It was a rather rainy night in the tent and we were woken to the sound of helicopters above – the many glacier tours had started.
Ryan peeped outside the tent and said it was clear, fingers crossed our weather prediction for today was ok and we would be able to see the glaciers!

Breakfast was left over burritos with added eggs (breakfast essential) and once our went tent was packed up we were on our way to the Franz Josef Glacier.
Unfortunately due to the rain there had been a lot of flooding and so we could only reach a certain point before the track was closed off. It was a five minute walk until our view point and we could see that the river was flowing straight over the original walking track. The water was a strange grey colour from the mountains and full of ice boulders moving rapidly downstream. Although we weren’t up close, it was still pretty impressive and we were just pleased that there had been a break in the weather and we could actually see it! The helicopters were like shuttle buses overhead and you could imagine the glacier went on further past the eye line.

Workers were trying to open a new path but it looked as though the track wouldn’t be open for another two hours, so we ventured to Fox Glacier which was only half an hour up the road. There were signs showing where the glacier had been in the 1700’s (miles down the road) and where it had been in the 1900’s (basically in the car park) and now – there wasn’t an awful lot left, which was extremely sad, but apparently it is growing again, so who knows if it will still exist in 20 years.

We had our wet weather gear on and walked through the valley where the glacier had been, a short hike up to the main view point where we were able to get much closer than at Franz Josef. It was quite dirty from all of the rocks that had fallen on it, but it was still amazing to see. We passed a man carrying a giant stuffed penguin up to the top, which looked like a bit of a struggle. He said the poor penguin had cancer and he was there to set him free – interesting (could have chosen a smaller penguin)

We had planned on staying at the shores of Lake Wanaka tonight and as Lynne had travelled this way on the Kiwi Experience bus, she knew a few hidden gems for us to visit on the Haast pass. We moved away from the west coast weather and our first stop was ‘Thunder Creek Falls’ – A gorgeous waterfall and an almost duck egg blue flowing river, we could have sat there for a while! The next stop just around the corner was ‘The Blue Pools’ which were just as they as they are named. We walked over two swing bridges and Ryan jumped off one of them, which easily had to be 20 metre high (well maybe not)

Two men went in before him and their girly screams showed that it was rather chilly, but Ryan had committed and went for it. He didn’t hang around so it must have been cold.

The drive down to Lake Wanaka was gorgeous in itself and I’m sure distraction has caused many a car accident with views like we have seen!

Looking forward to a night by the lake we had bypassed dinner slightly and hoped there would be a shop en route. Unfortunately not but we managed to make an emergency dinner of pasta, sardines and tomato sauce, which wasn’t actually that bad with a bit of added parmesan.

Camp was set up and our bellies were full and we had amazing views of the still lake. The pebbly beach was covered in driftwood and people had made little tepees and sculptures, it was definitely one of the best spots to spend the night – you wouldn’t get this in a hotel!

We all slept well and had scrambled eggs (mixing it up a bit) on the beach. The water was still but no one dared to have a dip as it was freezing!
The drive to queenstown was only a short one and a pretty one too, we took in the scenery of more lakes and mountain ranges, imagining how it all changes in the winter when the snow comes in.

We knew Emma and Liam would be en route to Queenstown at the same time as us as they had finally been able to pick up their camper and we passed them just before we hit town. Driving in convoy we made our way to the ‘Creekside Holiday Park’ which was a short walk from town and was nice and quirky.

Quick catch up over some vino and we headed in to town for the oh so famous Fergburger. It was all we had heard about from friends and Ryan being the burger snob had to put it to the test. After a few more drinks we all decided that we were massively hungry and as Fergburger was literally next door with no queue, we went for it. I had the Bombay chicken and Ryan had something massive and beefy. Slightly drunk we all loved them and enjoyed every.single.bite, I was also in love with the fact that Dan Carter had been there. Ryan then finished the night off with an ice cream (who knows how he had room) and we walked the chilly walk back to camp and with our awesome hot water bottles went to sleep!

The next day was luge day, but before anything could happen it was custard tart time for Evie! We hadn’t had brekkie and that would definitely fill the hole, so I dragged the gang to the bakery and it was totally worth it. A big yummy slice, different to the usual M&S but still amazing and I got my fix!

