel sickness tablets before we boarded. The seas were rough … the strait itself is where three seas meet … the Tasman Sea, the Pacific Ocean and the Southern Ocean and is located in t
Read more

Day Eight … Exploring Stewart Island

Image
Today was our “day at leisure” on Stewart Island so it was a chance for us to explore the island a little - but it was certainly not a day of rest. 4 of the group had decided to go on a tour to Ulva Island, one was opting to do her own walks and we decided to hire some e bikes to explore the island, and in doing so complete the only Ad Lab currently in Oban. After a later start to the day, and a more leisurely breakfast where we were able to spend one on one time with one of our fellow travellers, we headed off to the bike shed to collect our bikes and helmets, be briefed on how to ride them, sign away our life absolving them of any injuries and getting a list of all the best places to travel. Whilst the island is quite large, only a very small section of it it has roads (not all sealed). Our Ad Lab was going to take us to many of the best scenic viewing spots, historic sites, churches and gardens. So after a slightly shaky start and some adjustments to seat height, we headed off. E bi
Read more