Deep South

Well it has been an amazing couple of weeks...

We went from the internet cafe in Dunedin to the Otago Peninsula where we stayed at a holiday park in our tent and watched the season (last season presumably) finale of Brothers and Sisters. We also saw some seals, one really close, and tried to see some albatross but you had to pay big bucks to walk close enough to see them. We are pretty sure we saw one circling as we were driving up though. The weather improved the next day and we drove along a high road to see the sea. Then we continued on south and stayed at a Wildlife and Fisheries pond where there were sheep grazing and some duck hunters... or at least their shotgun shells. We were surrounded by tall grass and apparently there are allergens in NZ too... so I was a bit sniffly to say the least.
In the morning we hit the road toward Nugget Point where we saw some seals from far away. We did get to see some swimming which was cool. Cannibal Bay was next and there we saw a few seals pretty close, and one even swam right out in front of the rock upon which we were standing. Brian, Anja and Philip went for a swim but I found the water too cold to attempt it... not worth it! We visited a waterfall in the afternoon and stayed on a DOC (Dept of Conservation) campsite on a beach. There was a beautiful sunset and two enormous sea lions on the beach, one of which charged and attacked the other (but lost and returned to his spot in the sand a few meters away). It rained the next morning and our tent got pretty soaked. But....
We stayed at a backpackers in Curio Bay (though the backpackers was situated on Porpoise Bay) and it was such a windy afternoon that we stood outside with our tent, tarp and rain fly and it was all dry in 10 or 15 minutes. We saw a few hectors dolphins in the bay earlier in the day and visited a petrified forest on the coast before retiring to the backpackers to relax with our books in a beautiful and cozy room. In the evening we went back to the petrified forest to watch for the yellow eyed dolphins to come in from sea. We got a good look at one-- they are big!-- as he hopped along the rocks, preening, standing still doing nothing, calling to the other penguins in the bush, and then hopping off to join them. It was pretty cool.
In the morning we enjoyed some toast (when we are tent camping we just eat PBJ sandwiches at a backpackers we get to have PBJ toast and its a real treat!) and tea and noticed some dolphins swimming in the surf just off the beach 100 meters from the dining room window. So we put on our suits and ran to the water... it was COLD but once I got in and submerged and just sort of swam and floated around it was not so bad, or I was just numb. The dolphins swam away when we first got in but after a few minutes of us just swimming in one spot they got a bit closer and were within probably 20 meters or less of us surfing on the waves. Two of the little guys were even jumping out of the water over one another. It was so cool! We got cold and they swam farther away so we got out and took advantage of hot showers at the backpackers before Philip and Anja arrived to pick us up. When they arrived we watched dolphins for a while longer and got some good photos of them swimming really close to some other lucky people. We made our way to Invercargil and then on to Riverton where we collected some sea shells on the beach and then the van broke down (something about a wheel and attaching it...) but a lovely woman saw us on the side of the road and told us she owned a backpackers and we could camp there for free and just pay for the shower. The car was fixed the next afternoon but we stayed another night, since the rate was so good!
We headed into Fiordland the next morning and stayed at a DOC campsite on a lake where the water was clear and gorgeous (as it is pretty much everywhere in this country) and the sandflies were vicious! A little German boy-Jonas- was camping down the hill from us and he joined us for some games of catch with his Nerf football and for a campfire. He was quite entertaining.
We woke up late and ran to the lake, dodging sandflies, for a morning swim. It didn't last long but it was good to freshen up after all the bug spray (which was reapplied immediately after exiting the water). We thought about staying another night but the sandflies drove us away. We stopped at Lake Manapouri-- where some of the overnight Milford Sounds cruises depart-- for an afternoon at the beach. We found a little spot out of the way and camped. It rained all night and our tent was again quite wet.
We proceded to Te Anau the last town before the Milford Road where Brian and I stayed a backpackers, did laundry and dried our stuff on the windy clothes line. The weather improved the next day and we camped at an in town holiday park where we learned about Heath Ledger's death... RIP. Philip and Anja had the car looked at again and discovered that the brake pads needed replacing and there was a leak in the brake fluid line... or something. They got it fixed the next morning while Brian and I went on a walk from Te Anau to Brod Bay. It was a 3.5 hour round trip walk with a few breaks for some snacks and even a longer stop to read our books on a beach. We returned to town and met Philip and Anja and a repaired van! So we stocked up on provisions and hit the Milford Road for a few nights.
Our first night we drove to the last DOC campsite before Milford. It was pretty crowded and on a lake. We saw 2 eels swimming by the side of the lake where we were camping. We got up early and arrived in Milford in plenty of time for our CRUISE! We took the small boat crusie (cheapest!) with about 20 people and cruised from Milford to the Ocean where we could almost see Australia in the distance (not really but it was out there somewhere). We saw a few seals, tons of waterfalls, a big fault line in the mountains, and oh yeah, some bottlenose dolphins swam right under the boat... heaps of them, babies too! It was a gorgeous day! Great weather, not too much wind. Perfect! We drove back down the road and went on a 3 hour walk to the Key Summit with views of tons of the mountains around Fiordland. We stayed on a DOC site next to a river.
We slept in til 10 and had a relaxing morning at the site before heading back to Te Anau to refuel, restock and hit the road Queenstown bound. We camped at a picnic ground 20 km outside of Queenstown or so and were invited to a party by some locals... but it was quite a drive to get to the party, so we passed. The best part of the picnic site was the noticable lack of sandflies. We could stay outside without being covered in repellant!
We parted ways with Philip and Anja in Queenstown the next morning and hitched our way to Cromwell where we stayed one night, did a gin tasting, ate fresh fruite ice cream, and tried to stay cool. It was 30 degrees C in the area... so in the 80sish F.
This morning we hitched into Alexandra and got jobs at a cherry orchard. Brian will be picking and I will be packing. We have work for the next 10-14 days and have accomodation arranged with the orchard. So we are set for a few weeks at least. Phew... and I have 30 seconds to go!

Peace!