New Zealand Part 1 .... The Great Outdoors

We decided that to get the most from our short time in NZ, we would book onto a bus tour and attempt to see as much of both islands as possible. 

The tour company was called 'Magic Bus' and it picked us up and dropped us off at hostels throughout the country. We could also book onto activities for the various destinations on the bus and, in theory, jump on and off the route at any point.  

   

Our first stop after an overnight stay in Christchurch was Kaikoura, where we arrived in the early afternoon and booked onto a whale watching trip. We were lucky enough to see not one but three sperm whales on our first full day in NZ!

Next up were a couple of seal encounters. Our driver Scott had a soft spot for the critters so we made a few stops on the way to our next destination, firstly to see some rather sleepy looking adults, who had just returned from three weeks of eating at sea...

And then we saw the babies, playing under a waterfall....

The bus route took us anti-clockwise around the South Island, making many photo stops and 'morning tea' breaks a long the way.  

As we had arrived during the New Zealand winter, the weather was amazingly changeable.  One of our photo stops was at 'Pancake Rocks' on the West Coast.  We got absolutely soaked on our 15 minute walk to the rocks but the views were impressive.

The next few days were a little frustrating, due to the winter timetable. During the winter you can either stay for 1 night or 4 nights in each location, and due to our tight schedule, we couldn't afford to stay for the longer time. Therefore, we missed out on a few activities where you need at least one full day in the area. Our next opportunity to do any activities was at Franz Josef Glacier. We were hoping to do a 'Heli-Hike', where we would have taken a helicopter flight halfway up the Glacier, then hiked around before flying back down.

Unfortunately, when we arrived we were told that because of the weather, they were not running the heli-hikes. We were disappointed but thought that instead we could join the rest of the bus party on the half-day glacier walk. What we hadn't bargained for, however, was one of the most unhelpful people in the world (we can say that now!!), and her obvious distaste for all things and people Magic. She told us that the Glacier walk was fully booked (even though there was plenty of equipment available) and when we asked how to get to the only other place that does Glacier walks, she just shrugged her shoulders. Customer service at its best!

We had spent the last few days on the bus, not being able to do any activites and it looked like one of the highlights of our trip was going to be ruined by someone who couldn't be bothered to help. But then, when all hope was nearly lost, we were helped out by a lady in a nearby information centre who went out of her way to make sure we would have a good lasting memory of Franz Joseph.

She managed to book us onto a great scenic flight above the glacier, here is what we thought of it...