Travel map

Updated map of our travels..............

The most incredible birthday ever!!!

I have just been treated to the best birthday experience ever. We went onto the Franz Josef Glacier for a heli-hike!! :-)
We got taken up to the glacier by helicopter, it was my first time in a helicopter and I felt like such a big kid. I was so excited I thought I could of burst! He flew us up over the glacier first, sweeping down close to show us the more inaccessible parts of it.

 We then landed on the ice, got out and put on our crampons. My belly was full of butterflies...I couldn't believe I was standing on a glacier. We had a guide who showed us around for two hours. We got to see blue caves and massive ice fields, beautiful clear glacier water flowing beneath us, and even witnessed an ice rock fall in the background.

We were then picked up again by the helicopter and taken back. I can't believe I got to experience something so amazing. If anyone ever gets the opportunity to do it then it is something I would highly recommend. It is a birthday that I am never going to forget!!

Beveridge Street

I am so famous that they have named a street after me in Christchurch lol

Dunedin

Dunedin....New Zealand's Edinburgh. A very accurate statement!
They have Corstorphine and Portobello, the town centre has a Prince's Street, George Street and Queen Street. And just in case there was any doubt.......it's even got rubbishy Scottish rain!!! :-)

Bluff

We have arrived at New Zealand's Lands End....Bluff. There is nothing here lol Apart from a big road sign that represents the start of the New Zealand highway. Standing here we are now 18958km from London!

I travelled here on a mission from Davey Grossart, to try the famous Bluff oysters. Unfortunately they are out of season :-( I'll have to wait until March. But don't worry Davey, I've been assured I will get them all over New Zealand, so will still get to experience the great taste! :-)

I also saw a pretty nice cargo ship....

Milford Sound

Milford Sound is a stunning fiord on New Zealand's West Coast. The 1,200,000ha Fiordland National Park is made up of 14 of these fiords.
We took a 'Juicy Cruize' out into the sound up to the Tasman Sea. We got up close to some waterfalls and was given a pretty cold shower!

This is a beautiful place, even the drive in and out. We passed through a massive avalanche prone area with old snow slips built up on either side of the road. Glad we didn't come here in the middle of winter!!
This has been a lovely relaxing part of the trip, just taking in the scenery and getting to chill out on a cruise.

Quuenstown and Stuarts Birthday

Stuart has had a great birthday down here in Queenstown. At first it was a shock being in such a busy place again after living out in the mountains for so long. It took a while to adjust to the amount of people and shops lol
We became proper tourists while visiting here and indulged in some birthday treats.

1. Ice cream by the lake, a must for any birthday boy.

2. A visit to the Minus 5 Degrees Ice Bar. We were lucky enough that it was only the two of us booked in for that hour so we had the place to ourselves. Our barman Jahfire treated us to some birthday cocktails and shots :-) We lasted the full hour in the -9oC room which was apparently quite rare. Most people get too cold and ask to leave early, but Jahfire just thought we should be hardened to it since we are Scottish!

3. A trip on the Skyline Gondola to catch the view from the top.

4. And then while up there, a race back down on the Luge carts! Stuart won of course, well it is his birthday lol

5. And to top it all off, a Queenstown must. We treated ourselves to a famous Fergburger. These things are massive and are made from scratch within the establishment, even the bread buns. Mine had pork belly complete with crackling, sweet apricot chutney, aioli and lettuce. If that wasn't enough we then topped them with onion rings. They tasted beautiful but I failed the mission to polish it off, just too much, Stuart managed it though!