New Zealand Roadtrip - Part 1

We are now recovering from jet lag having returned to Vancouver Island following our New Zealand road trip. Our best intentions to update the blog along the way were dashed by a lack of quality internet wifi on the South Island. Now that we are home we can share some of the highlights from the last two weeks of our trip, which are in two blog posts.

After leaving Christchurch with our rental car we headed west across the Island and in the opposite direction were the competitors of the Coast to Coast race. This is where the race competitors traverse the South Island of New Zealand from Kumara Beach on the Tasman Sea to Sumner Beach on the Pacific Ocean. The competitors cycle 140 kms, run 36 km (including a 33 km mountain stage that crosses the Southern Alps) and kayak 67kms of the Waimakariri River through the Grand Canyon of New Zealand, the Waimakariri Gorge. The winners usually take ten and three quarter hours to cover the 243kms. Crazy people if you ask me, but we passed the leading guys on their bikes.

After a few hours in the car, dodging the cyclists we arrived into sunny Hokitika which had the most fantastic beach. We enjoyed our packed lunch and Sam crawled around naked chasing the local seagulls. Back in the car we reached our main destination of Franz Josef, this is where the magnificent Franz Josef Glacier is, which is widely regarded as the gem of New Zealand's West Coast. The next day we ventured out to walk some rough terrain to reach the face of the glacier, which we achieved with Sam in his stroller. We received a number of quizzical looks from other people of the trail. We followed this up the next day by visiting another glacier (Fox Glacier) which was about 23 KMs south of Franz Josef. Both glaciers provided amazing views in all directions - mother nature at her best!

From the glaciers we drove for a few hours to reach Te Anau for a nights stay and the next morning we drove to Milford Sound - a fjord in the south west of New Zealand. It has been judged the world's top travel destination in a recent international travel survey. Rudyard Kipling is quoted as calling Milford Sound as the eighth Wonder of the World. We took a boat ride out into the fjord and traveled out to the ocean, en route we experienced the amazing waterfalls, dolphins jumping out of the water and sea lions. That evening (with Sam asleep and being looked after by Nancy), I took the opportunity to visit the Te Anau Glowworm caves. After disembarking the boat, I joined a nature guide that accompanied a group of us into the caves which have been carved out by the force of the river that flows through them. The result is a twisting network of limestone passages filled with sculpted rock, whirlpools and a roaring underground waterfall. Deep inside the caves, beyond the roar of the water, we were taken by a small boat into a silent hidden grotto inhabited by thousands of glowworms. In the subterranean darkness, they produce a glittering display similar to thousand of tiny turquoise neon lights. An extraordinary light show.

New Zealand Road Trip part 2 post will appear shortly....