The Forgotten World

We picked up our medicals and had a brief examination, the fact that I had a slight elevation in bilirubin was nothing to be worried about the doctor assured me, and we dropped our results in the large wooden box at the immigration office a few blocks away. The day before we had looked at a few houses on our way through Ashburton and were a bit concerned by what we saw. There were only 3 bedroom places available, nothing furnished, and without exception they were all in a state of disrepair. The walls of wooden planking with flimsy doors and ill-fitting single glazed windows set the scene that was completed with threadbare carpets, grungy bathrooms and pitiful kitchens. It is a mystery why such houses are built (and the general structure is certainly representative of the region) when the weather is far from tropical, a heat pump or wood burner providing the sole heat source in a whole house. It was with trepidation we headed for a second afternoon of viewing but thankfully had seen a place on trademe (the kiwi ebay equivalent) which turned out to be a nice little 2 bed flat with small courtyard and newly fitted out, just what we had been after and sure enough we snapped it up. That little job done, we set off for Queenstown with the plan being to hook up with the boys again for some white water rafting. The clouds hung low and gray as we passed through McKenzie country until we drew close to Lake Tekapo where the sun illuminated this ridiculously blue body of water. As ever we found a spectacular place to pull up by the water and settled in for the night glass of wine in hand. The next day we arrived in town after completing a more boring 4 hour stint and were greeted by a spectacular lake fronted with the aptly named Remarkable mountain range. Phil and Tim had a contact and despite none of us having ever met her, Jill put us up in her flat for the next couple of nights, showing us the drinking establishments in the process. We had booked to raft the Shotover river on our only full day in town and after a minibus ride reminiscent of Nepal, we arrived at the put in point dressed in thick wetsuits and yellow helmets. One safety briefing later and our raft of 6, led by a Greg, a Kiwi who smelled rather strongly of the previous nights intake, set off down river. None of us knew quite what to expect but while fun and a great way to see the narrow gorge, the rapids proved a bit tame and few and far between. Back on dry land Tim set off for his bungee jump, the infamous Nevis, while the rest of us kept our adrenaline levels raised with a round of frisbee golf!

The following day, morning having been written off to a hangover, the final van convoy took us to Arrowtown and shockingly enough our first proper NZ pie. Our bellies satisfied, Amy and I then parted company from the boys and made our way into the Fiordland national Park, spending the night hiding from the sandflies on the banks on Lake Manapouri. We had um-ed and err-ed about which of the Sounds to visit and how to see them and in the end plumped for a 3 day, 2 night trip in Doubtful Sound to kick things off. We left Manapouri, cruising across its lake and arrived at the hydroelectric power station at its west arm. After a quick tour of this underground station, something out of a James bond set, a bus took us over to Deep Cove on a completely isolated road where we dumped our bags at the hostel before heading onto the cruise boat for a 3 hour journey around the entire sound. We had heard Doubtfull was not as instantly impressive as Milford but the scale was still immense and the sense of isolation complete, after all, unless you sail your own boat here the trip we were on was pretty much the only way to visit and the hostel the only accommodation on land. the sky was a rich blue, the tree clad slopes bright green and the commentary from the nature guide actually very interesting. Having reached the group of rocks guarding the entrance to the Tasman sea, a colony of seals basking on the exposed rocky platforms, we turned round and 3 hours after leaving arrived back at Deep Cove. The hostel is set up as an education centre for school children and generally sees few visitors. We brought the total up to 5 including the warden who used to shoot deer from helicopters (part of the national culling strategy)! Large signs warned to keep doors closed to prevent the native Kia (the only breed of alpine parrot) from destroying the place, and screens made sure that we were not bothered by the pesky sandfly. After an early night we were up early to climb the slope above us. We had not expected an easy walk but the "path" turned out to be little more than a line of orange markers following a seemingly untrodden line up a ridiculously steep slope covered in dense, moss covered undergrowth. We ended up needing to use our hands and arms just as much as our feet and legs! The view at the top was more than worth the effort and a better spot for a much needed lunch you could not find. The sound extended out in front of us while the peaks soared up past our level topped with fluffy clouds in a blue sky. There was no sign of any human influence and you could be forgiven for thinking of this as some kind of primeval land as yet undiscovered. Just as we started to pack up, a group of 5 Kia raucously announced their arrival and looked on inquisitively as we made our slippery descent. Needless to say, neither of us could walk properly the next day (or the one after that), our legs reminding us that they were somewhat out of practice.

