John's Around the World Adventure 2005/2006

From Wellington, we took the ferry over to the South Island and in turn picked up our newly adopted 'hound' rental car. Nelson, our first stop, was an interesting small town and a pretty chilled out pub scene. Following Nelson, we chose to stop on the west coast to break up our long journey south. Greymouth, a small, dismal industrial town was the venue, and if it had not been for the nice hostel we stayed in, it would have been one not to remember!!

From here, we planned our trip to the Fox Glacier, the least popular but arguably most spectacular Glacier. Our trip here certainly did not disappoint, in fact was a highlight of our trip! We chose a half day trek, put on our hiking boots and spikes, and off we went, climbing up the glacier. This was truly awe-inspiring, viewing such a huge moving chunk of ice ripping away at its surroundings.

Next was a trip to Lake Wanaka and with it a taste of real New Zealand red Cider. Fantastic, just like the scenery!

Queenstown was our furthest destination south, regrettably missing out on the highly acclaimed fjordland due to time restrictions. Queenstown is the adventure capital of New Zealand, testament to this, we had to give jetboating a try, speeding through canyons, performing 360 degree turns, and lots of water being splashed about. Partying is notoriously good in Queenstown and we had a good night on the tiles here.

We ended our wonderful adventure in NZ in what turned out to be my favourite city, Christchurch. The city had much to offer including its many lively bars. One that stood out in particular was the Holy Grail Sports Bar, so big it had a full wall sized TV screen and football terracing as the seats! The trams, river and excellent shopping options also made Christchurch a pleasant experience to end a highly positive adventure in New Zealand.