Wanaka and Queenstown

Wanaka is a really nice little town perched on a large and beautiful lake. We managed to find a great little secluded campsite just out of town and was really nice to spend a couple of days here relaxing and doing some great walks including the hike up to the Rob Roy glacier which included a fabulous 40km drive along a dirt track. We gave a lift to a spirited German lass called Frieda who joined us for the day. Jaryn and Frieda took an afternoon nap on the river beach in the afternoon sunshine after the hike...and who can blame them! Jaryn managed to get his ice cream fix at a great, er, ice creamery back in Wanaka and we also enjoyed a few beers at a pub that had a similar feeling to a Wetherspoons but with more expensive beer, better food and nicer waiting staff!

We then headed town to the much more bustling and touristy Queenstown where we got supplies and equipment for what we anticipated to be one of the highlights of our time here - the Routeburn Track...

Mount Cook National Park

The weather continues to be stunning and hot, and there was a sense of anticipation as you drive along the shores of Lake Pukaki with the snow and glacier covered Mt Cook and it's mountain companions glisten in the distance reflecting off the lake. It is a beautiful site and without doubt the next couple of days we spent here have been the highlight of the New Zealand trip so far.

The DOC have a fantastic campsite at the very head of the huge glacial valleys formed by the various glaciers around here, indeed the view out of the tent in the morning was to die for and made for some great photographs. If we find a campsite with a setting like this over the next few weeks I would be surprised!

The next couple of days were spent pottering about soaking up the scenery and fingers crossed JB and Anna are now well and truly on the mend so were able to enjoy it as well. The photographs say it all really...! Anna was also able to realise a life dream of being able to eat an ice cube formed by a glacier! A great but steep walk up towards Sealy Tarns revealed some fabulous views towards the Hooker Glacier and I hiked up a little further towards the Mueller Hut but as the day was getting on and the sun was as intense as it has been for a while decided to save myself for another day. Wearing my green camping towel on my head to shade myself from the JB thought I looked akin to a Middle East dictator, I in turn thought he reminded me of that Jack Fleming character out of the Fast Show. 

It has been a really nice couple of days here and really good to finally get out into the mountains again, and fantastic mountains they are too...hopefully lots more of this to come as we head towards Wanaka and Queenstown...

Canterbury country and onwards to Lake Pukaki

After by chance discovering Lake Clearwater which just seems to nestle there in the vast glacial plans surrounded by some decent sized mountains, I was finally able to clamber up a mountain and the others could have some more recuperation time next to the lovely lakeside. I went up 1400m Mount Guy and realised that a month of slobbing about in Asia eating Spring Rolls, curries and driving about on scooters is not great for the waistline or fitness so was definitely a bit stiffer than usual. It was also bloomin hot and the scrubby desert like landscape with small shrieking crickets, shrubs, gorse bushes and even what looked like cactus bushes made the whole experience pretty intense but very satisfying and the view from the summit was delightful. There are also a wealth of birds of prey in these parts and pretty sure have seen Buzzards, Falcons and Eagles - although it must be said my ornithological skills are a little rusty!

We pressed on later that afternoon towards Lake Tekapo. A beautiful stunning blue lake at the eastern edge of the Southern Alps. A beautiful spot for photographs and it must be said we have been blessed with the weather so far, it's sunny and HOT! JB and Anna stayed in a 70's style budget hotel and I decided to drive down the lake a bit down a dirt track and sleep up in the car and enjoy the stars. This part of New Zealand is a designated Dark Sky Reserve so the stars are reputed to be exceptional and they didn't disappoint! The next morning we had some brekkie up on the hill next to the observatory and pressed on towards Lake Pukaki, also stunningly blue and with some incredible views towards Mt Cook and the surrounding mountains - our next destination!