Now a happy bunny, we wandered up the gondola and admired the views of Queenstown from above, watching the bungy jumpers on the way up with gritted teeth. We put on our fancy helmets and went up the chair lift to the luge track. Whizzing down with the go pro in my bra, it was the first time I had done go karting since the incident in 2001, I was a bit nervous and yes I was slower than the others but ah well, I had a great time!!

It was another gorgeous day in Queenstown and you could tell why people settled here. The town was very cool and the hustle and bustle didn’t seem to stop but Lake Wakatipu was only a short walk away and what a gorgeous lake it was. Scenery was all around and The Remarkable mountain range was always in the corner of your eye. Plenty to do, as lazy or as adventurous as you wanted, there was definitely a lot of fun to be had but hardly a Kiwi in sight.

We whizzed back down the gondola to take Lynne to the airport. She was off to Auckland so after a few lovely days of catching up and seeing some great sights, we dropped her off and said see you soon!

What to do now we thought – hmm beer and a ferg, oh go on! I went for the little lamby and Ryan went for big al – again it was awesome and for those of you who know about Ryans fear of a bad burger, he wasn’t disappointed and ate the whole thing. We sat in the park for a while in food comas and enjoyed the sunshine with no worries in our minds! Bliss!

We all relaxed back at the campsite for a while and it was time to make evening plans again. I wasn’t up for going on the razzle dazzle so the three of them went out boozing whilst I stayed in my tent eating cookies!

Ryan had a bit of a sore head the following day but nothing that can’t be cured by Patagonia chocolates – We had a big bowl of coffee and a few chocolates and he seemed to perk up! We were definitely going to come back for ice cream!
It was now time to say goodbye to Emma and Liam as they were off to the airport to pick up their transfer, so we dropped them off and said bon voyage and made plans to see Poppy and her boyfriend Calum tonight.

I haven’t seen Pops in 2 years, and so it was awesome to see her again and Calum. We picked up food and drink, went to their lovely house up in the hills and met their two kittens ‘Alfie’ and ‘Kira’ before taking a trip down to Lake Hayes to enjoy the sunshine. We had a chilly dip in the water and got out quickly to dry off. We caught up over beer and cider and enjoyed the sunshine. It was just as though I had seen her last week!

Back up the hill, we made a chilli and were entertained by the super cute kittens. Pops and Calum had kindly let us camp on the deck so after an evening of chatting we headed out to our tent! The sky was so clear and the stars were amazing. Lying with our heads out of the tent, we watched the shooting stars for a while! New Zealand is awesome!

Calum had work the next day, so the three of us went to Bobs Cove, an amazing glacial lake with turquoise water. We jumped off the pier quite a few times – still just as cold each time but it was nice to dry off in the sunshine.

Another amazing sunny day and feasted on crackers, blue cheese cut with credit cards, mouldy hummus and some cookie time cookies for dessert! Who knew a credit card was a great substitute for a knife (maybe not the most hygienic but ah well)

Seeing Poppy had a catch and she had booked us in to her RPM class (similar to spin) and after doing little to no exercise for the majority of this trip, I wasn’t looking forward to it. Ryan was all happy and fine, being the exerciser he is!!!!
As expected, it was absolutely horrendous and the only thing that got me through it was the thought of the pizza that would follow – thankfully I didn’t pass out!

We picked up our two fat badgers pizzas and one box alone was almost as big as me! No sides were needed and another food coma was followed by another night on the deck.

The weather looked good in Milford for the next few days and as it was a bit temperamental we decided to head there today. We had booked a Milford Sounds boat cruise for the following morning, so we were looking forward to it as we had heard so many good things!
Car all packed up and ready to go, but unfortunately the car was stuck and we spent the next hour trying to dig our way out of the pebbles (I say we)
After about 15 wheels spins, completely re arranging the parking space and amending a stone wall (not with the car) we finally got out and set off on our journey to Milford! Not before an ice cream of course, but ah well, it was well deserved.

We stayed at the last DOC sight on the Milford road, again with amazing views of the Fiordland mountain ranges. It was pretty windy and so Ryan (aka Bear Grylls) tied our tent to the car. We were back to camping style dinners after many a burger and pizza in Queenstown and we had to make a shelter to cook around because of the wind. A slightly turbulent night sleep due to the weather but another clear night sky with amazing stars to gaze at.

E & R xx