NZ : Queenstown and Mount Cook

While Susie was suffering the ill effects of a nasty cold, she slept in the back seat as Jan made their way along meandering mountain roads. The further south we went the colder the weather became, dropping down to a chilly minus 4 overnight. When we reached Queenstown we parked up and hit the streets to investigate this new city. We'd heard a lot about the infamous Fergburger, less popular with the locals, but incredibly well known amongst tourists. We chose a Mr Big Burger and some indulgent onion rings to share, it was enormous, and certainly lived up to its reputation. We made our way to the other side of Queenstown to Wolly's house, our next host. He lived in a beautiful Tudor style home next to the lake, but was rather odd so we left swiftly the next day.

Whilst in Queenstown Susie had decided to do the Trilogy Loop Horse Riding Experience, a 3 hour ride following the trail of Sauroman's army for 22km of good canters, river crossings and spectacular views of The Misty Mountains, Wizards Vale and the Mighty Methadras.

We drove out to Dart stables in Glenorchy first thing on Friday morning where Susie kitted up in riding boots and floor length waterproof coat and met her beautiful gelding, Big. And big he was indeed. At 17 hands 2 he was a horse to be reckoned with, a gentle giant but a great powerhouse.

Some of the horses from this stable were used in the actual Lord of the Rings film, including a horse named Trevor who was a regular star.

Whilst Susie appeased her horsy desires, Jan went for a long run around the lake and explored Glenorchy, enjoying a coffee and talking to a lovely local in the village art gallery. Jan couldn't resist a little treat for herself and bought a book called 'The Crafty Girls New Zealand Road Trip', the book smelled and looked so good it had to join the ever increasing collection weighing down her travel pack.

After a lunch in the local pub the weather lifted and allowed us to travel down the gravel track to Paradise, a filming spot used in Lord of the Rings, The Lovely Bones and X-men for its immense beauty, snow capped mountains towering over rolling fields.

Unfortunately, as with all adventures, there are ups and downs to be tackled and often adversity rears its ugly head. On the way back in to Queenstown the car started making some strange noises and the thermostat was going wild. Smoke was coming from the engine and our hazard lights came in to use as we trundled down the hill toward the nearest garage where Jonathan took good care of us and Sooby Subaru our beloved car.

After closer inspection on the hoist we found out we had blown a gasket, literally. There was a hole in the radiator piping that required immediate attention. Kindly Jonathan dropped everything to attend to the damsels in distress as we cooed over our poorly vehicle and made arrangements for a hire car to ensure our safe journey to Christchurch nearly 500km away.
A mere hour later the car was fixed and the rental was sorted, Jonathan was kind enough to give us a very cheap deal and we are eternally grateful.

That evening, Mission : Sell Car began in full force. We set out to the streets with posters and flyers in hand with the intention of defacing every available notice board. In true Jan and Sooz style, despite Queenstown being off-season and virtually desolate, we had sold the car within 12 hours to a lovely couple from Argentina for the same price we bought it for.

To celebrate our unexpected success we headed for a craft market to browse the local goods and had an Antipasto board of cheesy, meaty delights. Susie made good use of the car money to invest in a new tattoo. She discussed the design in depth with Ben at White Tiger Tattoo on Shotover street until they had devised the perfect arrangement and site for the tattoo. As a memory of our time in New Zealand Susie decided on a little silver fern to accompany the saying 'Not All Who Wander Are Lost.'

 The ribs are a terrible place to get tattooed and she wouldn't advise anyone to have a tattoo there, half way through the procedure Susie's peripheral vasculature began to shut down, accompanied by sweating and dizziness, cue Jan running for sugary beverages.

The drive to Mount Cook was about 3 hours, but the journey was broken up by a visit to the glacial salmon farm where the Sashimi and cold smoked salmon were going for half price, which meant that we could buy twice the amount. The water at the salmon farm was incredibly blue and the lady there explained that it was glacial silt that was responsible for this stunning topaz colour.

Torrential rain and the blackest night either of us had ever seen ensured minimal adventure on arrival to Mount Cook village, we made a masterpiece out of some smoked salmon and scrambled eggs, got in to our jammies, and were overly excited about doing laundry. We snuggled under our fluffy duvets and read books whilst the storm raged outside sounding as though it might blow away the building.

Ever ambitious, the following morning we attempted a blustery walk along the Hooker Valley trail, unfortunately gale force winds, pouring rain and a necessary drive to Christchurch disrupted our plans and saw us retreating back to the car, once again being defeated by mother nature.

Mother Nature - 2
Jan and Sooz - 0

The final leg of our NZ adventure would take us from Mount Cook to Christchurch, our departing location and last stop before Australia.


Peace and Love,

Jan and Sooz.