Cold beer, cold ice, cold New Zealand.

April 23: Christchurch - Greymouth

I was up early Monday morning, ready and waiting outside for the free 7:10 shuttle that was to take me to the train station. The "bus" part of my bus tour didn't officially start until I got to the west coast, but the package included transport from east to west via the TransAlpine, a highly scenic train journey.

Well, as often happens here in New Zealand, I did a lot of waiting and wound up with a whole lot of nothing. By 7:25 the shuttle had still not arrived, and I was set to board the train at 7:45. I ran to a payphone and called the first taxi service I could find, telling them that I needed to be at the train station in the next 20 minutes.

I hadn't even made it back to my bag before a cab came whizzing around the corner. A friendly chap jumped out, threw my bag in the trunk and told me to hop in and strap down. He'd get me there, but it wasn't going to be pretty.

Going down two one-way streets the wrong way, running about half a dozen "pink" lights (as Dad would call them) and taking all corners at highly excessive speeds, we made it to the train station. The time? 7:42. I actually gave him a hug (and a huge tip, which I'm sure he appreciated a lot more :P).

The train journey lived up to the hype completely. I was snapping away like a maniac the whole time. Over about four hours the train makes its way almost straight across from Christchurch to Greymouth, cutting right through the Southern Alps. Everyone keeps asking me if they compare to the Rockies at home, but I don't think they're really comparable.

Anyway, take a look at some of the better shots I managed to snap on the journey:









Totally unbelievable.

I made it into Greymouth at about 12:30, and headed straight for the Info Centre. I hadn't booked any accommodation, as my Fodor's guide had no recommendations (Greymouth is one of those "blink and you'll miss it"-type places), so I asked the lady at the front desk what she recommended. She said most backpackers stay at a place called "Noah's Arc Lodge." This is especially true for the Magic Bus folk because it's the first pick-up in the morning. Done and done.

I didn't really think about why someone in small-town New Zealand would give their hostel such a name until I got there. Every single room is animal-themed! Giraffes, pandas, sheep, pigs, dogs, cats, you name it. It was so cheesy I had to laugh.

I was in the "pig room" which, needless to say, was very... pink. But the beds were comfy and the heat was on, so I was happy.

And a word on the temperature: all you guys in the sunny northern hemisphere will most likely be happy to know that the tables have officially turned. As you look outside, watching the snow melt, hearing the birds sing, and walking down the street smelling the unmistakable spring-time scent of recently thawed-out dog crap, you can seek comfort in the fact that New Zealand, and especially the South Island, is fricking cold. Not Canada-winter cold (there's no snow yet, it's still autumn), but daytime brings an average of about ten degrees, dropping to about five or six at night. Booerns to that.

Moving on, I spent my afternoon in Greymouth doing laundry and watching Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Not exactly glamorous, but the laundry part was definitely necessary.

At 6:00 I headed out to the foyer to wait for my ride to that evening's activities: a tour of the Monteith's Brewery (my favourite NZ beer), which included dinner at a nearby restaurant.

I was happy to see a crowd waiting when I arrived, and almost laughed when I heard them speak. Six girls, every single one of them Irish. I didn't even bother to ask if they were waiting for the brewery tour!!

The tour was a lot of fun, and turned out to be a great way to make some new friends. There were also a few guys on the tour, and halfway through one of them walks up to me and says "Do I know you?" His English accent sounded familiar, but I couldn't quite place the face (I see so many these days!). I struggled for a minute until he said "Were you in the Coromandel on Easter weekend?"

Holy crap! It was Simon, one of the guys Robyn, Alex and I had played cards with at the Pinnacles hut the night we'd arrived. Crazy!

Now of course every good brewery tour comes with a free sample or two, and this was no different. In fact, it was bloody fantastic. There are seven different kinds of Monteith's brew: Original, Black, Celtic Red, Radler (it's more of a cider), Golden, Pilsner, and a spiced "Summer" brew that is only available in-season.

