Ready to leave the South Island

Well, since I last blogged where have I been? Monday we left Queenstown really early and drove to Milford Sound to do the cruise there. We had a good journey and arrived in plenty of time but unfortunately it is just a bit ticket office for the cruises so we just ate our packed lunch while we waited. Then Paul (one of the other secondees) came off an earlier cruise with his girlfriend. We each had no idea the other was going to be there and in fact seem to be going in opposite directions round the South Island. Paul is being much more adventurous than me though - and taking more time! Anyway, the cruise was really good and we saw lots of waterfalls and some very dramatic mountains. On the way back in we also saw some seals basking on the rocks and then a whole pod of bottle nose dolphins spent quite some time swimming alongside the boat and performing for us so that was a really nice bonus.

After the cruise we set off to see how far we could get towards Dunedin before time overtook us and we had to find a st0p for the night. We made it to Lumsden - a one horse town taking a day off! Still, we found a bed for the night and food and drink so what more did we need? The next morning we set off towards Dunedin, stopping at Gore for a short break en-route and getting into Dunedin at lunch time. Had a bit of a wander round and then visited the Chinese Garden. Mid afternoon we set off again planning to get to Oamaru but decided that actually it was a bit early to stop when we got there so we ended up going as far as Twizel. The weather is not too good at the moment so we have had to plan carefully when we cross over to the North Island. We had intended to cross Friday but Thursday is forecast to be good and Friday bad so we are making the crossing a day early. This has been the reason for pushing on and not stopping anywhere very long. Anyway, today we set off from Twizel to a fair morning although there was low cloud blocking the view of Mount Cook and the other snow covered mountains. However, once we had passed Lake Tekapo, where we stopped for breakfast, it started to rain and didn't stop all day. We made it to Kaikoura though where we have stopped for the night. Two hours up to the ferry at Picton tomorrow morning and then we cross to Wellington. Forecast is good so hopefully a nice drive and a good crossing. Will keep you all posted. sorry there are no photos - haven't been able to upload any yet.