At the end of the 5 hour Trans Coastal train journey we had made it to Christchurch, the capital of the south island. We spent a few days getting to know the city, we went to the excellent Christchurch museum and then walked around the beautiful park next door. The autumn colours were at their magnificent best here so we decided to take a canoe and paddle down the avon river. But we had to get moving pretty quickly as there was plenty to squeeze in to our journey before meeting Luke in Greymouth. So back on the magic bus we moved up to Kaikoura. We checked into Dusky Lodge and made some lunch. Halfway through eating our Magic bus driver showed up and quietly asked us if we would like to join him on a cray-fishing trip that afternoon. We weren't sure as it caught us a little by surprise, but we figured sometimes these things you dont expect end up being the best . . . we were not wrong! 7 of us cramped into the back of a hatchback we were introduced to the captain who drove us to his house and then into the little tin boat on the back of a tractor we were introduced to his 1st mate. Missing one leg and all but one finger he was quite an intimidating no-nonsense knd of guy who didn't hold back when it came to getting out there. We were bumping up over the waves to the first few crayfish traps and we were soon pulling the prehistoric looking water insects by the dozen. Next we did some excellent fishing, together we caught 20 fish Veronika getting the catch of the day with a beautiful blue cod, and as we thought the day was coming to an end we were taken back to captains sea view bungalow for fresh cooked crayfish with wasabi and lovely local white wine, whilst chilling to 50s- 60's tunes. Laughter and stories were flowing, the most shocking of which was the one about how the first mate lost his leg and fingers. It turns out that whilst spear fishing as a 17 year old he was attacked by a shark which took his leg and he lost his fingers trying to pull himself free! Unbelievable, but what a character! At the end we were sent home with a big bag of fish and a crayfish each, which would last us the next 4 days of meals including possibly the best fish and chip and Thai fish curry we've had.
Po 5 hodinove ceste vyletnim vlakem pri pobrezi jsme dorazili do hlavniho mesta jizniho ostrova s nazvem Christchurch. Stravili jsme zde par dni, ktere jsme venovali navsteve zajimaveho muzea a plavbou na kanoi po rece Avon v prilehlem parku, ktery se pysnil vsemi podzimnimi barvami. Nemeli jsme moc casu nazbyt a museli se zacit posouvat dale, aby jsme dorazili do Greymouthu podle planu a setkali se s Lukem. A tak jsme opet byli na ceste v Kouzelnem autobuse na ceste do Kaikoury. Po te, co jsme se ubytovali v Dusky Lodge a poobedvali, objevil se v kuchyni nas ridic autobusu a ptal se, jestli se nepridame s nim na odpoledni rybarsky vylet zachytat si ryby a raky. Po nedlouhem zvazovani, ze takove neocekavane vylety jsou nejlepsi,jsme souhlasili . . a nemylili jsme se! Bylo nas 7. Nejdrive jsme vsichni nastoupili do male motorove lodky, ktera byla na vlecce pripojena k traktoru. Po par kilometrech na ceste jsme dorazili k vode, kde jsme byli doslova vypusteni na vodu. Nejdrive nas kapitan lodi s jeho pomocnikem vzali na misto, kde vytahli par kleci s rakama. Jsou to ale osklive potvory. Ani jsem se nechtela priblizit. Samozrejme jsem vypustila ten nejvyssi ton, kdyz mi jeden z chlapu dal raka primo pred oblicej. Mimochodem jsem byla jedina holka na lodi. Pak nas odvezli na misto, kde jsme rybarili asi hodinku. Ja a Pete jsme dohromady chytili 20 ryb a ulovek dne byl muj, kdyz se mi podarilo vytahnout asi 2kg Modrou tresku. Pote jsme byli na ceste zpet do kapitanova domu, ktery mel vyhled na more, kde nam pripravil cerstve nachytane raky s wasabi (velice ostra zelena omacka), rozdelil ulovek a nalil neskutecne mnozstvi mistniho vina. Pak uz se hrnuli pribehy ze vsech stran za hudby z 50. a 60 let. Pomocnik kapitana mel jen jednu nohu a zadne prsty krome palcu, coz byl pribeh vecera. Kdyz mu bylo 17, napadl ho zralok, ukousl mu nohu a jak se snazil toho zraloka odstrcit, ukousl mu i prsty. A i presto stale chodi rybarit. Klobouk dole teda! S chycenym ulovkem jsme se opili vratili domu. Ryby jsme meli na 4 obedy. Udelali jsme si rybi rizky s hranolkama a rybi curry. Jaka dobrota!
