Here it is -the long awaited account of Kelly and Adam's Trip to the South Island. I know it is an amazing title - one that entrances the reader and presents only one delightful option, continuing on to find out what happens next. If you have shown restraint, you may now check out the photos at http://kkeith6.photosite.com chapters South Island Trip and Back in Wellington. Otherwise, follow along now with this fantastic description.

Oh, and just because I know many of you are wondering - Kelly alone on a trip with a guy? Adam and I are just friends. Adam, you've lost all your tribal wives, sorry to burst your bubble. =)

November 30th (yes, over a month ago, apologies)
Repacked and ready to head out. With Lori and Sandy back in the States and Jenn searching for a job, it was up to Adam and I to press onward on the exploration trail down to the South Island. Since we turned in the rental car, our feet and the train were our modes of transport from Tawa to the ferry. This meant pulling our suitcases to the train station. Thankfully, a wonderful old woman (retired nurse!) took pity on us, pulling over to offer us a ride down to the station only a minute after we left the flat. Obviously Adam's chiefly presence was still summoning followers (or maybe he was looking a bit weak, hmm). Once off the train, we soon discovered that the ferry station closest to the train was NOT the one we needed. In fact, our ferry was docked at a terminal much farther away so we sped pulled our suitcases for over 30 minutes to make it in time for departure. Hot and sweaty, we were ready for the 3-hour boat trip after that. The ferry ride was pleasant, including a sighting of a pod of dolphins in the Sounds. They really showed off, even doing back flips! Once in Picton, we picked up our rental car - with a free upgrade to a little Rav4 SUV. We headed out to the Queen Charlotte Track on the Q.C. Sounds. We did just a short walk through the bush, as this track is one of the famous multi-day tramps taken by serious trampers. Back in the car, on our way to Nelson, we stopped at the Pelorus Bridge Scenic Reserve. From here we took a walk over a suspension bridge, then through bush and forest, past lots of huge Crown ferns. We saw a few guys abseiling off of the steel Pelorus Bridge into the gorge river below on our way back to the car - just doing it for fun! That night we ate at the Lone Star restaurant in Nelson for dinner - hoping for some good Mexican fajitas, but settling for the interesting attempt they served!

December 1
Left The Green Monkey, our hostel for the night. The names of these places can get quite creative. Drove to part of the inland portion of the Abel Tasman National Park. Definitely off the beaten path with the one lane unsealed road to get to the track - but the walk was fun. We packed lunches then walked through tall dark forests, over boulders/stones on the trail, to the lookout at Harwood's Hole - the deepest "tomo" or sinkhole in the Southern Hemisphere. Too bad the view wasn't great, but I did get a little thrill reading the signs warning of the dangers of getting too close to the edge! We took a sidetrack up to a viewpoint of the Upper Takaka River Valley too. This was an amazing place as we maneuvered over very sharp, spiked rocks to the edge of the cliff to look out over the landscape. We ate lunch on the rocks and enjoyed literally being in the clouds.
After that Adam and I drove to the coast for a few hours walk on the coastal track of the Abel Tasman (another multi-day tramp like Queen Charlotte - some people opt to do portions of the track with a water taxi pick up or to do sea kayaking along the coast). We stopped at two bays to relax and check out the quartz rocks and shells near the water's edge. A highlight of this walk was seeing a quail family along the path with the parents struggling to round up their kiddos. Another night in Nelson, this time at Alan's Place (good night's rest finally!)

December 2
Several super stops along the drive today. First was Buller Gorge on the Buller River. The long swing bridge, various walking paths, and lunch at the powerful Ariki Falls were awesome.but certainly a highlight was our choice to zip back over the gorge Superman style (for a fee of course). Adam went first, so I got to see the set-up. To start, you are harnessed up with something like a typical zip line harness, but with a long fabric section on the front from chest to knees. Then, the operator has you kneel down and lay flat on your belly to adjust the balance for a nice even ride. Stand up again, then ready, set, run, and LEAP off the tower over the edge and out over the gorge in flying form. They say the leap is a bit like the leap of a bungy jump - it certainly was a rush. Adam really hammed it up with his best Superman impression! Good times were had by all.
All smiles, back on the road to Punakaiki's Pancake Rocks. We didn't arrive at high tide, supposedly the best time to view the rocks with crashing waves, but the mysterious layers of the limestone rocks still awed us. Check out the photos.
We finished the day in Hokitika, on the West Coast, with a beach walk at sunset checking out the waves and millions of unique stones on the beach.