The journey South

After a brief stop in Rotorua to look at the thermal pools and geysers we pressed on southwards through the Tongariro National Park and along some fabulous roads through arid scrubland flanked by volcanoes (some extinct and some less so). We decided to spend the night on the shores of Lake Taupo, a beautiful spot in the crater of a volcano that decided to blow itself up at some point in the past leaving this colossal lake. It was a sunset to savour but sadly we were frantically trying to find a place to camp while the sun was setting but certainly this is a spot to come back to later hopefully.

After a meal cooked almost entirely in the dark (and not bad considering!) we got down to sleep. Seems some of us slept better than others due to various factors but I for one thought it was a pretty decent spot but perhaps the lesson learnt here was that we are now in a country where you do have to think ahead a bit, unlike Asia where you just kind of rock up somewhere and hope for the best!

The next day we took the ferry across the Cook Strait that connects the North Island to the South Island which passes through some delightful scenery in the Marlborough Sounds and we were lucky with the overhead and under hull conditions which meant the journey was very pleasant under the hot sunny skies. A fun drive along the northern flank of the island took us towards the Kenepuru Sounds. and Anna at this point were not feeling too well so decided to sleep in a local motel in Havelock, I decided to check out the DOC campsite next to the Pelorus river which was a lovely spot nestled amongst trees next to the river. Met a few locals who had a few tips. Decided the next morning to get up early and explore some of the area and found a lovely spot next to the water in Anakiwa and walked along a bit of the Queen Charlotte Track for an hour or two before picking up the others which was very pleasant.

We drove south through Blenheim and wine country (we will be back later this month!) towards Kaikoura. The scenery here is very much like home with pleasant rolling hills. Kaikoura is the whale watching capital of NZ, but sadly this is something that is well outside of our budget so we took a stroll along the beach to check out the various colonies of the delightful seals which were a lovely and fun sight and you could spend hours watching them! After nearly getting caught out by the tide and getting stuck on the beach we headed south towards Christchurch. After finding a great spot to cook dinner on the rugged beachfront near Amberley we found a decent value motel to help JB and Anna hopefully get some more sleep to beat the various illnesses they seem to have picked up. Pretty fancy the Motels around here, more like an apartment really! Tomorrow we are starting to get towards mountain country...can't wait!

The long journey to the Southern Hemisphere and hello New Zealand!

After a slightly stressful sequence of flights from Chaing Mai to Auckland (where only through strapping myself to my check in luggage and telling the airport staff in Bangkok that I will be getting on this plane even if I have to get in the hold so let me have the seat I booked) it was nice to arrive to lovely blue skies and pleasant temperatures in Auckland. After picking up the, er interesting hire car it was a straightforward journey to meet up with old friend and work colleague Maurice who lives on a small dad just outside of Auckland. Some fantastic Kiwi hospitality ensued with a great BBQ with all the family and a tour of the farm taking in a great visit to their peach orchard with some amazingly tasty peaches!

Jaryn was not arriving into NZ for a few days so the next couple days were spent exploring some of the northern parts of the North Island. Some fabulous beaches (some of them on the west coast are black due to the volcanic ash/rock that formed them) and are all vast and unspoilt (hard not to compare them with the shabby beaches we saw in Cambodia). Anna, one of Jaryn's old workmates and our travel companion for the next week came along for the journey too and we delighted in some local wine and the incredible stars. The sky is so clear in this part of the world...

Jaryn arrived the next day after a little adventure of his own and we pressed on southwards but not before getting some supplies from apparently New Zealand's largest and lowest cost superstore the Pak'N'Save! To be honest it didn't seem much bigger than the ASDA in Shipley and certainly significantly more expensive. Be warned NZ is an expensive place to visit! Stocked up and ready to go the journey begins...!

South East Asia - Epilogue

Sitting here in a fabulous coffee shop I just stumbled upon above the market, I couldn't leave the continent without mentioning the awesome hike I went on in thr mountains over the last couple of days. Great group, fantastic guide Max who was basically the Thai equivalent of Ray Mears and was constantly foraging, climbing trees and finding us jungle food to eat. He was also a dab hand with his 15 inch machete and when he was not rummaging around finding jungle food he was crafting items out of delicately sliced bamboo.