It did not matter too much however as, after returning to civilisation and stopping in Te Anau for some deservedly recommended pies, we slowly made our way toward Milford for a 3 hour nature cruise booked the next day. This drive is described as a destination in itself and we could not have agreed more. The sun continued to shine, amazing for what is touted as one of the wettest places on earth, and the mountains slowly crept up on us as the farmland diminished giving way to lush flood plains and narrow valleys. Moving deeper, we wound our way over glacial streams, past fields of wild-flowers, along side towering cliffs and among parked up for the night with one of the best views yet. There is always a down side and in this case the sandflies again came out in force, confining us to the van which we hot-boxed with repellent coils. It was worth braving the bugs for a few photos and I escaped with only a few incredibly itchy bites around the ankles! The cruise was all we had expected, Milford Sound is narrower and the land steeper making your insignificance obvious and is in no way detracted by the number of boats on the water. In fact, the other boats actually allowed you to get a better impression of scale as they were dwarfed by the surrounding peaks, Mitre Peak towering above them all. We were in no rush and so once back on dry land, our legs having eased enough to allow less painful walking, we trekked up to Lake Marian, its crystal clear waters surrounded by a bowl of shear cliff faces. After another night spent hiding from our evil biting nemesis we walked up to Key Summit though unfortunately the views were obscured by the cloud which was flowing along the valley and over the summit. This quickly cleared as we slowly made our way across the green farmland to Queenstown where we filled up on fish and chips before stopping just short of Glenorchy. We were then onto our final day before the trip back to Ashburton and made the most of it by testing the vans ability to ford streams and walk up to an old mining works. We had to retrace our steps towards Tekapo, by far the most direct route, but did take the opportunity to explore some of the unsealed roads to add a bit of variation. Stopping for lunch in Twizel allowed us to make some calls and send a fax through to immigration regarding our still-to-be-received working holiday visas and by Friday night of January 29th we were camped out on the beach just east of Ashburton ready to move into our flat the following morning and so commence the return to domestication.

There and Back Again

We could have been forgiven for thinking that we were still in the northern hemisphere in the depths of winter as opposed to the Caterbury plains at the height of summer. Our first planned excursion was a 2 day hike around Mt Somers but the weather thought it would be a better idea to tip it down and confine us to the comfort of the van. That Sunday we headed to the small independent cinema in Geraldine and, having collapsed in the sofas reserved for us at the front, rather shamefully managed to really enjoy the flick Julie & Juliet. A break in the weather allowed for a short stroll in Peel Forest, visiting the not so large but signposted "Big Tree" before Amy and I left the boys to get to Ashburton for a job interview. We arrived on time but looking like complete hillbillies in our travel clothes, myself with a spectacularly awful beard to complement our attire. Things did not start off well as the minute we set foot in the door we both turned to each other saying it was the last place we would want to work, the big pet shop out front emphasising the fact that this was part of a large group of practices. Things did not fare much better once we were sat down with the opening statement being that they were looking for people who could commit for at least 3 years, us replying that we were here for just one. The slick corporate interview we had expected never materialised and instead we just took part in the good old chat that seems to be the norm for veterinary recruitment. 30 minutes later and having met some of the other staff we were offered the jobs, Amy in a 100% large position and myself the opposite just involved with the smallies. With a 1 in 7 rota, good salary and close to the hills/ski slopes it was too good an offer to miss and so we found ourselves as members of Vetlife Ashburton by the time it came to catching up with the boys in Omaru. Our wildlife luck started well immediately when we stopped on the cliffs overlooking a yellow eyed penguin colony, apparently one of the rarest penguin species, spotting 4 waddling out of the surf. Further along the coast Phil and I braved the gale to go surfing, my first since Morocco over a year earlier, the highlight of the session being the massive seal we saw as we walked back to the van. the morning surf was more of a success with the 6' board that came with the van being better than expected! It was then onto Dunedin vie the world famous Moriaki Boulders (which I had never heard of). these spheres buried in the sand were much smaller than expected and not that interesting though Tim did his best to entertain us by stumbling in the waves, tripping and losing his phone from his unzipped pocket. The rain continued as we entered Dunedin, perhaps appropriate for the "Edinburgh" of this isle, but we found a good campsite by the beautiful St Kilda beach and caught the bus into town for a few cold ones.

