As we leave Queenstown the bus is noticeably quieter even though it is the middle of the day and I think we all realise our journey together is coming to an end, however, a lot of people on this trip are onwards for more adventures, Rhonda & Bob are flying on to Sydney to join their cruise, Fio is hiring a car (after a lot of hassle) will remain in the South Island for another 10 days or so then will fly back to Auckland and do another 10 days in the North Island before she heads onto Australia and won’t be back in Germany to mid to late April. Janine, well our small and mighty Janine is is NZ to the end of June, she is going to cycle round both Islands over that time, she might pop over to Australia/Tasmania just for visa requirements somewhere in the middle of all this, still to be decided, I am Singapore bound for 3-4 days and then like most others am homeward bound. I know I will miss this lovely group of people, especially Fio.

As we drive out of Queenstown with our various lunches we see the original site of the world’s first commercial bungy jump, Kawarau Bridge, 12th Nov 1968. Founded by AJ Hackett and Henry van Asch, this 43 meter leap over the Kawarau River pioneered the modern adventure activity and it remains “World home of Bungy”. There is a victim about to take a jump and this livens everyone up – everyone is shouting JUMP! JUMP! JUMP! Alas, the victim was waivering and too slow, so we shot past without seeing them fall……

We make a coffee stop in Cromwell, renowned for its sunny climate, fruit orchards and premium Pinot Noir wines…..now you have my attention! Known for its hot dry summers and crisp winters it makes it ideal for stone fruit like cherries, apricots and wine. It is famous for the large fruit sculpture at the town entrance.

Ready for the next one….I am not sure I can prepare you for the excitement and the reasons places become famous…..in this case it was the job of “Shrek” the sheep, this area is famous for its Merino sheep farming, Shrek was from the Bendigo Station (huge farm remember) who became an national income after evading muster (shearing) for 6 years ie from 1998 to 2004 after hiding in caves in the Tarras hills. When finally caught in April 2004, he was carrying 27kg ie 60 lb’s of wool, enough to make 20 large men’s suits! He was shorn on live national to, turning him into an instant celebrity. Shrek became a symbol of NZ, raising money for charities like Cure Kids and helping to save the local Tarras School. He passed away at the age of 16 in 2011.

We stop for coffee in a local farm shop whose produce was fabulous and gardens simply gorgeous.

Ok here are some of the flowers……

Stargazing: Situated within Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve which offer exceptional stargazing opportunities. The are big dome/pods which you will see in the pics – I am sure that would have been worthwhile to have gone up to.

Sir William “Bill” Hamilton, remember I said I would come back to Bill? No? Ok – the clue is Jet boats, so there is this thing in NZ called ‘No: 8 Mentality”, broadly this came from people inventing things and having to improvise with the materials they had as opposed to what they actually needed and Bill was a prime example of this. He was a legendary engineer and inventor and most famous for developing the modern jet boat. In the 1950’s, he got fed up with his propellers get caught up and so he refined marine jet propulsion to allow boats to navigate the shallow, shingle-bottomed rivers. His design which expelled water above the waterline, eliminated the need for vulnerable underwater propellers. Before his engineering fame, he was a notable racing driver, why does that not surprise me, he was once holding the Australasian speed record. His boats later powered world first expeditions, such as the 1960 upstream journey through the Grand Canyon which really put this engine on the map.

Well, after being so many beautiful places, no-one could describe Twizel as beautiful, I am rather under whelmed, broadly, it is a big Tintown literally a tin town of corrugated homes, which developed into a town when people who had come to work in 1968 for the hydroelectric workers and ended up being here years, putting roots down etc. It is located, in their words, “in the heart of the Mackenzie District”, otherwise described as the middle of no-where. It is a hub for fishing (mostly salmon some trout), kayaking, hiking and cycling the Alps 2 Ocean trail (of which we are doing part of in the morning), surround by five turquoise lakes.

Fio and I grad some food in the groceries store, we just eat in and have a quiet one, I have been struggling with what turns out to be an allergy, I thought it was sand fly bites initially but things are really progressing and I have had so little sleep because of it, yes even less than usual.

I feel really off par when I wake, low grade temp I think, not sure, we are scheduled to do a 20km cycle this morning, anyway, I probably should not have gone but I did and I enjoyed it very much, the cycle started at Irishman’s Creek on Lake Pukaki and is part of Alps 2 Ocean Cycle Trail. It is within the Irishman Creek Station, a 6,000 hectare working farm, the Trail is a total of 315 km long, thankfully this was broadly, q flat cycle where there is a lot of farmed Salmon and people finish on the canals we are travelling along, it is very beautiful and hey maybe I shouldn’t have been so hard on Twizel. There are stunning Mountain View’s and glacial lakes.

Janine is getting excited about starting her bicycle journey next week round NZ both South and North, I have huge admiration for her and what she is planning to do, ie around 50k a day hoping to finish up in June. This tour has given her a good base feeling for what she wants to do. This is not Janine’s first rodeo ( she is from Canada and has cycled across it, albeit with her mum bringing her camping equipment etc from place to place ). This time she is on her own. Incredible woman.

I felt dreadful on the bus back and say to Fio that I don’t think I can do the hike this afternoon, I just go back and get into bed and sleep for 3 hours, I went round to the pharmacy and get some more creams! Fio and the crew had a chilly but great afternoon up at Mount Cook and whilst I am sorry to have missed it, I am grateful for all the things I haven’t missed. I message James our CEO and explain I need to see a doctor tomorrow when we get to Christchurch.