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Chris and Charly Down Under

a travel blog by chrischarly

Bye bye tuk tuks
Bye bye negotiating
Bye bye, 'Hello Mister'
Bye bye long bus rides
Bye bye heavy backpacks
Bye bye savings...
And G'DAY 'down under'!

After plenty of time spent in South East Asia, we have just left Australia after having an amazing time driving around for almost 3 months in a camper and are now in New Zealand doing the same :)


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Ice hockey

Dunedin, New Zealand


Too expensive, what a rip-off!
Such rubbish weather again today. Definitely does not feel like Summer at all. We left Kaka Point this morning and went to Dunedin. We found out that Aston was playing his final game of Ice Hockey in an international tournament, so we decided we would go see him, neither of us having seen Ice Hockey before. Before that we drove out from Dunedin to the Otago Penninsula to see the Albatross, however the weather was so bad we couldn’t justify the $40 pp charge, so drove back and found a campsite near to the Ice Hockey venue.


Before the game

New Zealand team


The game

Ice hockey game


The end of the game
We made it to the Ice Hockey and met up with Tony, Astons father, and continued to ask lots of questions about the game, before watching NZ U21’s, with Aston in goal, beat Turkey 16-1. It was great fun and good to see Aston play. It was late when it finished so we grabbed a pizza and headed back to camp.


permalink written by  chrischarly on January 22, 2012 from Dunedin, New Zealand
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Moeraki Boulders

Kakanui, New Zealand


Chris admiring the view of 'Shag Point'
Woke up to slightly better weather, so we did a few chores around Dunedin before heading North. We called Ron and Mel, friends we had met camping in Fiordland, and arranged to go and stay with them on Tuesday. They also told us a good donation campsite to stop at enroute. We made our way to a nice stop on the coast for lunch, and then onwards to see the Moeraki Boulders, which are boulders that started off as small pebbles or shells I think millions of years ago.


Driftwood

I’m sure there is much so more to it than that though, so sorry for the rubbish explanation.


Moeraki Boulders

A cracked-open boulder


Moeraki Boulders

Moeraki Boulders

They were nice to see, but the tide was a little high and the sky a pretty grey, so not perfect.


Moeraki Boulders

We then moved on to a nice campsite on a Cliff overlooking the beach and had a yummy dinner before retiring to a really nice starry night.

permalink written by  chrischarly on January 23, 2012 from Kakanui, New Zealand
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Seeing Ron, Mel and Max again

Kurow, New Zealand

After breakfast we drove to Oamaru and then took the highway up to a tiny village, Kurow to meet up again with Ron, Mel and Max after spending time with them last week. Kurow is right in the heart of the south Island deep in the countryside and it is simply beautiful. We were really happy to see them all again and had a great day catching up and spent the evening in the hot tub laughing at Chris and Ron’s antics after a few too many martinis.

permalink written by  chrischarly on January 24, 2012 from Kurow, New Zealand
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To Oamaru

Oamaru, New Zealand


Ron and Max
We took a drive to Oamaru today which is Ron and Melissa’s closest town to get their shopping a good hour and a bit away. Chris and I took a nice walk around the town whilst they went about their jobs for the day. We first went to the visitor centre where we watched a video on the history of the town and early settlement there before walking round having a look and the old buildings for ourselves and the wide streets. Then after a few hours we headed back to Kurow and chilled for the evening whilst Chris and Ron went hunting and fishing.

permalink written by  chrischarly on January 25, 2012 from Oamaru, New Zealand
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An awesome but knackering walk

Kurow, New Zealand


Mel and me far behind

The walk we went on
Today we all went on a walk to the Benmore Peninsula Track. It took about an 1 ½ hours and to say it was easy would be a lie!


Amazing view after our hard walk

Ron and Max


Nice views

View on our walk

Nevertheless it was a fantastic walk with amazing views but it is safe to say we were exhausted afterwards!


