Ice Climbing

Well we got out of the helicopter and went straight for the ice climbing. Lot harder than it looks believe me. This place in Fox Glacier is actually the biggest ice climbing facility in the Southern Hemisphere. Don the spikey boots and start hacking your way up the wall. It's a bit like indoor climbing only colder :)


Diane loved it, better than me I have to say more points for style by far.

Di going up the chimney

Why is it Diane looks moderately cool and I look like a muppet ? :)

Helicopter over Mt Cook

Man this was one of the best thrill rides yet. Helicopter ride around Mt Cook, Mt Tasman and the Fox Glacier. The Chopper was as used by US Special Forces. 5 blades 100% viz an engine that really kicked plus a pilot who was game on. Right from the off it was just spectacular. We went right around the mountains and then
landed at the head of the Glacier.

With the Pilot. What a job

Pristine wilderness, just magic. Reckon Heli skiing must be awsome I can see why people pay the money. Just perfect.

Av it, caught Diane with a well aimed snow ball.

She still loves me though

Crikey I'm lookin like grizzly adams :)

Getting right in close to the crevasses on the Glacier, beautiful blue colour.








Few bits of vid.

Curling in Central Otago

Naseby is a little place in the middle of the central Otago region. It's also home to the best Curling facility in New Zealand. You've all seen them on the Winter Olympics. One person skates forward releasing a 20 odd kg stone. It slides down the alley accompanied by the sweepers frantically sweeping in front of the granite lump, trying to get it to stop in the circle. What I didn't realise is that the opposing team take over the sweeping (once it passes a certain line) to try and get it to overshoot. It's a great game. We had about 10 minutes of instructions and were off. The alleys are in a huge refrigerated building, about -3. Honestly bloody freezing, after an hour we were almost hyperthermic :)!! Basically you gently swing the stone backwards and forwards releasing it with a slight turn - the stone glides off at a gentle arc curling towards the target, hence the name "curling" without the curl or spin if you like, they are completely uncontrollable, with a bit of spin the experts can land it on a sixpence.

Diane letting go of the stone, nice technique sweetheart

It's all in the wrist action

Bit of sweeping and..

right in the sweetspot !

This is the actual Olympic torch from the games held in Torrino Italy 2006

Moeraki Boulders

Litttle Port of Moeraki home to the famous boulders

Angel of the North, why do we keep sticking our arms out. I'm starting to get paranoid about it :)

arhhhhhh

I got hold of a big hammer and gave this one a smack to see if it had anything inside :) Joking. The stones are actually concretians, and formed over millenia as the mineral content at the core attracted other elements forming the round shape, gradually the sea has eroded the land which was quite soft leaving the stones that are very hard, easy.

Amazing and found nowhere else

Dunedin

Dunedin is famous for a few things and one is its resident population of Royal Albatrosses. On the left is a chick we watched from the hide. You would never know it but they're huge; this little (big) chick weighed in at about 10kgs. Once they take flight, the chicks spend their first 2 years at sea!! Before pairing for life. Whilst watching we saw several adults come in to feed their chicks. Man they are just gliding machines. I think about the gliders we fly back home and then you see nature evolving the perfect form. The wing span reachs 3m and the wings fold at 3 points, really cool bird.

Looking for pesky penguins

Dunedin's other famous land mark is the Speights Brewery. Now we're talking my language, I wandered blissfully around as the guide talked about, hops and barley and mash and yeast, get in lets have some tasting. Thirsty business this :)

Interesting story. In years gone by the workers were given 8 pints each per day to take home in a little wooden barrel. Wasn't till the practice stopped that the company realised the coopers had made the barrels with wooden struts half the normal thickness. The scallies were actually getting about 1o pints a pop, hell they must have been permanently pissed. There was also a bar on each floor of the brewery !

Blimey, looks like I'm throwing up :) All these coppers are still used to brew at the moment

At last we got to sample all their ales and I have to say they tasted great, like nectar!! Cheers.

A mountain of choccie at the Cadbury factory

Following day Diane got her chance with the tour of the Cadbury Factory. From crunchie bars, chocolate drops and milo bars (similar to mars bars) it all starts here; raw materials go into huge mixers and the lovely choccy comes out the other end. We had an interesting tour that ended with a 1 tonne liquid chocolate drop from a tower and loads of freebies :)

Steepest street in the world

Yet more firsts! Dunedin has the steepest street in the world. Seemed like everyone was parking at the bottom and walking up. Nutters, thats why god invented the combustion engine. It doesn't look that steep. Believe me I have never driven up anything close to that steep in a vehicle. It was such such fun we did it twice !!

South Island Scenic Route

Beachcombing, apparently there are gem stones just waiting to be snaffelled up. If I had a day job I wouldn't be giving it up !!:)

This is a very windy place all the trees look like this :)

Piece of coastline with a fossilised forest. This area was once a kind of estuary and the trunks were washed down covered in sediment and millions of years later their petrified remains are exposed once again

Bit of tree trunk in the rock

Don't worry big fella I'm definately not commin any closer :) We came upon this bloody great sea lion one evening. We were just walking down a deserted beach. No one for miles and the puppy was just laid out on the beach having a nap

It was cold, windy and the light fading. But the sea lion was just in his element sleeping like a baby. Felt quite sad seeing him there all on his own.