Day 260 (2715km to 2881km 27/23) Tuesday 31st May – Milford Sound and back again

So this is where we camped last night. Our jamminess ran out today. Weather was extremely RUBBISH for going to Milford Sound. Rain & fog are not conducive to picturesque views across sea and mountains. But hey you can’t win ‘em all. The drive to Milford Sound was pretty spectacular despite the sh*tty weather. You could still get the gist of it and there were definitely Misty Mountains galore. The most exciting bit of the trip there was the 1km tunnel bored straight through a mountain which was practically pitch black and coming out of the other end into the light you were faced with a sheer drop surrounded by overbearing mountains and an Italian-countryside-Formula-one-esque hairpin road downwards....

June 22, 2011 · (Updated June 22, 2011) · 3 min · karen

Day 259 (2499km to 2714km 26/24) Monday 30th May – Queenstown to Henry’s Creek nr Te Anau

Not satisfied with our adrenaline-filled Sunday we went on the Shotover Jet today. A 30min jet-powered speedboat ride through shallow water, down narrow canyons and 360° spins. Pretty exciting but not as good as the bungy. We’re thinking we should have done them the other way around. Walked, & climbed in part, up to top of hill (Ben Lomond national park) behind Queenstown to see more stunning views. Took the Gondola back down the hill and reluctantly left Queenstown to drive to a campsite north of Te Anau halfway to Milford Sound....

June 22, 2011 · (Updated June 22, 2011) · 1 min · karen

Day 258 (2498km 25/25) Sunday 29th May – Queenstown – Nevis highwire 134m bungy

OH MY GOD! Matt & I did a 134m bungy jump today. It was incredible! Stupidly booked it for the afternoon so we both spent the morning sweating about it when all we wanted to do was get it over and done with. It was also a 45min drive out of town so our 2 o’clock appt was just for the bus ride. You get your full-body harness on and go on a open cable car across the canyon to the bungy car hanging over a massive canyon....

June 16, 2011 · (Updated June 16, 2011) · 2 min · karen

Day 257 (2493km to 2498km 24/26) Saturday 28th May –Queenstown

Feeling a little worse for wear. Our lush view from our campervan was lost on us. Managed to get enough energy to move to the holiday park in town as we know we want to stay in QT a couple more days. I’m sure we must still be drunk though as just gone and booked a bungy jump for tomorrow. Arghhh!

June 16, 2011 · (Updated June 16, 2011) · 1 min · karen

Day 256 (2414km to 2492km 23/27) Friday 27th May – Queenstown

Random photos taken before leaving Wanaka. This one was taken by Matt after he turned the van around on a busy main road to specifically to this field of sheep, parked up, ran across the road, tried jumping over a ditch and promptly sprained his ankle. Any excuse not to drive. Stunning views on the road from Wanaka to Queenstown. Queenstown is in a beautiful setting on Lake Wakatipu surrounded by snow-capped mountains....

June 16, 2011 · (Updated June 16, 2011) · 2 min · karen

Day 255 (2414km 22/28) Thursday 26th May – Wanaka

Here we go again. Another bad weather day. Stayed in our van on our deserted campsite watching the clouds float across the hills working on SCF. Didn’t do anything really all day except a half hour walk to the lake and back via New World supermarket. Fun stuff. Ever heard of a battered lasagne? No, nor us. They sell them in New World. Taste like a deep-fried lasagne, bizarrely.

June 16, 2011 · (Updated June 16, 2011) · 1 min · karen

Day 254 (2356km to 2413km 21/29) Wednesday 25th May – Wanaka

Hell of a night being bashed around by stormy weather then gorgeous morning with the view we were hoping for. Pipping those Wicked campervans to the post for this spot on this tiny DOC island was worth the under-their-breath cussing we probably got from them. Travelled to Wanaka passing more lovely things. We fell in love with Wanaka immediately and may stay another day or 2 or 3… It has that alpine village feel set on a beautiful lakeside and surrounded by mountains....

June 16, 2011 · (Updated June 16, 2011) · 2 min · karen

Day 253 (2190km to 2355km 20/30) Tuesday 24th May – Haast, Thunder Creek Falls & Boundary Creek campsite

Non-eventful day. Woke up, it was raining. Run was pointless. Nowhere to run to except around the carpark 4 times getting wet. Stayed in all morning blogging & working on SCF. It rained some more. Drove to Haast. Grey, depressing place in winter. The cheapest tin of baked beans in their only shop was $2. Wanted fish & chips but couldn’t bring ourselves to try the bleak cafe. Stubbornly ate pasta-in-sauce on the side of the road whilst it drizzled and continued on our way....

June 16, 2011 · (Updated June 16, 2011) · 1 min · karen

Day 252 (2078km to 2189km 19/31) Monday 23rd May – Fox Glacier & Lake Bazinga

Brekkie today was in our own private holiday park with a backdrop of forested hills and snowy mountains. Mostly a day of working on SCF in the campervan sat outside a nearby backpackers lodge which had wifi with our chosen provider. We are very sad. But hey there’s work to be done. A whistle-stop trip to Fox Glacier. It was cold and rainy and low cloud cloaked the hills. Very a la Misty Mountains....

June 16, 2011 · (Updated June 16, 2011) · 1 min · karen

Day 251 (2052km to 2077 18/32) Sunday 22nd May – Franz Josef helicopters & glaciers

Woke up this morning planning to do a Heli-hike. 10 min helicopter ride followed by 2hr glacier hike and 10min helicopter ride back. It was bland weather. Grey, overcast and chilly. And when we thought about it $400 each was a bit steep. So perhaps we just walk today and then see what the weather’s like in Fox Glacier tomorrow? Well by the time we’d faffed about waking up and all that jazz and then watched huge trout jump around in the shallow river trying to get up stream, the sun was itching to come out....

June 16, 2011 · (Updated June 16, 2011) · 3 min · karen