December 3
Continuing the drive south along the West coast - I was disappointed that clouds covered the mountains so Adam wasn't able to enjoy the spectacular views I saw on the last trip.but the mysterious clouds and rain made the drive pretty nonetheless. We arrived at the Fox Glacier and took a walk to the terminal face. We almost didn't make it due to a stream in our path, but after Adam went ahead, I found another less wet route and met him at the end. By this time the rain was really coming down and Adam was not quite the happy camper with a soggy mop of hair and not so waterproof jacket, so we rushed back to the car after attempting to snap a few photos without getting our cameras wet. We saw a Kea bird in the parking lot - just as cheeky as ever. That evening we tried to dry out in our humid hostel, and cooked ourselves a spaghetti dinner using the kitchen facilities.

December 4
Still rainy this morning, which caused our heli-hike to be cancelled since the weather was too poor for the flight (helicopter ride up to the top of the glacier then a hike). Alternative hikes were offered starting from the ground, but I was reluctant to get out in the rain again as I didn't have waterproof pants. We found out that the Alpine Guides company offered rain jacket, rain pants, wool socks, and boots for their half-day hike, so we signed up! What a great reward. We walked again to the terminal face, much easier with those boots to tramp through the water. The glacier river was noticeably different this morning with massive chunks of beautiful blue ice in the water. Our guide said the glacier is always changing and moving - this ice must have broken off from inside during the night and was being pushed out with the powerful force of the river. Check out the description on my photos for more glacier info. We climbed the steep rock next to the glacier in pouring rain, but as were attaching the cramp-ons (metal spikes) to our boots and picking out our hiking poles, the clouds began to clear. Following our Alpine Guide, armed with pick ax to hack a path through the re-freezing ice of previously cut paths, we made our way onto the ice. We were told to stomp our feet in order to have secure footing, utilizing the spikes on our boots. The temperature was warmer on the glacier than it was on the ground! We hiked along, amazed by the sights and just the thought of what we were doing. We had glimpses of the clearer blue ice higher up on the glacier and the snow-capped mountain beyond that. Beautiful! With about an hour on the ice, we made our way back down to rainy cold.
That afternoon, we drove to Lake Matheson, one of the most photographed lakes in NZ. Again, the clouds totally blocked out the Southern Alps, but Adam and I had a good walk around the lake. We started driving back up north, staying overnight at the Franz Josef Glacier. Similar looking to the Fox, but a much easier walk for a closer view, and no rain. The clouds cleared a bit at sunset, so we had a peak of the beautiful mountains from the village and our hostel.

December 5
This morning we drove out to Okarito - admiring the smooth waters at the Okarito lagoon and then the waves and sea mist along the beach nearby. This was a great beach - made me feel small but special.
Our final destination was Greymouth to catch the TranzAlpine train to Christchurch that afternoon. With just one hour before we arrived there, my car nap was abruptly ended when I heard an "uh oh" from Adam. Seems that his momentary loss of speed control due to the pure joy of a straight road in New Zealand caught the attention of a passing cop. Neither of us knowing proper NZ procedure, Adam pulled over on the left and waited for the cop to turn around (caught him coming head on). Clocked at 10-13 kph over the 100 kph speed limit, Adam was slapped with a ticket and then a few parting jokes from the policewoman. Who wants to joke around when they have a fine? Anyway, Adam took it well and paid the fine when we arrived in Greymouth. Took the scenic train ride to Christchurch, having a delay in the middle of the trip as our train's headlight was out. We were not allowed to continue on until they switched out engines - glad they had two. Now we know why.
Once in Christchurch was walked to the town center, arriving at the Cathedral just in time for a packed house for the Cathedral Grammar School's Christmas Festival of Carols and Lessons. What a great way to experience the church! We sat near the back and enjoyed the acoustics of the church, the sweet songs and Bible readings, and the hymn sign-a-long. Afterward we grabbed some pizza and went back to the hostel feeling very tired.

December 6
Caught a shuttle to the Chch airport and took a plane back to Wellington. We received a warm welcome from Jenn, who had prepared lunch for us. We told her about our adventures and shared photos. Home for good (at least for a few weeks)!

But, busy as ever, that afternoon was the final Girls Club for Russell School. Jenn came along again, so we were called "Mary Kate and Ashley" by the girls this time. The end of term activity was a trip to the Bowl Land. Katerena, the leader, hired a van to help with the transport, so I took half the girls with me and she drove with Jenn and the rest. There was quite a contest between the girls deciding who got to ride with me and who got to sit next to me - LOVE them! We had a great time bowling (with bumper lanes) and had an award and photo presentation along with popsicles at the end. When Jenn asked if the girls knew any songs, it was quite a shock when they started singing in unison ALL the words to the song "Don't you wish your girlfriend was hot like me." Yikes - 4th and 5th grade girls, who is innocent anymore? I am going to miss spending time with them! School doesn't start back until the end of February after their summer break.

December 7
Adam flew home. Our whirlwind New Zealand adventure with our friends comes to an end.

Soon to follow...cricket game, Wellington fun, Christmas with Kiwis, and trip with Mom (currently in progress).
Happy New Year to all! Make sure you tell me how you are doing. Our return date is still set at Feb 25th FYI.