At this point the sun came up and our wildlife luck continued as we headed to the Catlins coast, an isolated stretch of rugged coastline, empty beaches and animals galore. Stopping by Nugget point we had a quick surf in the noticeably colder water before wondering to the lighthouse where we sat and watched the seals bask on the sun-baked rocks and cool off in the waves. A side track then took us to Cannibal Bay where my highlight of this stretch occurred. A walk along the beach in the evening sun, gulls swooping on the currents overhead, was pleasant enough but then a sea lion emerged from the surf, lifted its enormous frame upright on its front flippers and crossed the beach into the dunes. Until you are faced with one the scale of the beast is unimaginable and it is then you find them truly worthy of their name. For the next couple of days we dawdled along the coastline, visiting waterfalls, beaches, headlands (including the southern-most point) and ended up at Porpoise Bay where, just as we thought luck had left us, a hector dolphin performed a full flip right in front of us before being joined by three friends. At this point Amy and I had to head back to Christchurch to collect our medical results and submit them to immigration, but not before a midway break in Timaru for a surf at Jacks Point. A kelp strewn reef break will take a bit of getting used to but should be fine so long as I don't break a fin at every visit, unlike the first (start as you mean to go on and all that).

Behind with Photos (and text)

For those who have been wondering, nothing has happened to us or my camera! We are in New Zealand, sorting visa and vet registration jobs while trying to see as much of the south island before starting work in February. We have both found jobs in the same practice in Ashburton, Amy doing 100%large and I have turned to the dark side by embracing a 100% small animal job. Both with a cushy 1 in 8 rota. House hunting continues today and then we head to the fiordlands. Once we settle I will sort through all the pics and fill in the gaps (including China)...its going to be a big job!

Country No. Six

...Unfortunately the flight to new Zealand stared off a little more stressful than simply having to decide what coffee we wanted in the departure lounge. Arriving at check-in we answered that no, we did not have an onward flight from NZ but instead had proof of our ability to fund ourselves. WRONG! Instead of reading "and" we had seen "or" on the immigration website and after a check with NZ customs the airline said we could not board the flight without a ticket. They did give us one concession though, we had to buy ticket online in the remaining 20 minutes check-in was open! A quick trawl of the net brought up a cheep single to Sidney which we snapped up, planning on canceling once we landed. Thankfully we were let through and just about made it to our seats clutching sticky cakes we had used our final Baht to acquire. the 3 hour stop over in Singapore was much quieter and we managed to uphold our airport fast food tradition by splurging on a Burger King. At around 10am on the last day of the year we landed in Christchurch and having sped through the infamous Kiwi customs were picked up by Kirsten and taken to the plush suburb of Cashmere up on the Port Hills. This was to be our base for the next week with a significant list of jobs that needed doing so that we could stay and work for the next year. First however, and far more importantly, we hit the town for New Years Eve! with the next 4 days being bank holidays there was plenty of recover time and Kirsten was an amazing host, ferrying us around town to see the sights and drink coffee with her friends. Tuesday came and the first thing was to get some wheels, settling on a camper, the iconic way to travel this neck of the woods. It was kitted out amazingly well and for the next month our catchphrase would become "it came with the van". It also evoked serious van envy from Tim and Phil who drove down to see us later in the week. By that time we had opened accounts, notarised documents (for free and done at 8pm on a Friday night - not in the UK), been bled and x-rayed, seen the tax man; in other words ticked all the boxes. We had felt at home from arrival and the week just highlighted further how helpful and friendly people were. A day trip in the van to Akaroa had been successful, though one tyre valve blew which made sure we knew how to free the spare using the Japanese handbook, and with that we hit the road in a 2 van convoy heading south.