Sat 28th Feb: Wellington

I had hoped to go to Stratford today over in the southwest of the island. I want to see Mt Taranaki one of the north Islands big volcanoes but the weather was terrible. Torrential rain oured down for most of the day under thick dark clouds. There was no point in leaving Wellington, I eouldn't have seen anything so I decide to stay on and have a look around town. I had to change hostel as the one I was in was booked out for tonight. Thankfully I didn't have any bother locating a vacant bed in one nearby.

I was surprised to hear Wellington is the capital of NZ. For some reason I thought Auckland was. Its of a similar size to Christchurch, though slightly smaller, with a population of around 330,000. The centre of town skirts around a sheltered bay overlooked by low hills. Its a pleasnt enmough but it can't compare with Christchurch which has to be one of the prettiest towns I've seen on these travels. There's a lot more life here, though, than in either Christchurch or Auckland. It a vibrant place, there seems to be a lot more of a buzz around the town. At least thats the impression I've taken from the two short stopovers here.

I get soaked wandering around town so I drop into the national museum, more as a means of staying dry than anything else. The museum itself turns out to be a cracker. I haven't seen a museum like it. Very impressive. Back in the hostel we were given vouchers for a free meal in the bar next door. You had the option of 'supersizing' for $4 so I took this and was looking forward to a large chicken curry and rice. When the food came out my jaw dropped at the size of the portion. It was tiny!! I wasn't the only person to ask "Is that it??" It was laughable, consisting of rice with a dribble of chicken and curry sauce. Even at $4 it was a rip-off. I had to go out elsewhere to get a decent meal just to take the hunger off me.

Fri 27th Feb: Wellington-Black Caps V Rockstars

Today I head for the North Island and Wellington. I get a 7am bus for Picton and the ferry. Its a dull, wet morning. We head north for pretty Kaikora on the coast. By now, thankfully the weather has cleared and we pass through the vineyards of Blenheim in decent weather. We get to Picton around 12.20pm in plenty of time for the ferry an hour later. I dozed most of the way to the north island. I felt wrecked so I didn't bother heading out on deck until the ferry docked in Wellington.

There's a cricket match this evening in town at the impressive looking West Pac stadium. Its a twenty20 match, the 2nd in a two game series which acts as the warm-up for the test series between the Kiwis and the'Rockstars' of India. I'm hoping to get a ticket for the match as it will be my first live cricket match so I'm looking forward to seeing the game. At the hostel I dropped my stuff in the dorm and head straight out towards the stadium after a quick bite to eat. It was a 30 min walk to the West Pac from the centre of town and the crowd gradually got larger as we got closer to the ground. A few thousand milled around outside. In the crowds I got that buzz I always get heading to a big match, a surge of adrenalin. It felt a bit weird though as tonight it was cricket and not football. As I queued up for my ticket the game had already started and cheering from the crowds within suggested the action was already hotting up.

Inside, the stadium was about half full but it was enclosed so all the sound was magnified. The atmosphere was good. There was a large crowd of Indian ex-pats and they were making themselves heard, determined to have a good time. Whole families, it seemed had turned out with mothers and fathers carrying infants and young kids through the crowds. The Indians were batting first and great roars erupted any time a 4 or 6 was scored. It was great to watch the Indian fans as their songs and chants were so different to what you'd get at football. Also to see them dance was a novelty. Arms raised up they moved their shoulders to the rhythm, dancing in the stands in a way I've never seen before so I spent half the time watching the crowd. Music blared between overs and it was great when the Indian music came on as the fans all got into the groove. A lot of the Kiwis stayed quiet for now, sipping beers. Their time would come later when they went in to bat.

I had watched the first game of this twenty20 series in Mount Cook on Wed night. The 'Black caps" had won that match quite easily. At one point it had looked as though the Indians were going to be bowled out before the end of the twenty overs which, apparently, is unheard of in Twenty20. The Indians did hang on with a great effort by Harbajan Singh to increase the Indian run totalbut the Kiwi batsmen had little difficulty in reaching their target. Tonight the Indian batsmen were more dogged but their run rate was still fairly low. They hit a total of 149 for the 20 overs. Perhaps it was the surface.

At one point during the Indian inning tensions rose in our section of the ground. A drunken Indian lad down in the front rows started taking abuse from various Kiwis. He hadn't been doing much, just standing up dancing and waving his arms any time the music came on. It was harmless. Himself and a friend were sitting in an area of empty seats but he was drawing attention to himself with his antics, oblivious to others around him. Even when an Indian batsman was bowled out he'd be up dancing. It was comical, I don't think he really knew what he was doing himself. But suddenly he started getting abuse from a group behind him. He heard it, didn't like it. He responded and then other Kiwis got involved. I was sitting 15 rows back and people around me were shouting abuse. Security were attracted to the incident and then notices appeared on the scoreboards warning people would be ejected for racist behaviour. Things calmed down again. After this, however, I wanted the Indians to win.