Tired after our walk
But the hot tub was a nice reward after dinner to soak the tired muscles! But it was so freezing outside that is was so difficult to get out, so I wasn’t surprised to see snow-covered mountains the next morning.

permalink written by  chrischarly on January 26, 2012 from Kurow, New Zealand
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Another day in Kurow

Kurow, New Zealand


Ron and Max
After planning to leave Ron and Mel’s today, we finally succumbed and stayed with the promise of Chris’ cooking and another day for me to play with little Max, something pretty difficult to resist!

permalink written by  chrischarly on January 27, 2012 from Kurow, New Zealand
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Last time in Queenstown, for real this time

Wanaka, New Zealand


Viewpoint

The back country

We finally left Ron and Mel’s House today to continue exploring the south Island. It was hard to leave as we have had such an amazing time here! So after sad goodbyes we headed back to Queenstown and this time for the final time to pick up and drop off a couple of things at Justine’s before driving up to Wanaka to camp up.


Ignoring the sign

Mountains

Quite a lot of driving today but still nothing compared to our trips in Australia and we stayed in the same campsite as before when here, Kidds Bush as it was the best option. So after finding a nice spot Chris and I went for a long walk broken up by some unsuccessful fishing before calling it a night at 10pm.

permalink written by  chrischarly on January 28, 2012 from Wanaka, New Zealand
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Fiordland Crested Penguins!

Jackson's Bay, New Zealand


Nice scenery

The lovely beach

Woke up with the sun blasting through our windows so we were lucky to be blessed with a great day to hit the west coast. So after leaving Wanaka we drove to Haast and then south a little to Jackson’s Bay where we went to Cray Pot Café which is a cross between a rail carriage and a barge which is famous for its fish and chips.


Fiordland Crested Penguins

Chris enjoying his Fish 'n' Chips

So of course we had to give that a try before going for a lovely walk in a coastal Forest. This area used to be home to many Fiordland Crested Penguins but according to the visior centre in Hasst they know longer call this place home.


Cray Pot Cafe
But they were fortunately wrong as one took Chris and I completely by Surprise by running out straight in front of us just in time for a quick picture before it jumped straight back into its nest. Amazing. We were so close to it and as mentioned before, the main visitor centre was clueless about their presence here! So we were of course very happy and after our walk started to make our way back to Hasst to find somewhere to camp for the night as hidden as possible from sandflies and where Chris could go fishing.



permalink written by  chrischarly on January 29, 2012 from Jackson's Bay, New Zealand
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Monro Beach and a vicious eel

Haast, New Zealand


Coastline

Beach

After leaving the campsite we headed to Monro Beach to try and see more penguins. After a nice walk to the beach, we sat back and waited in the lovely sunshine. Unfortunately no penguins appeared but it was a nice walk and we did get the chance to see an Albatross.


A big seagull

The sea


Chris
After this we had a lovely drive down the coast road before camping in Lake Paringa. Chris went for an ing, then he went for a swim. After taking an age for him to get in the cold water he swam out a way then back, before feeling something Brush against his toes, thinking it was a submerged branch he turned to see a massive eel chasing him, and probably trying to eat his inviting toes. To say he exited the water quickly is an understatement!

permalink written by  chrischarly on January 30, 2012 from Haast, New Zealand
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Fox Glacier...

Fox Glacier, New Zealand


Nice view

Chris and I

We drove to Fox Glacier in the rain and gloom, and went for a coffee and to get some info, hoping the weather would clear. It didn’t and we found that the access to the Glacier was limited due to a car size rock falling onto the main access road. We decided to go for a walk on the other access road to try and see the bottom of the Glacier.


River

Chris hugging a cardboard man

We got to the point where the road was closed and a taxi (who was allowed to go on) gave us a lift to the Glacier terminus (face).


River at the bottom of the glacier

Glacier


Stood near Fox Glacier

Fox Glacier


Me looking at Fox Glacier
We had a nice walk and then he gave us lift back to our car, and didn’t ask for any money, strange! We drove to Franz Josef and checked into a paid campsite hoping the weather would clear and we could go on a guided walk the next day. The camp didn’t have a kitchen but did have a yummy Indian next door.

permalink written by  chrischarly on January 31, 2012 from Fox Glacier, New Zealand
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