Stayed the night in a wonderful location (will post photos later!) and drank a couple too many Chang beers with the great group. Lovely group of intrepid Norwegians, a dashing and sophisticated Dutch gentleman called Robbie and a fun trio of American students who were embarking on the experience of a lifetime - happy travels Shea, Ally and Nate hope you have a great time! I won't mention the grumpy German couple but they did provide a talking point for the rest of us!

Cannot sign off without reflecting on the general fantasticness of all the people here, yes it is cliche but they truly are a delight and I will certainly miss them and their wonderful smiles...until next time at least!

Lots of airport time and flying time today, but won't be too long now and will be in New Zealand and to say I am excited would be an understatement! Bring it on! :-) Tom

Chaing Mai saves the day and farewell SE Asia!

Well it is certainly fair to say that for a variety of reasons the last leg of the trip was probably the lowlight of the trip so far (see last blog!). It had even crossed minds to throw in the towel and escape this continent completely to the safer climes of New Zealand a little early. It was going to require a special, unique and very very nice place to, ahem, 'save the day' as it were.

Well Thailand has such a place and it is called Chaing Mai...and thank Buddha we decided to push on and get up to this lovely city. Immediately as you get out of the taxi from the airport you are enveloped in a sense of calm and tranquility which has not been the norm for us now since pretty much the time we arrived in Asia (with a few notable exceptions of course which have been talked about previously). Make no mistake this is a thriving, bustling and busy city with a vibrant university community and lots of visitors from home and abroad. It is however a gentle, nicely paced and wholly peaceful place too. The temples here are fabulous, decadent and beautiful and there is a healthy monk population here which is always a nice sight in this part of the world.

After checking in at our basic but very nice Jonadda guesthouse (with a fabulously helpful proprietress) we split up a bit during the day times and make the most of this area. Jaryn went on a day hike out in the mountains which sounded good. I decided to try and improve my culinary skills and went on a Thai food cooking course in a farm somewhere about 45 min drive from the city. Really nice day and I quite impressed myself - although all efforts were under a high degree of instruction!

No big surprises on what we decided to do as today's activity...yes you guessed it we hired motorbikes again and went for a drive through the Maesa Valley which was great with a very nice Dutch couple, Arjan and Emma, that I met on the cooking course. We saw waterfalls, elephants, hilltop rice fields, temples, mountains and the highlight of the day (particularly for JB) was the pick your own strawberry farm. Very delicious they were too!

Spirits rejuvenated, tomorrow we part company for a week with Jaryn heading south and I will be going on a two day hill trek here before flying to Auckland on Sunday for the start of the next big phase of our trip...mega excited will be good to do some proper walking and burn off some of this Asian podge which comes from not really doing any proper exercise...NZ we are counting on you to be the outdoor pursuits heaven we all hear about :). 

Would like to make a quick shout out to some of the fantastic people we have met during our time in Asia all of whom have made the last few weeks very memorable, love you all - Jeff, Tony, Sha, Houng, Don, Paula, the staff at Madame Moon, Lan Ha fisherman, Trung Hoa family, Tilmann, Nils and Joche, Stephi, Hippy girl and French guy, Chien Bach, Tristan, Dani, Arline, Svenja, Anthony, Eloise, Alix, Tin Tin, Mr Hung, Natrang Tour guy, Disco Taxi driver, Vietnamese Tom Jones guy, Smiley man on the bamboo boat, super organised lady in Vinh along, Chace, the Three Norwegians, the canine Chairman Mao, the Cambodian-Aussie family, the guy from Sheffield and girl from Leeds Uni, camp airport guy, Jonadda proprietress, Arjan and Emma and all of the kids in Vietnam who waved and gave us high fives on the bikes - you are all great! Roll on New Zealand but thank you SE Asia...next blog in a week or so. :)