The Kiwi batsmen started their inning blazing the ball all over the place and it looked as if the game would be over very early. But then the Indian bowlers got down to work and the Kiwi run rate began to slip. Harbajan and Dhoni were class. Everything tightened up. The Kiwi batsmane were forced to rely on singles and doubles and the odd four. As the overs progressed the Kiwi runs slipped below the required run rate, but not by much and there was always the possibility of a few four or sixes which would put them back on top.

Into the last 5 overs and it became clear this was going to be a close finish. The Indian bowlers were keeping it tight. As each delivery failed to produce big hits for m the Kiwi batsmen the crowd began to get nervous. Then with 3 overs to go two Kiwi batsmen were bowled in quick succession. You sensed that the Indians might be going to hang on and win. At the start of the last over the Kiwis required 12 to win. They got a six with the first ball but only got 1 run in the next three deliveries. With the second last ball the Kiwis got 4 tieing the game. One run with the last delivery and the Kiwis would win.

We waited for the last delivery. A delay ensued. Indian fielders approched the umpire. The crowd began to boo. It became apparent that one of the indian fielders had been struck by an object thrown from the crowd. Calm was restored. The Indian bowler made his run and the ball was delivered at pace. A lot of the fast deliveries whizzed in at 140kmh. The batsman met it but the strike wasn't clean. The ball went into a high, looping trajectory. Two Indian fielders raced under the ball. If it was caught the game would go to extra time. If not the Kiwis would win. By now the crowd around me were all on their feet. A massive roar went up when the ball was struck but then the crowd hushed, holding their breath as they watched the ball loop high into the night sky and began to fall short. Everything suddenly seemed to go in slow motion. One of the Indian fielders made a desperate full-length dive to catch the dropping ball. It grazed his fingertips and slipped to the ground. The Kiwis had their run. They got the victory and cheers erupted again as the crowd celebrated. It was a great finish to the game, very dramatic.

Thurs 26th Feb: Mount Cook to Christchurch

I had hoped to get up early to do a hike at dawn and get some shots of Mt Cook in the early morning sun. I got up at 6.30am and looked out. Heavy cloud and mist hung low in the valley. There was no chance of a shiot in these conditions so I went back to bed for another couple of hours. By 9am it was a lot better. I had a quick breakfast and dropped my rucksack into the luggage room as I would be checking out today to head back to Christchurch. I followed a trail on the opposite side of the valley I had hiked yesterday. This trail led to a viewing point which looked up onto Mt Cook. The summit was still shrouded by cloud but while I was at the viewing point it lifted and I was able to get a decent shot of the full extent of the mountain. It didn't last long though. More clouds soon rolled in and by midday the mountain was totally obscured by a bank of clouds. There were a good few hikers out on the trails again this morning. One thing that is very noticeable on the hikes in this country. The people are friendly. All the Kiwis say hello and are courteous on the trails. I used to get wound up in South America by hikers, all young Europeans, who brushed you aside and refused to acknowledge you. There are the odd instances of this here but, guess what?, they're young European backpackers. I really am starting to despise the ignorance of some of these travellers. By the way nobody under 25 knows how to close a door out here. It must be a generational thing.

Mt Cook is New Zealand's highest peak, standing at 2,719m. Named after Captain Cook it was spotted by one of his crew form his ship as he sailed around the south island. The original, Maori name is Aoraki, or, 'Cloud Piercer', as the summit normally stands clear above the cloudline. Edmund Hillary climbed Mt Cook and the peaks of the southern Alps before his successful ascent of Everest. A memorial to those who have died in these mountains sits in the middle of the valley and lists a surprisingly high number of names.

I was back, showered and fed in time for the 2.30pm bus back to Christchurch. The bus retraced the route of the previous two days. We listened to the same stories from a different driver, in reverse order. Most of the passengers on the bus today were Japanese and an interpreter relayed the stories through headsets which were provided for the non-English speakers. We get back to Christchurch around 7.30pm. With an early start tomorrow for the bus up to Picton I don't do much. After yesterdays culinary feats I decide to eat out for once and went for an Indian. A chicken Pasanda with naan bread and washed down with Bundaberg ginger beer, my new favourite drink of New Zealand. Awesome, no worries mate!!

Wed 25th Feb: Mount Cook

I spent this morning sorting out buses, accomodation etc for the next few days. You have to be a lot more organised here in New Zealand than in SSouth America. You have to book your hostel in advance or chances are you may not get accomodation. It means most of my time on the internet is noe spent checking bus timetables or accomodation listings. Which means ultimately that the blog is suffering as I fall way behind with the updates. This morning I have also changed my flight to Bali. I put it back by 3 days to give me a little extra time here.

With all the organising the morning flew. Very soon it was time to catch the bus to Mount Cook.

We're heading into the heart of the Southern Alps to see New Zealand's highest mountain Aoraki/ Mt Cook. The weather was beautiful this morning so it was fingers crossed in the hope that it would remain fine up in the mountains. It was a relatively shot hop of 90 mins across moorlands and the shores of lake Pukaki whose waters were even more brilliantly blue than Tekapo's. Creeping around the shores of Pukaki the summit of Mt Cook stood high above the cloud line off in the distance in the heart of the mountains. Following the western shore of lake Pukaki northwards Mt Cook loomed in and out of view. Some of the passengers had booked scenic flights over the mountains by helicopter and plane . These were dropped off at their relevant stops.