A couple of days later we went out on a whale watch boat, a day that stared with the greatest sunrise since the temples of Angkor and included 3 of the mightiest creatures on the planet, pretty cool day. We also did an excellent 10km costal walk around the peninsula past a seal colony and up on the cliffs finishing by walking though a pine forest. An amazing place, but we had to get back on the road and head to Picton. On the way we stopped of at a waterfall walk where to our surprise there were probably a hundred seal pups play in the water as it flowed from the waterfall to the sea. We arrived in Picton to rain and drizzle, but in awe of the beautiful peaks around us. Unfortunately the weather spoilt our plans to explore them but our consolation was arguably the best hostel of our trip so far Sequoia Lodge where we had the most delicious chocolate pudding free every night.
V Kakioure jsme stravili dalsich par dni, kde jsme meli stesti a pozorovali velryby. Predtim nez jsme byli prevezeni na lod jsme byli svedky dalsiho neskutecneho vychodu Slunce srovnatelny jen s Ankorem Watem v Kambodzi. Ten den pri pozorovani jsme videli 3 ruzne velryby, coz pry se nestava pokazde. Byl to zazitek. Dalsi den jsme se vydali na 10km prochazku podel utesu, kde jsme videli spoustu tulenu. Krasna podivana. Pak uz opet na ceste smerem do Pictonu, kde jsme cestou pristavili u vodopadu, kde si hralo stovky malych tulenu.Skoda, ze jsem si nemohla pribalil par do batuzku, byli tak roztomily. Bouhuzel nam v Pictonu nepralo pocasi a tak jsme nemeli sanci prozkoumat okoli. Zustali jsme tak uvnitr hostelu vetsinu casu. Byli jsme ale ubytovani v jednom z nejlepsich hostelu zatim na nasich cestach a tak nam par dni odpocinku nevadilo. Kazdy vecer servirovali zadarmo cokoladovy piskot s cokoladovym pudinkem, ktery bych prirovnala k raji na zemi.
Next up was Nelson, where we did a 12km hike in Abel Tasman national park followed by a smaller trek up to the Centre of New Zealand. Then headed down to Greymouth where we stayed in Neptunes Backpackers and took full advantage of their generous evening free bakery. We chilled out playing pool, darts and drinking cider in the hot tub until the day arrived our travelling two would become a three! Luke arrived from the Transalpine train and we soon showed him the ropes at the hostel (especially the bakery bit), and that evening we all went on the Monteiths Brewery tour. The following day we booked onto an Atomic Bus to run us to Frans Josef as the Magic timetable had gone into winter time, where we checked into Chateau Frans Backpackers. The three of us took a walk into some little rainforest by the glacier river and took in the fresh alpine air and stunning scenery and then it was time for the Glacier Hike! A quality day, hard work but with all the gear we trek the full day up and down one the the worlds most famous Glaciers. Guided by "Lazer" the buffalo thighed, electric sharp bearded glacier god (at least i'm sure that's what runs through his head every day) we shuffled between narrow corridors of ice, and through stunning blue glacier tunnels whilst lazer carved steps with his pick, i'm sure he could have used his bare hands but he liked to carry the big tool with him. To be fair, he turned out to be a pretty decent guy, especially the moment when the loud Essex daddy's princess was getting all moany and annoying and he pick axed a block of ice the size of fist right between her eyes, priceless!
