My Kiwi Experience Part 4: the beautiful south

Our ferry ride to the south island summed up our time in the north weather-wise - so much rain. Thankfully, when we arrived in the south the clouds lifted and we were welcomed by clear blue skies along our journey to Kaiteriteri. This meant that we instantly HAD to get changed into shorts and vest tops to make the most of this rarity and head to the beautiful beach just outside of our hostel. Despite shivering the entire time, it was nice to look at a sunny view but after half an hour we began moaning to the boys so they'd end their ball game and we could all go in for tea.

I already liked this part of New Zealand and I'm not ashamed to say that this initial love was solely because of the amount of vineyards I saw on the journey. Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand is one of my favourites so being surrounded by it made me very happy. Vineyard after vineyard. Lush.

While we're on the topic of alcohol I'll discuss a problem we've been having during the trip. Every night pretty much someone has said "shall we go for a drink" and every single night pretty much the reply has been "yeah, just a couple". Allow me to tell you a little secret - every single night we've failed. However, our night in Kaiteriteri did only involve a couple so we were very proud of ourselves. I may be referring to a couple of jugs here but we'll brush over that, we felt very proud. 

We only had a short stay at Kaiteriteri (otherwise known as Abel Tasman) so we made the most of the weather in the morning by catching a water taxi to Abel Tasman National Park where we wandered for about an hour, witnessing some very beautiful and empty beaches beside the glistening blue ocean. One bay in particular, Te Pukatea, has been recently voted in the world's top ten by The Lonely Planet and they weren't wrong. It was stunning. 

Another potential highlight of this walk which turned out to be a complete let down was when we thought we'd spotted a Kiwi bird. I photographed the poor thing about a million times along with videoing him too. We were very excitable until we found out that it was actually a Weka, an irritating bird that steels anything shiny. Gutted. The Kiwi search continues.

Our next destination was Westport but first we had a few stops. One stop has got to be mentioned because it typically summed us up - the social media generation. The scenery was so stunning. A backdrop of mountains, the middle tip covered in snow and a beautiful lake. The thing to do (apparently) is get a picture on the jetty or jumping off the jetty with the mountains in the background as they stand there looking like a painting, something I've thought about most of New Zealand. So, there we were taking in this scenery, but we were taking it in through our phones. I stopped, took a step back and took it in with a gasp. Reality. There was no way I was jumping in the ice cold lake so I decided to stay dry and be the camera woman. From this stop, we definitely emphasised the fact that everything is so much better in real life. No matter how many likes you get on Instagram, the naked eye captures it the best. Sadly people at home can't share this image with you, but you'll have the pleasure of witnessing it. That said, some epic shots were taken and they will be going on the gram! I'm sorry.

After a chilled night in Westport in preparation for our costume party at Lake Mahinpua, we set off.  I love drives down the west coast as there is absolutely nothing around except trees, sea and rocks. It's so peaceful and though I was tired as coach journeys always make me tired, I desperately tried to stay awake so that I could take in the views. I'd never have thought I'd be so interested in trees and I don't know whether this indicates ageing before my time but they are pretty incredible. I also ate more than necessary that day because my friend was dressing up as a supermarket, the theme being 'anything that you are not', so I was eating constantly to give her my rubbish. Such a good friend!

A few stunning scenic walks and some costume purchasing later, we arrived and were so ready to get dressed up and party. The place was pumping out the music as we walked in, there was a hostel dog and we were in the middle of nowhere so knew instantly that we were in for a great time. After introductions, we had a few hours to spare before dinner so we went to try our hand at greenstone carving. I made a silver fern leaf necklace and I'm afraid to say that I like it too much to give it away as a gift (sorry family and friends). I love it. It was then time to get the beers in, get into our outfits, eat drink and be merry. My friend and I were dressing up as Mario and Luigi. The boys were dressing as grannies and I have never been asked to borrow bras from guys so often in my life. So random, but hilarious.

We had the best night with great company, food and music! And lots of drinking! Onwards and upwards though. Franz Josef next to hopefully do my Helihike on the glacier (weather depending). Keeping fingers and toes crossed and I'll keep you posted. 

Things I've learnt:

-seeing earthquake warnings is different from my norm

-goodbyes are sad

-undoing my belt after meals is becoming too frequent for my liking

-going for "a couple of drinks" is NEVER just a couple

-you know you've met 'your people' when they still tell you never to change even when you're being your complete weirdo wacky self

-nobody is too good for anybody, we're all just as worthy and deserve the best

-they said south island is beautiful, they were 100% correct

-I'm in love with greenstone jewellery

-travel years is a real thing