We have finished working for the lodge now. But we will be there for tea tomorrow. We will take photos of the rocks we moved and our hosts!! Also Mount Cook Village and any walks we do tomorrow.
At the next place we go too there is no Wireless as far as we know so will not be able to upload photos for a while. Will do the blog though.
Today after more gardening this time moving twigs. And after window cleaning and some lunch we headed off to find a cache on the Cowans Hill walk. On the way we went past a little white/orange dog which proceeded to follow us. This got a bit annoying as we were walking down a main road. At the cache the dog got through a fence and went off over the top of a hill..never to be seen again. A bit worrying as on the other side it had a sign saying no dogs) After finding the cache we walked back on the Cowans Hill walk through a Scientific Reserve where we saw a big bird like a hawk. Part of the walk was fenced off and we had to scale the fence using the gate. We also saw a dead possum in a trap.
Then we went on the Lake George Scott walk. A nice secluded small lake a hidden treasure!! We saw loads of rabbits (here they are pests and there a lot of poison put down for them) On the way back we saw a house for sale (thought we buy it if we win the lottery:-) It lead us straight back to the backpackers and it was all on a road so we could have done the walk an easier way which didn't involve off road tracks.
Now relaxing before tea at John and Lynda's.
Edit: Photos to follow
Today we went on the Cowans Hill Walkway 1.5 - 2 hrs. This time we had 360 degree views from the top!! I found a cache even though Mark was looking for it. I was sat on it without realising.
We also went to the Church of the good Shepherd again. I continued with my jigsaw been 3 days now and still not finished. Talked to Mark's mum on Skype after a month!!
Edit: Photos to follow.
Today we walked up Mt John 1036m above sea level.Was a great day but a bit windy at times!!
Then we had dinner in the Astro Cafe 1020m above sea level
We then walked down the 2hr route back to town.
now we are chillin at the backpacker liz doing a jig saw puzzle
Today we moved rocks, well tiring. We worked for two hours doing this!!
It is a rainy and very windy day here today, but tomorrow is going to be hot again :-) Yesterday we went to the hot pools but they do not have sulphur pools there. They are better than Hamner springs which were too commercial.
Tomorrow we will do the walk up to MT John Observatory Cafe an hour each way.
Mark applied for a job at the Otago University as IT Support Technician so if he gets it we will apply for Work to Residence Visa!!
Today we moved down to Lake Tekapo. We set off 10am and arrived at 1.30pm.
We settled into the Tailor Made Backpackers before going to Luxury Lodge to meet our hosts Lynda and John and Lynda's mother. We had only been there 5 mins and they wanted us to work. So we did 2 hours gardening (clearing rubbish, raking twigs) Had to take our fleeces off as was very hot in the sun!!
The lodge has great views of the lake and alps. After work we had a beer and tea which was chicken casserole, potato, cabbage, rice, orange veg (forgot it's name begins with K) meat loaf followed by apple pie. All homemade by Lynda.
They have a 52" Plasma TV, we have no TV at backpackers.
We went stargazing up Mt John Observatory, just got back. We saw the Milky Way, Venus, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, the Southern Cross, Canopus, Alpha Centuri, Vega, Arcturus, the large and small clouds of Magellan, Anteras, Sagittarius, Aquarius, Pisces, Capricorn,Pegasus, the jewellery box to name a few.. One star we saw was actually 2 when you looked in the telescope. We saw the lines on Jupiter.
We saw these both with the naked eye and through telescopes!! It was the most amazing night of our lives :-)
Photos to follow!!! YES Back in Tekapo..at last!!
We are moving on to Lake Tekapo to help exchange on Friday till 2nd October. Then on to Glenorchy to help exchange hopefully till after Christmas!!
Will update when we in Lake Tekapo with what we doing and photos!! :-)
We came to Arthur's Pass yesterday and are going back to Christchurch tomorrow. Up to now we have done two walks and part of a third.
The first walk was 'Devils Punchbowl falls' an hour return with magnificent views.
The second was 'Bridal Veil Walk' one and a half hours return.
These two were done in the same day!
We went to the Wobbly Kea for lunch.
Today we did about an hour of a 6-8 hr walk called 'Scotts Track' this was the most demanding walk we have done to date. Gave great views of the devils punchbowl falls and the Arthur's Pass township.
We met the Go Touring coach today also and chatted with the driver.
Just 15 minutes ago we watched as the Tranz Alpine went through the station and waved at the passengers. Mark got the driver to beep the horn!
Now just tucking in to some noodles for tea. The motel we staying in is great also.
Edit - We are now moving to Lake Tekapo to help xchange as Ross did not work out. We will be helping out at a luxury lodge gardening and cleaning rooms in xchange for food. But staying in Backpackers.
Today we arranged to move on next Friday to Ross on the West Coast.
We are going to do help exchanging on a farm there for four weeks!!
We will be feeding calves/goats, working 4 hrs a day for all meals and accommodation in a house bus, should be great fun :-)
Mark is ill with the flu at the moment so we are staying in till tomorrow when he has his interview. On Thursday we will probably go for a coffee and walk or stay in depending how he feels.
On Friday we are going to Arthur's Pass for two nights which will be cool!!
I think some more housemates have just moved in..
If he doesn't get this job we will move on unsure where to yet though.
Today we went horse trekking in the Rubicon Valley and Kowhai Bush
My horse was called Lulu and Mark's Nugget!! We were a bit nervous at first but then we soon got used to it and enjoyed the ride plus the views!
The farm is owned by Chris and his wife. Johnny his son accompanied us along with Chris on the ride to watch out for us..
Also on the farm they had a dog, cat, alpacas, chucks and Wilbur the pig who if you call runs over to see you.
We stopped for photo stop and morning tea with magnificent views of the Waimakariri river and gorge!!
Mark is going for an interview on Monday for a job in computers working 8.30-5 mon-fri (no weekends)
He has had enough of the job at the gondola now. The company maybe able to sponsor us if we choose to live here, we can only hope..
Now all I need to do is get a job!!
Today I had an interview for a cleaning job I will hear from them by Friday
I hope to get this job it would suit me as only round the corner!!
If the weather stays nice then this Thursday we will be going horse trekking near Springfield in the Rubicon Valley, I hope so as last week it was cancelled due to rain and wind..
Will keep you posted..