Dalsi zastavkou bylo mesto Nelson, kde jsme podstoupili 12km turu po Abel Tasman narodnim parku a jeden mensi vyslap do presneho stredu Noveho Zelandu. Pak opet na ceste do mesta Greymouth, kde jsme zustali ubytovani v hostelu Neptunes, kde kazde odpoledne nabizeli cerstve dobroty z pekarny, coz jsme vyuzili naplno. Zkratka jsme snedli, co se do nas vlezlo. Ten vecer jsme popijeli pivecko, ohrivali se v zahradni vyrivce a byli oba nateseni, protoze dalsi den prijede vlakem Luke a z cestovani jako par se z nas stane mala skupina. V den Lukeova prijezdu jsme naplanovali Pivni exkurzi mistniho pivovaru nazvem Monteiths. Dalsi den uz jsme byli vsichni 3 na ceste do Franz Josef. Prvni den jsme se jen tak potulovali podel ledovcove reky a prosli se po mistnim lese. Druhy den prisel na radu vylet, za kterym jsme sem vlastne prijeli a to vystoupat po Franz Josef ledovci! Byl to nezapomenutelny a celkem narocny den, ale s vybavou a nasim pruvodcem jsme to vsichni hrave zvladli. Nas pruvodce vypadal jako vysrizeny z casopisu a kluci ho nazyvali "Lazer" protoze mel oholene vousy tak, ze vypadalo, ze kazdy vous ma sve stale misto. "Lazer" s sebou nesl krumpac ikdyz vypadalo, ze ho snad ani nepotrebuje a hrave by si poradil vlastnima rukama. Vyklubal se z neho ale v pohode typek a kluky obzvlaste "potesilo", kdy se kus ledu o velkosti pesti, zatimco kopal, nechtene odrazilo od hlavy jedne z holek, (Tatinkove prncezny), ktera si stezovala celou cestu na vrch. Ledovec byl plny uzkych sterbin a modrych tunelu. Nadhera!
We had a few nights out but none that really took off and soon it was the turn of Queenstown to put its marker on our trip. It seems like everywhere we go the scenery beats the previous place, unbelievably Queenstown is hard to top. A lake surrounded by snow peaked mountains with a ski resort-like town centre, its almost perfect. Luke and I had a great night out at a Gingers night, lucky for Luke our beard growing competition was well underway and I managed to blend in quite nicely. We then booked on a 13 hour day trip to Milford Sound. Again, absolutely stunning, amazing drive out there where we had numerous photo stops and then a 2hour cruise on the sound (its actually a fjord) out to sea and then back again to a waterfall and back on the journey home. Another night out at World Bar where we had cocktails in teapots followed by a big hangover the next day. What better cure for a hangover than a mighty Fergberger (the worlds greatest burger) and chips. You could stay a life time in Queenstown but unfortunately we now had a pretty strict timetable in order to get back for our flights in Christchurch. Still, there was time to stop a night in Dunedin where we went to the Cadbury's Chocolate factory and saw the chocolate waterfall, made a delicious Lamb chop dinner and shot some pool in the bar downstairs. Then we went to Lake Takeapo, challenger to Queenstown for jaw-dropping beauty award. We had only half a day and the night here so as soon as we got of the bus we got on some warm clothes and took a hike up Mount James. By now the snow was well and truly here, it added to the alpine scenery but was quite what Luke's trainers were designed for. But after a difficult walk up the views from the top were something to behold! We shared a wonderful Kumara and Pumpkin soup in the cafe by the observatory and then as the evening fog and bad light set n headed back down. Luke managed to fashion two tree branches into ski sticks and rather than looking like bambi on ice he now looked like a winter Olympian as we trekked down. Near te bottom bagpipes started playing, a simple but memorable touch to a brilliant adventure. That evening we went to the hot pools at the bottom of the peak, and relaxed.
