New Zealand 2005

In April 2005 I decided to take a trip to New Zealand to meet a friend who was on a trip round the world. The flight took 25 hours, I left on the monday and didn't arrive until the wednesday morning !! Somehow the jet lag didnt seem to affect me and i was raring to go after a quick sleep.

Christchurch was our base at the start and we thought it would be a good idea to go and see "Alone it Stands" the rugby play about Munster beating the All blacks in the 70's. It was very funny to see it from a Kiwi perspective and to see what jokes they laughed at. A great introduction to the rugby mad country !

New Zealand Holiday 2005

We soon travelled west through Arthurs Pass to Hokitika on the west coast and from there went south to the Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers. Tom and I went up in a helicopter to see them up close. It was a beautiful morning and we were lucky enough to have views over Mt Cook and Mt Tasmen as well.

Next stop was the picturesque little town of Wanaka on the lake of the same name. By this stage I was feeling brave, and as it was a beautiful day I decided to go for a skydive. We booked it at midday and within an hour or so we were in the plane on our way up to 12,000ft. The views from up there were incredible and thankfully I have got lots of pictures and a video of the whole thing.

Next thing I knew the door was opened and I got the ok from my jumpmaster Grant, and then we were out. We plummeted 45 seconds through the air before he pulled the ripcord at 5,000ft. From there on we just looked all around at the stunning scenery before landing back at the airfield. Next time I will go to 15,000ft !!

Queenstown was the next place I went. We found a lovely little backpackers on the hill above the city with magnificant vies of the lake below. Tom and Rob did a bungee jump off Karawu bridge- and it was good just to watch what was going on as my sister said it was!

The next day I went on a Lord of the Rings Tour with some people who were great for a chat. It was good enough for the first half an hour but I thought they were going to take us deeper into the story it turned out not to be. Next day I went up on a Gondola to see the panoramic view of Queenstown from on high. As luck would have it again it was a beautiful day.

From Queenstown we headed south west to Te Anwa, the gateway to the Milford Track. We drove up the picturesque Milford Road, went through the Homer tunnel and emerged the othe side to the stunning views of Milford Sound. A few minutes later we hopped on a day cruise and travelled up the fjiord to the Tasmen sea. Everywhere you looked there was something new to see and we were treated on the way back with dolphins and seals swimming by the boat.

The next day we decided to go on another cruise, this time an overnight one to Doubtfull sound. While is was not as spectacular as Milford, it was great to spend the night on a cruise boat, and we got to go on excursions on smaller boats and kayaks to explore the area a bit more.

When we got back we travelled further south along the scenic highway to Invercargil. Not great place itself, we took it easy and went bowling and later to the cinema to pass the time. The following morning we were off again along the south coast taking in all the scenic spots on the way, including a tough trek to the Cathedral Caves and afterwards a few waterfalls. We even reached the most southerly point in New Zealand, the furthest I have ever been from home !!