Picton
Mon 16th Mar
A relaxed start to the day. Washed & packed. Checked out at 10:00. Went to the Ibis for a couple of chai lattes. Walked along the waterfront to the ferry terminal. We sailed at 13:30.
I had good company in Pippa the whole way..chat, chat. We arrived ahead of schedule, before 17:00; shaving off about 20 minutes. After the short bus ride out of tthe port, I walked to Boathouse…I knew exactly whwre I was going.
Luke gave me a 3 bunk room to myself; there weren’t many guests…and in fact everyone staying was in the middle aged bracket. Luke asked for 35Nzd. I said I paid 32 last time. We settled on a cash payment, but I only had 30 in small notes, so I got away with paying 30Nzd…(14Gbp.)
I asked about any free food; he said there was some rice. I went to the supermarket and bought a chicken breast and green pepper to cook with the rice later.
I stopped at the Wild West bar, and although it was just after 6pm I managed to buy 2 pints of beers at the happy hour rate of 8Nzd each. It was after 7pm and back at Boathouse I cooked my dinner whilst sipping on red wine that I’d also bought. I sat on the outside balcony having dinner, then moved to the large lounge area to finish my wine slowly and do a FB post. Then to bed.
I really like Picton…especially in the low season.
Nelson
Tues 17th Mar
I had a really good sleep. I figured out the hot water for the shower. A free breakfast is provided. I had a bowl of cereal, 4 pieces of toast and 2 cups of coffee. I spoke with Phil and checked at 10:00.
I sat by the waterfront park area for a while taking in the lovely bay area, then walked to the marina area. There were a huge number of boats; I didn’t see this last time. I went for a chai latte near the waterfront then went to the bus stop.
The bus was on time. I got on first and got a front seat. A great scenic journey that took exactly the 2 hrs 15 minutes as there weren’t the Blenheim roadworks this time. A nice older lady sat next to me from Blenheim. 3:15pm arrival. I walked straight to Palace Backpackers but they were fully booked…disappointing. I was pointed in the direction of Downtown Backpackers on Bridge St.
It took me a while to find it as it seemted to be hidden around the back and up a sort of gangway. I had to wait about 10 minutes for Lisa to come and check me in. After some little negotiation involving joking around, I got a small discount..maybe 5Nzd..and she didn’t charge me the card fee.
It was a private room, en suite, with a big double bed , and a TV which actually worked. It was gone 4:30pm and after popping into NW to buy a steak, a courgette and some noodles, I went across the road to Post Boy.
And there was Cooky and the other regulars. Good catch-up with Cooky. I charged my phone. There were lots of dark green and light green balloons around…It hadn’t dawned on me of the significance of Mar 17th being St Patrick’s day; there was lots of appropriate Irish music being played.
I filled my water bottle with beer to take to my room. I thought to play ‘safe’ as there was a ‘ No Alcohol ‘ sign in the room. !! It was getting on for 19:00 when I got back to Downtown; I cooked my steak, half a courgette, half a packet of noodles, eith dome of my chilli sauce. It was tasty enough.
I spoke to guy who had been in prison for 13 months for growing 25 marijuana bushes !!
I watched quite a lot of TV; just the news channel actually. The other channels didn’t interest me. I tested the shower and went to bed.
Wed 18th Mar.
I had a very comfortable sleep. I had put the stand up fan on full blast, not only to cool the room, but to block out any outside noise if there was to be any. I went to the Halifax Street for a chai. I came back to the hostel to pay my 130Nzd for another day.
I went to the park up the road and lay in the sun for 30 minutes. I then stopped by Connor’s pop up supermarket and bought lots of mushrooms and marinaded pork steaks. Back at the hostel everything went in the fridge.
Another shop nearby seemed to be almost specifically Indian. I bought 2 packets of chevda like snacks. I then went to the nearby stream and sat on a bench and munched on my snack.
Back at the hostel I prepared half the mushrooms in advance of cooking my dinner. By 4pm I was at Post Boy for a jug and good chat with Cooky & co. After that I returned to Downtown and cooked my dinner of pork, mushrooms, courgette an noodles.
I had with me my water bottle with beer in it. Tastier food than the previous day. Earlier, in the afternoon, I phoned the L Hawea Camp (Holiday park) and booked 3 days; my only option was 22,23 & 24. I would’ve preferred to go through to the 25th, but there was no more availability; hopefully that should work.
