10th of October, Ferry to South Island, Picton to Marahau
After almost two weeks exploring the North Island it was time to set sails (or get on a huge ferry) and conquer the South Island. This time with a new driver, nicknamed “Taxi” who we met in Picton, the port for ferries from Wellington. One of my fellow female backpackers was so mad at him for making out with another girl, she constantly complained about him and just had to get down and dirty with him to punish him – or something like that I guess… Poor guy! Rumor has it that he slept with half of the bus while on tour, but that might be and overestimation!
 New Zealand might be famous for its Kiwis, but sure they have some excellent wine too. Shortly after we arrived on the South Island we had the opportunity fro a wine tasting at one of the famous Marlborough wine making area's vineyards. A few sips later we made our way to the Able Tasman National Park, named after a dutch explorer where we stayed for the night at the campground.
11th of October, Marahau (Abel Tasman) to Barrytown
I’d say sailing around a wonderful bay is hard to describe with words, so I recommend you just take a look at the pictures. We spent about half of the day on the boat, exploring a little bite of the Tasman BAy, visiting the Split Apple Rock and going for a walk through the national park before we drove all the way to Berrytown, with a short stop at the infamous Pancake rocks.
At night we meet up with Kerry, our former Bus driver in the All Nations Hostel and most of my group decided to skip the free day in Barrytown and continue the tour with Kerry.
12th of October, Barrytown to Franz Josef
New Zealand is a dream-come-true for male backpackers, actually about 70 % of backpackers are female, somewhere between 20 and 30 – and most of them are single. I want to point a few ladies, Laura, Stefanie, Carlo, Emma and Jana, whom I spend some great days with in New Zealand and if one of you ever stumble upon those lines – thank you for a great time! As for the trip from Barrytown to Franz Josef – we stopped at a abonded gold-digger town, where I and some others discovered the area while others “enjoyed” shooting each other in a paintball-area or searched for gold in the river – probably to afford more Adrenalin thrills.
 13th of October, Franz Josef to Haast
Back in the old days, Marketing campaigns and TV-commercials where not invented and people where seeking alternative ways to advertise themselves and be remembered. The Austrian emperor “Franz Josef” like other royals in Europe at that time, had a very interesting way on making sure that his name made it into history books. He funded a guy named Julius von Haast to explore New Zealand, and when Mr. Haast found a glacier that reminded him of the beard of his King, he just named it after him.
 But beside that funny story about how the glacier got its name it is one of the most remarkable sights New Zealand has to offer. I did a ¾ day hike around the Franz Josef glacier, with sometimes scary views into dangerous crevasses. The tour was very well organized and all the equipment was provided. Me – always trying to have it “may way” hiked up the glacier wearing a yellow jacket resulting in sticking out on every image that was taken with the whole group.
After the hike we drove all the way to Haast, where I had a lovely evening by the bonfire at the beach with 80 % pure Austrian Rum (and a German girl).
 14th of October, Haast to Queenstown
The road between Haast and Queenstown was one of my favorite parts of New Zealand. The beautiful Hawea lakes with crystal clear water and high mountains right next to it created a real Middle Earth feeling. Our lunch break took place in Wanaka and I was almost tempted to stay there for a while. No wonder Shania Twain bought some property down here.
Kiwis (not the birds - the people) - tend to do crazy things like stopping at a random place, removing your bra and leaving it behind on a fence. And once a Kiwi (again - not the birds!!) - has a crazy idea there sure are some who will follow. So just a couple of miles away from Queenstown a fence can be found with hundreds and hundreds of bras - just like that. No deeper sense or anything. And thats all that I can say about "Bra Valley"!
Before we finally arrived in Queenstown we stopped at the Kawarau gorge, where some of the group started their “Thrilogy-Adventure with a bungee jump from the infamous Kawarau Bridge, where the commercial Bungee was born in 1988. I stayed right in the center of the city at a place called Discovery Loge.
My personal recommendation for hungry people that arrive in Queenstown: The Fergburger, a fast-food restaurant that serves burgers as big as – well, can’t think of anything that big! – No kidding!
15th of October, Queenstown
Queenstown, right next to the scenic Lake Wakatipu and the Remarkables is not only the place where many key-scenes of Lord of the Rings where shot, but also the adrenalin capital of New Zealand and the place to spend a little fortune for a few seconds of fun. According to Kerry “The Possum” if you don’t get laid in Queenstown, you are a fag…
Together with Emma, Carol and Amy I took the Skyline Gondola to get a better view from Queenstown and watch Emma do her second bungee – the Ledge.
One of the bars I visited at night was called “The World Bar” and served cocktails in tea-pots. I have to admit that 3 or 4 Teapots are a good way to celebrate. What can I say, there are opportunities to celebrate in New Zealand every day.
16th of October, Queenstown
The day started out slow as I hiked up the mountain that I conquered with the skyline gondola the day before. On top of the mountain I met some fellow backpackers again who where doing “the luge”, a 800 meter downhill concrete track. Unfortunately it is possible to “race” down the luge. Boys tend to be competitive, as everyone knows and one of the girls that joined the race was injured and had to stay in Queenstown for a about two weeks with a broken ankle. So if you do the luge, consider not doing a race with competitive boys!
After the hike I spent some time at a fea market in the center of Queenstown. Surprisingly, even there they accept credit cards! I also decided to attend a palm reader to get some information’s regarding my future, which was fun and interesting. Fortunately he told me that I was going to reach a high age at good health, which meant I would survive the Canyon Swing that was going to happen that very same day.
After the flea market I met up with Laura, a Danish girl and and a guy from Stockholm – somehow I always only remember girls names that I travel with – to do the Canyon swing. We were take to the Shotover canyon by bus and given the equipment and instructions to survive the 60 meter freefall.
I was placed into a full body harness and then attached onto a twin rope swinging system. I started with jumping backwards in the unknown. I had my camera attached to my hand so when I would jump it would film the whole scene. I wonder if my insurance company would have covered the loss in case it would have fallen of my hand…. But luckily it went right and I got a great sequence of my screaming and making funny faces. My second jump was called ‘Gimp Boy Goes To Hollywood', where I was put face first looking into the abyss . It was really fantastic to experience the 60 meter freefall and the 200 meter arc.
The feeling afterwards is unbelievable, its like flying and one hell of an adrenalin rush. |