Parkrat jsme si zasli do baru, ale nic poradneho se z toho nevyklubalo a tak po par dnech jsme opet na ceste tentokrate do mesta Queenstown. Zda se nam, ze kdyz projizdime krajinou a absolutne nam to bere dech, jak je prekrasna uz nemuzeme narazit na nic krasnejsiho a mylime se! Queenstown je prekrasne mestecko s jezerem obklopene zasnezenymi horami. Od te doby, co Luke prijel se kluci rozhodli, ze budou soutezit, kdo to dele vydrzi a necha si rust vousy nez je druhy oholi. Takze se jednoho pekneho slunecneho dne vydavame na vylet do Milford Sound s 2 Rumcajzi. Milford Sound je krasny, je to utvoreny fjord z okolnich rek. Neuveritele prekrasna krajina! Vecer po vylete se vsichni vydavame do ulic a do baru s nazvem World bar. Tak se tam vsichni pripijem, ze nam je vsem druhy den soufl. Serviruji tam koktejly v konvickach na caj. Jedine, co nas muze ten den postavit na nohy je mistne znamy Fergburger. Burger je tak obrovsky, ze mam problem ho snist. Jelikoz se nam nas pobyt na Novem Zelandu krati a my se vcas musime vratit do Christchurch, abychom chytli nas let, musime opustit prekrasny Queenstown. V Dunendinu jsme navstivili Cokoladovnu Cadbury a videli jednotunovy cokoladovy vodopad. Na dalsi zastavce smerem na sever zustavame na noc ve meste Lake Tekapo, kde se to opet stalo. Jsme beze slov! Nikdy jsem nevidela krasnejsi okoli! Hned po prijezdu jsme se poradne prioblekli a sli na vyslap na Mount (horu) James. Snih dodava okoli kouzlo a Lukeovi s bezvrozkovymi podrazkami velke potize. Jak se dostaneme na vrcholek chvilku si posedime v hospudce, dame si polevku a za stmivani se vydavame zpet dolu. Nasli jsme Lukeovi klacky slouzici jako lyzarske hulky a tak cestou na zpet nevypada jako srnka na ledu, ale jako olympijsky sportovec. Za zvuku dud rozhlehajici se po okoli se dostavame do hostelu, kde povecerime a hned pote mirime do Horkych bazenu pod hvezdami, kde si lebedime a uzivame si.
And then the final part of our New Zealand trip was upon us, we thought Christchurch was gonna be a matter of preparing for and leaving to head to Hong Kong, but no . . . lets do some winter surfing! On a miserable winters day we decided that surfing in 13oC water would be for us and we ll had a great day. The lesson started with tips outside sheltered from the rain and then dressing up in wetsuits like tellitubbies and getting out there amongst it. The Waves were pretty good, Luke and Veronika were up fairly regularly, I on the other hand seemed to have lost whatever balance i obtained 4 years ago and spent more time under the water than on the board, still, great fun. Freezing and damp, we found an Irish bar in the evening and warmed up with some good hearty food, tea and Guinness some more pool and then bed. And that was that, New Zealand . . . done, we get the shuttle to the airport, Veronika and I have to stay a night in Sydney to change to Hong Kong and Luke is changing in Brisbane so hopefully it'll all go smooth and we'll manage to meet up in the crazy Chinese land of Hong Kong . . . .
Christchurch, nase posledni destinace Noveho Zeladnu. Jak by si lidi pomysleli, ze nas posledni den stravime balenim, planovanim a pripravami pro nase dalsi dobrodruzstvi byli by na omylu. My se radeji rozhodli pro zimni surfovaci lekci. Takze se za destiveho zimniho dne vydavame na plaz, kde prvni pod striskou prevlikarny dostavame zakladni instrukce a pak se vydavame na plaz s prkny a skaceme do 13 stupnove vody. Urcite musime byt sileni!Kazdemu z nas se podarilo postavit na prkno parkrat. Luke uz zkousel surfovat v Aglii, tak mu to slo mnohem lepe nez me a Peteovi. Ale vsechny nas to bavilo. Ke konci uz byla poradna zima a mym noham trvalo par hodin nez roztaly. Zdalo by se, ze surfovani bude to nejobtiznejsi, ale dostat se z mokreho neoprenu, kdyz jsem se klepala jako ratlik, to je teprve neco. A tak zmrzli a mokri jsme zavitali do irske hospudky zpatky v centru mesta. Tam jsme se zahrali piveckem, cajicky a necim na zub. Pak jsme hrali par her kulecniku a vydali se zpet do hostelu. A tak konci dobrodruzstvi na Novem Zelandu . . .na letiste jsme se dostali autobusem. Luke leti jinou spolecnosti a prestupuje v Brisbane a ja a Pete musime prenocovat v Sydney. Nikdo z nas nema tuseni co nas v Cine ceka a jestli se bez problemu sejdeme v tom silenem shonu Hong Kongu . . . .
. . . To be continued
. . . Pokracovani priste
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