Back to my room and watching TV news which is all about Iran…
Thurs 19th Mar
A very comfortable room. After 08:00 I went for an early walkabout. Halifax coffee was closed. I bought noodles and breakfast crunchy bars from Woolworths. Then back to my room and a chat with Phil. Then to Halifax for a chai.
I went to the park for a while. Back to my room where I washed a shirt. I watched a lot of Al Jazeera news on the middle east. Over to the park for the shirt to dry and for me to sunbathe. Around the corner is an Indian supermarket where I bought a packet of chevda.
By 16:30 I was at Post Boy having a drink and a good chat with the guys. I helped myself to a slice of bread and some slices of pork. And so, back to the hostel to cook my last bit of pork, which I had with lots of mushrooms. I didn’t bother with the noodles as I wasn’t too hungry. I packed, set the alarm for 06:05 and watched the TV news…then bed.
Franz Josef
Fri 20th Mar
I didn’t need to wake up until 06:00 but I woke up at 05:00…a nice lazy start to the day. I watched the news, then only had a 5 minute walk to the bus. The driver was Mel, who drove me to Franz Josef in early January. We left bang on 07:15. A nice scenic, comfortable journey. As I was sitting in the front I talked to Mel alot along the way.
The first range of hills were rather cloudy, but once we crossed to the West coast it was very pleasant and sunny. Across to Westport and down, stopping at Punakaiki but I didn’t go to see the Pancake rocks as I didn’t want to rush around , and I have seen them before.
We stopped at Hokitika. I viewed the wood sign on the beach and went to NW for some chicken breasts and a botte of red wine…figuring it would be cheaper there than in Franz Josef.
After nearly 10 hours we reached Franz Josef. There were 3 stops to drop people off at their hotels, then I was dropped off right outside Glowworm. My twin room looked comfortable; put my chicken and noodles in the fridge and went around the corner to The Landing.
A waiter remembered me from early January. I commented that of the hundreds of people that pass through, it was amazing he remembered me. He said that actually it was my Cristiano Ronaldo bag that he remembered first. !!!
I drank 2 jugs at 9.5Nzd each ( just over 4Gbp)…very cheap. Back to Glowworm around 18:30 and had 2 bowls of their free soup. I fried my chicken breast and put chopped up pieces in another bowl of soup.
I relaxed with some of my wine, then went to my room. A good day…the weather was kind to me.
The only downside was that I didn’t see an email telling me there had been a cancellation and I could stay there a 2nd night. I went online and managed to book a single room with shared bathroom at Chateau backpackers.
Sat 21st Mar
I had a comfortable night…The bathroom/toilet was in good condition. I packed; I had some free coffee from the kitchen…no milk though. I checked out at 10:00 and went to announce myself at Chateau. I couldn’t check in until 14:00 but could leave my rucksack in a locker.
I began my walk to the glacier viewing point. Who said 25 minutes ??!! It was nearly an hour to the car park…with a few pauses for photos/videos. Then 30 minutes return to the viewing platform. It was a nice walk. Initially along the river with glacial melt waters, and then through rainforest.
It was definitely worth it. Amazing trees/fauna in the rainforest. Along the way the glacier was always in front of me, and there weren’t too many clouds about. Occasionally through the trees the glacier was in view. And of course there was a magnificent view of it from the viewing platform. Wow…incredible; I was there for about 20 minutes.
I couldn’t face the walk back, so I decided to try to hitch a lift. The first few cars drove right passed, then 2 guys were getting into their car nearby and I asked for a lift to Franz Josef. They obliged…Phew..!!
I couldn’t check into Chateau until 2pm. I had a chai latte at the Landing then went to wait for my room. Room no.3. Costing 70Nzd. Lovely room. As I’m headed back this way in about 5 days I’ll stay at Chateau again.
In the meantime the clouds were buildng up and the glacier was totaly engulfed, so I’m really glad I went early and saw it in all its glory. I went on a small walkabout and drew some money from the only ATM to give to Tor for his birthday. I watched a helicopter take off on its way to the glacier.
Back at the hostel I showered and shaved and headed towards the Landing, picking up a bottle of beer from the supermarket to have with my dinner. No happy hour on jugs, so I had a couple of pints…
That was it. Back to Chateau to cook my dinner. The rice was a freebie so I just had that with my seasoned chicken. It had started raining, so my timing on the day was perfect. And then to my room before 8pm. I had some difficulty getting to sleep; door noise, floor noise, people noise. Then Loretta phoned…but that was fine; we had a good chat.