Chapter 6 - New Zealand Part 2

So i disembarked the ferry at Picton, happy and thoroughly stuffed on free fish and chips. For me, the North Island had been great, but i travelled through the bulk of it in about a week, and lots of people i met told me that the South Island was better and more beautiful, so i was anxious to get down and find out what it was all about. One thing that you notice straight away is that the scenery is so much more dramatic. High cliff faces and steep mountains make it hard to travel over this country quickly, because iof the roads windy nature. Which is never a bad thing, as i cant explain how much there is to see, its quite amazing.
So i got on the bus early evening and it was a short nap and then i turned up in Nelson. The hostel here was great, free soup at night, free breakfast in the morning, brilliant. Anyway i was quite ill for a couple of days, and even though the sun was shining i was still feeling a bit under the weather. But whatever, i decided to take a trip into the Abel Tasman national park
W
hich was beautiful. Not what i expected from New Zealand, clear yellow sand beaches and perfect blue water, it looked more mederterrainian (?) than anything else. Some thing that does deserve a mention though is the girl who i walked through the park with. One of the thousands of Germans that i have met. She kept saying stuff like, some people say they cant even tell that i am German because my english is so good. "Do you think i sound German?" I had to hold back, because clearly this girl was deluded and had either been speaking to people from the most remote reaches of south america, or she was just being humoured because there was no mistaking where she was from. I mean she said ja and had a really distinctive tone in her voice. So i just said. "well its quite easy for me to tell to be honest....but maybe thats because i am english". Anywhay, she was a character. Fresh from my Germanic encounters i moved down the coast, through on one of the most spectacular drives i have ever been on in my life, which i am sure i will remember for a long time. We drove through a huge channel called the Buller gorge. It had huge mountains on each side and a massive river running through the middle, i cant describe it, but the bus was running just above the river and you got the full view of this truley massive place, i mean, the thing was huge. So when we came out the other side and travelled through a few forgetable towns we reached my destination. A hostel in a place called Punakaiki which is known for its incredible pancake rocks. Literally, a bunch of rocks with lines running down then. Spectacular nonetheless. Also an incrediblly beautiful place. Granted there wasnt much to do there. It was the day beforte my birthday though, and i decided that i didnt want to travel on my birthday so i stayed for 2 nights. The Hostel owner was fucking classic though. He was also a German aswell. He had a little round face and chubby cheeks, round glasses squashed into his nose yet his clothes were the best. He wore chequed button up shirts and trousers that swung around his sock and sandal clad ankles. His voice was brilliant aswell. And one morning, he came into the kitchen, with his German accent and just sung...."wonderful, wonderful, wonderful" quite loudly. I acted like this was normal and made my way quickly to my next destination. Oh by the way on my birthday i spent the evening in a hot spa with a cold beer and a few british girls, which was nice.
So i hitched a ride (well me and this canadian girl who i had met 1 and a half minutes before, and the driver wouldnt believe us when we said we werent a couple. I had heard reports about Greymouth, the place that this guy was taking us (at warp speed by the way, he was driving like a frikkin loon) but i just needed to be in and out, buy a few supplies and that was it. So i did this, and started to walk around the town, realised it was a shithole and tried to hitch out, but even the people leaving the shit town didnt have any sympathy for those stuck there. Like they thought you could catch something from its crapness. Anyway, i didnt get a ride so i got the bus. Moved further down the coast to the Franz Josef Glacier town. Which was literally what it says. Absolutely beautiful, but just that.

Stayed a couple of nights and moved half an hour down the road to the next Glacier town, where i did a bit of walking and exploring the beautiful area. I walked down to a lake, famous for the reflection it gives of the mountains behind. Unfortunately it was a bit mistyu up there on that day, but the photo is still pretty cool.

Anyway i stayed one night and then caught the bus down to Wanaka, a relatively up and coming town, just an hour and a half outside Queens town, New Zealands adventure capiutal. Now Wanaka is a town right on a stunning lake, with amazing views of the mountains behind it, its chilly but the sun was beating down, like in any good mountain town. What is hard for me here though is that in about 3 weeks the snow will come. Everyone is waiting for it, the hostels are full of snowboarders and skiers, sales are on at snowboard gear shops, and you can feel the anticipation all around the town. They have some pretty good peaks here and i for one would love to be here for the season. Yet i would also like to warm up in Australia. Anyway, enough of that. I then moved to my target destination of the trip. The place i will be doing my bungee jump. In fact i will be going to book that in about ten minutes. I am going to do the Nevis. An 134m jump that is the largest bungee in all of Newzealand, all of Australasia in fact. I keep hearing people come back and say how scary it is. Truth is, i cant wait. It is an 8 second freefall, imagine that. Anyway i am in Queenstown at the moment and am having the same problem with trying to stop myself buy a snowboard. I will be here until wednesday. Take care and stay safe everyone(if anyone is reading)