South Island Tour 9th - 11th Feb

9th Feb - Picton

Today we will begin our two week tour together as we travel south along the the picturesque East coast to Kaikoura where time has been allowed for those interested to do some whale watching or swimming with the seals before heading on to Christchurch where we will have our welcome dinner together.

It was the start of the tour and everybody was very excited about what the next two weeks would have in store. The beautiful harbour of Picton was perfectly lit by the midday sun and myself, Mads, Jeppe and Leif, had a round of mini golf and unofficially started the drinking festivities on top of a converted ship that overlooked the harbour and town, whilst we waited for the other ferries to arrive.

Our first night in a backpackers together was underway and nobody wanted to go to sleep. The atmosphere was so warm and friendly right from the off.

Unfortunately the weather the next day was extremely foggy, meaning that the whale watching trip was cancelled. This was a huge disappointment for me as it was of the big factors that made me choose New Zealand to visit. Fortunately that was the only day of bad weather for the whole trip.

10th Feb - Christchurch

Christchurch is the largest centre in the South Island and is often referred to as the most English city outside of England. This morning there will be a sightseeing tour of the city. This afternoon is free to check out the many activities Christchurch has to offer.

Christchurch was indeed fairly English with well kept rose gardens and interesting courtyards. I spent the day wandering around the town and through the old fashioned craft market before jumping on the bus to the Antarctic Centre, one of New Zealands premier attractions. Herve, Sandra, Sabina, Fred, Mari and Myself enjoyed watching the miniscule 'little blue penguins', standing in an Antarctic Storm simulation room (complete with temperatures of -18 degrees) and being shaken about in a crazy, mechanical device known as a Hagglund.

In the evening 43 trainees descended upon the town of Christchurch. With 95% of them being Dairy farmers, we ended up (inevitably) in a club known as the mad cow, and basically took over the dance floor.

11th Feb - MT. Cook

Our Journey Today will take us through the ever changing scenery of the Canterbury plains to the Southern alps via the Mackenzie country, Lake Tekapo and Lake Pukaki. Tonight we stay in the mountains at MT. Cook, the highest mountain in New Zealand. We are surrounded by breathtaking scenery and there will be time to enjoy some of the many lovely hikes in the area.

They didn't lie, there was some truly breathtaking scenery to behold and staying in some isolated cabins in the mountains was amazing. Me, Jens and Fred went for a hike to a point where an exceptional view of MT. Cook was found and the evening was spent playing a 2 hour game of volley ball, It was the mighty Rotorua region against the Waikato warrior region (roughly) and proved highly entertaining with the implementation of a few wild celebrations. Especially Rotoruas rip off of the all blacks Huka dance.