Nothing until Chile

Another one of those weird, unsettling moments.

We stood here and watched the albatrosses fly around us.

I had strange images of Captain Ahab and the Old Marinere dancing around in my head, confused memories from the good old days - shit, I'm getting old! - ten years ago almost.

From this point, Pacific Ocean and not a single scrap of land all the way to Chile. That's a long way to go and a hell of a lot of ocean.

Otago Peninsula

I zig-zagged my way down the South Island from Nelson to Dunedin in a day and a half. That's a lot of sitting still and daydreaming. So I dumped my stuff at the hostel and headed straight out to the Otago Peninsula.

Breathtaking.

I decided that I'd rent a bike the following day and cycle my way around the Peninsula with my camera, in my own time. That didn't happen. The weather turned overnight and the next day it just pissed down all day long. So I explored Dunedin instead, ate carrot cake and bought myself a Comme des Garçons pouch*.

*In my defence, after over 3 weeks of bouncing around NZ wearing the same old jeans and trainers, I felt like I was turning into a smelly scruffy backpacker and, well, old habits die hard. And when it comes to shopping, NZ is rather limited (I'm being kind). Unless them merino wool outdoorsy gear stuffs are your thing.

And I couldn't locate any All-Blacks available for purchase, unfortunately - that would have done nicely too (all I got was a crummy T-shirt).

But I digress. Back to the point: Otago is a must.

 

Another thought (fear not)

New Zealand's south island is larger than England.

Human population = 1 million. Sheep population = 36 million.

You do the maths. Hint: it's peaceful.

Alpine railway crossing

From Greymouth, I caught the train all the way across the South island to Christchurch, via Arthur's Pass.

Four hours, countless changes of scenery - from lush green hills to arid valleys, to snow-capped mountains (Arthur's Pass was quite something) and through to the Canterbury plains.

Quite a memorable ride. Relaxing, restoring and an altogether pleasant way to spend an afternoon.

I arrived at Christchurch in the evening, did not enjoy spending the night there in the rather creepy hostel (so creepy)*, and left first thing in the morning for Dunedin.

*Here's a tip for ya. Some things shouldn't be left to the last minute. Hostel booking is one of them. Try and plan things one or two days ahead**, it makes life a lot easier - not to mention your nights more comfortable.

**Not that I've ever taken my own advice. Ever. But let's not open that particular can of worms right now.

Pancake Rocks

Yeah, rocks. Pancake-shaped rocks. Big woop.

The view, however...

Somewhere along the western coast

Was this Hokitika? I can't remember.

The last stretch of the bus ride from Nelson to Greymouth was along this coastline. This is the only half decent pic I managed to take. The sun was too bright, the road too bendy and kiwis are crazy, crazy fast drivers. So this is all I got.

Again, if you ever go to NZ, rent your own car!

From Nelson to Greymouth

The plan was to do the standard loop of the south island - down the western coast all the way to the tip, then up the eastern coast to Christchurch. But I was running out of time, and choices had to be made. I decided to skip the glaciers and to cut across the island to Christchurch, via the transalpine railway, and then do a smaller loop south via Dunedin, Fiordlands, Queenstown and Lake Tekapo. No regrets whatsoever.

So from Nelson, I took an outrageously early bus to get to Greymouth on time to catch the train across. More on that next time.

Maybe I haven't emphasised enough how e v e r y single view is breathtaking in the south island - as always, the scenery we went through was glorious, ever-changing and - shit, I'm running out of ways to say New Zealand's pretty! Anyway, you get the gist. Shame the bus doesn't stop often, so you only get to snap pictures from the moving bus with your phone. Then your phone runs out of battery and you just sit back, relax and enjoy the ride.

Fern

Abel Tasman

We did the Abel Tasman national park by kayak. I got to share with an English guy who was very eager, so I quite enjoyed the ride and my arms didn't hurt too much the following day. Such is life.

I wish I'd had more time to spend in the northern tip of the south island. Between Malborough Sounds and Abel Tasman, it was all lush green hills gently rolling into the calm turquoise waters - and sunshine. Simply glorious.

Not nearly enough pictures to do it justice, but I just didn't trust myself with my camera on a kayak!