Well, we got to taste every kind (except Summer, as it's... not anymore... *tear*), and then our guide, who had been awesome the whole way though, said "Ok guys, I've got some 'business' to attend to for the next 15-20 minutes. Since you guys are the last tour of the day, I'll just leave you here at the bar until the bus arrives. You know where the taps are."

SWEET!

Another four or five sample glasses later, we all stumbled onto the bus and headed for our dinner--which also included a free "mega-pint" of our brew of choice!

Dinner was good, but the company was better. I got to know a couple of the Irish girls, Mary and Lynsey, and English girl, Caroline, and an American guy named Nick. Simon and I also had the chance to catch up, which was great. We stayed at the bar until they politely asked us to leave (it was only about 12:30... oh New Zealand...), and then walked two streets over to an Irish pub for some pool and another brew-or-two.


April 24: Greymouth - Franz Josef

The next morning I was up and ready for the Magic Bus at 8:00. I had been pleased to discover that almost everyone from the brewery tour was on the same bus as me (except Simon, he was hitching. That guy is nutbar).

I was also happy to see that we had an awesome bus driver: Beven. Bev has been with Magic for going on six years now, and has worked as a guide for other companies before that. Not only is he hilarious, but he really knows the South Island, and his local tips and knowledge were indispensable.

It had been a late night and early morning, so between Bev's commentary, most of us just slept. I took a wee nap, but was still too amazed by the scenery to close my eyes for too long.

We had two brief stops on the way to Franz Josef. One was a town called Hokitika, famous for its greenstone mining (though here they call it pounamou), and the other a town called Ross, which became famous as the centre of New Zealand's gold-rush in the late 1800s. There was at option to pan for gold, but I took a pass.

We arrived in Franz Josef just after lunch, and were hastily dumped in our hostels to we could drop our stuff and get back to town for that afternoon's activities. Franz Josef is VERY small town known for one thing: a really frigging big glacier.

Operating almost entirely on tourism revenue, Franz Josef offers guided tours up to and through the glacier (of the same name). There are half-day, 3/4-day and full-day tours, and of course the offer of a "heli-hike" which for an OBSCENE amount of money will take you to the very top of the glacier to roam around for a while without having to do any of that nasty "exercise" stuff.

Not wanting to have to stay an extra night, I along with many of my bus-mates chose the half-day hike, which set off promptly at 1:00. We were suited up with climbing boots and spikes, jackets, hats and gloves, and taken on a 10 minute bus ride, followed by a 45-minute hike to the base of the glacier. There we strapped on our spikes and set off through of Franz Josef for the better part of two hours.

It was SO much fun.

Because of time constraints we didn't get to go too far up the glacier, but we did a fair bit. The guides lead the way with pic-axes, chopping steps into the ice wherever necessary. We climbed up steep hills, through narrow pathways, and definitely got up high enough to get some decent shots of the rest of the glacier. It was truly an awesome experience.

We were back in town by about 5:00 and I for one was starving. I wanted to try and finish my Christchurch post though, so I had a snack to stay my hunger, and told the girls I would meet them at a local restaurant an hour later. Bev had told us about this bar that does pizza and beer for $15, and after our hike through the snow, a hot pie and a cold beer sounded fabulous.

The bar was pretty cool too. The owners had stuccoed the ceiling to look like the inside of the glacier. I know it sounds a bit cheesy, but it definitely added to the atmosphere.

I chatted some more with the girls, and found out that a few of them were doing the Milford Sound cruise when we got to Queenstown. I had signed up for the cruise, hearing only good things about it from the folks at the paper in Tauranga, and was glad to hear I'd be having some company for the cruise, as well as for the extra day I'd decided to add on in the city.

Our bedtime was very decent compared to the night before, but as always when you're on the road, the night passes quickly, and the morning comes early.

Tune in next time for the Queenstown fun-time extravaganza!