Howdy blog fans
Whilst I had the best intentions to keep the blog up to date during my final NZ tour, I have failed somewhat. Give me a break...I've just been having too much fun.
The last 6 weeks have been immense and it has been a fantastic experience to see NZ in all its winter glory. Yes, summer is awesome, but I reckon NZ really shines in winter.
I think we last spoke when I was in Nelson, my first stop in the South Island. I won't bore you with all my exciting adventures since then, but here are some of the highlights:
Queenstown - A lot of people hate Queenstown, but I bloody love it. I have never lost my phone in a drunken stupor in my life...but I did in Queenstown. Basically, Q-town is great for a visit but you really couldn't live here long term. You would be sucked dry of cash and liver cells in a couple of weeks. I spent a week there, so I left with half a liver. I got drunk, I jetboated, I went skiing for the first time in my life. It was muchos fun.
Dunedin - Dunedin is suposedly the most Scottish place in NZ. Baws! The only haggis for sale was in a tin and it was bloody $13. However, I liked this little slice of tartan quite a bit. This may have been something to do with the drunken tour of the Speights Brewery (no really, I got pished) and the Cadburys factory (I ate muchos free chocotlate). I also enjoyed a little jaunt on the Taieri Gorge railway, which was stunning - see www.taieri.co.nz
Oamaru - Do you like penguins? Do you like mad people racing Penny Farthings down the street on a Saturday? I have just the place for you. Saw some penguins, but missed out on 'penguin cam' in the pub.
Doubtful Sound - You have probably heard of Millford Sound, this is the larger (13 times larger to be precise) and much less accessable sound to the south of its more famous cousin. It isn't a sound, it is actually a Fijord. It was stunning, need I say more.
Wanaka - Like a quiter, more chilled out version of Queenstown. Shame it was so bloody foggy (not so good for stunning lake/mountain views)
Mt Cook / Lake Tekapo - this was a last minute diversion, which turned out to be one of the most memorable parts of the trip. The biggest mountains in NZ, covered in snow on a crisp blue day. Amazing....but again, very cold.
So, I now find myself back in smelly Christchurch (regular readers will know I despise Christchurch). Tomorrow morning I will get up a 4am and go to the aiport, by 6pm NZ time I will be basking in the 27 degree heat of Cairns, Australia. It has been bloody cold here (I think people understimate how cold it gets here....-3 during the day is not unusual), so I'm looking forward to getting the jandals out again.
Despite my excitement about heading to Oz, today has been somewhat tinged with sadness. The Beast, my trusty 1989 Toyota Corolla, the best car I have ever driven, was today taken away to th big scrapheap in the sky. It ran with absolute reliability during my entire voyage (7,500 Km) and during the preceeding 10 months. However, sensing that my time in NZ was coming to and end, the beast 'died' as I rolled into my final NZ hostel in Christchurch. I could tell it had died as the temparature gague actually went above zero (worryingly, the very rarely happened). The nice man gave me $300 and I said goodbye to a faithful friend. RIP Beast, you will always be in my heart.
As a final farewell to NZ, enjoy moutache gate, a great example of why the NZ media is a bit retarded (but regularly hilarious):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okTlpH28QTw
See you in Oz!
Love and kisses
Tambo x
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