By 1.30pm the bus pulled into the hostel at Mt Cook and a gaggle of backpackers jumped off here. Like yesterday I didn't hang about. I ate, got changed and followed a hiking trail which brought me up one of the mountain valleys towards Mt Cook. The route was evidently a popular one judging by the umber of people on the trail. The mountains lining the valley went up over 2,000m and held glaciers high up on their sides. As the afternoon progressed cloud descended and you coud hear but not see the small avalanches that rumbled like distant thunder high above the snowline. At the head of the valley lay a glacial lake fed by a glacier that drops chunks of ice and meltwaters from its base. The glacier, covered by black debris winds it way down around the base of Mt Cook. Small icebergs float down the lake away from the fron of the glacier towards a fast moving stream which drains the lower end of the lake. Beyond the glacier the tall imposing form of Mt Cook rose up. By noe its summit was obscured by cloud. The cloud came in, wisping over the summits of lower mountains. Rising and falling in the air currents. 5 or 6 of us waited awhile hoping the clouds would lift and give us a clear view of the mountain. The clouds didn't lift, instead more rolled in over the tops of the surrounding mountains so I turned around and hiked back down the valley.

In the evening I cobbled together a meal of eggs, tuna beans and toast in the kitchen from a few bits and bobs I could get the tiny shop in the hostel. As I prepared the food a Japanese guy and I asked if I was from the U.K. I told him I where I was from. He said he thought I must have been from the U.K. judging by the food I was making. I laughed but then became quite conscious of what others were making for themselves. One girl was preparing an avocado salad and prwans and pasta in a wine sauce. A lad had grilled chicken in a sauce on a bed of saffron rice. I began to squirm as I chomped into another slice of half-burned toast.

Tues 24th Feb: Lake Tekapo

Its dark wet and gloomy this morning. Not very promising for a trip into the mountains. I get the 8.30am bus to Lake Tekapo. It continues to rain for the next 2 hrs as the bus crosses the flat Cantebury plains. The amount of rain in NZ is starting to bug me. At least the driver helps to lift the gloom. A lot of the drivers on the Intercity buses give running commentaries on the towns and places of interest along the route. This driver this morning is qite humerous as he delivers his lines. The heavy cloud sits low over the wide plains. They are so low you feel as though if you reached up you could touch them. Thank God for the drivers anecdotes. With all the gloom I'm beginning to feel underwhelmed by NZ. The people are loverly, its very pretty and its a great sporting nation but it all feels too familiar. It doesn't feel like an adventure. I put this down to the days of bad weather and the fact that I've just been to Tonga.

Things begin to look up on the weather front as the driver launches into a story about an Irish sheep rustler. The rain stops and the clouds begin to lift. The sheep rustler was caught and imprisoned before escaping three times. He is eventually released for good behaviour and moves to Australia. The plains have been left behind and the bus has climbed through some wild hill country. Soon Lake Tekapo comes into view. We travel around the lake shore to the tiny settlement at the southern tip of the lake. It consists of a small cluster of shops and cafes huddled around a petrol station. These serve the few holiday parks, motel and hostel in the vicinity. The hostel lies a short distance from the shops close to the lakeshore. I checked in. By now the clouds were breaking up and blue skies began to appear. I prepared some food, got changed quickly and headed out to hike around the lake while the weather was good.

Lake Tekapo is a glacial lake, fed by one of the glaciers coming out of the mountains which stand on the far shore. Under a bright sky the glacial waters turn a beautiful turquoise blue and are very reminiscent of some of the glacial lakes in Argentina. I spent three hours in the hills overlooking Tekapo and got back to he hostel around 5pm. Earlier the hostel had appeared empty. Now it was full. I was in a mixed 6-bed dorm sharing with a group of Japanese bikers. I usually dread sharing with a group who are travelling together as it teds to be a lot noiser than if you are sharing with solo travelers. Thankfully this group were quiet enough.

Mon 23rd Feb: Christchurch- Awesome, No worries Mate!!

I have an unexpected extra day in Christchurch. I wanted to take a bus to Lake Tekapo over by the Southern Alps on the way to see Mount Cook, NZ's highest mountain. THe bus was booked out so I have to wait until tomorrow. I decided to change Hostels which is just around the corner from the bus station. The early part of the day was taken up by a visit to a doctors surgery to get a prescription to top up on the thyroid tablets which I have to take. In a secondhand bookshop next door to the surgery I found a copy of the first book of the Lord of The Rings so that will be my reading fo rthe next while. I spent the rest of the day looking around Christchurch. It is gearing up for a festival of flowers and as a result the city centre is festooned with colourful flower arrangements. Its a very pretty city, one of the cleanest cities I've ever seen. Very quiet, very pleasant.