Fever pitch

Just watched the All Blacks play the opening game of the Rugby World Cup. It's pretty awesome to be here in New Zealand as it all kicks off though would have been even better to be in Auckland to see the opening ceremony or all the events round the city. Looked pretty spectacular on the TV but would have cost me a fortune so maybe I'm better off here in Kaikoura after all!

So the last time I posted online I was holed up in the dead-end town of Invercargill. The only thing it's good for is a route to Stewart Island, the southern-most tip of New Zealand with nothing else between you and Antarctica. But I didn't have enough time to pay a visit with the way the buses worked out unfortunately so most of us were stuck in the industrial town that only seemed to have the fastest Indian (cast your minds back to the actual event or the Anthony Hopkins film a few years ago) as a tourist attraction to visit. As I was still recovering from the excesses of Queenstown I refrained from going out and just tucked myself up in the TV room with a heater and the first Lord of the Rings film. It was good to see some of the places that I've visited on the big screen (well, small screen really it was just a crappy TV in a hostel after all).

But I've missed out another interesting place on my travels - Gunn's Camp. We headed there after Queenstown and boy was it a different story. We were out in the middle of nowhere with nothing but a ridiculous number of sandflies to keep us company and no mains electricity. It is apparently the last remaining workers' camp in New Zealand and it is like being transported back to the 1930s. The site houses a little museum as monument to the work that went on tunnelling through from Te Anau to Milford Sound through the Homer Tunnel.

We had a coal stove to keep us warm at night but of course we didn't manage to keep the fire going and woke up absolutely freezing cold. As it was an early start none of us braved the showers - you might as well have just been outside what warmth the thin walls brought you. But it was kind of quaint and cute in its own special way. But I'm glad we only stayed one night. Much more impressive in the summer I'm sure but I think you might get eaten alive by the sandflies.

We moved on to Dunedin after that but not before we'd stopped at a few blustery, chilly places to take some pics and hide out hoping to spot a yellow-eyed penguin or two. We were in luck as one solitary little fellow came waddling up the beach and headed for a sheltered spot not too far from the hide. Some of the others had given up by this point having already waited for over 40 minutes but I'm glad I persevered. We weren't so lucky with the sealions earlier in the day but I guess these wildlife experiences can't be guaranteed.

Shortly after arriving in Dunedin, a bit of a university town although the students were on holiday at the time, we headed off to the Speight's brewery for a tour of the retro site and a spot of sampling the famous ale. It was great to see the place so untouched for so many years despite fires and many other breweries folding over the years. We were joined by a rugby team on tour from Wellington who were all dressed up in bad taste clothes that they managed to pick up from who-knows-where.

Having felt a bit older than the rest of the crowd it was entertaining to hear the others' disdain at feeling so old in a bar/club full of what seemed like 16-year-olds. I chuckled to myself at the thought of them feeling ancient.

The next day we headed off to Mount Cook, New Zealand's highest peak. When I started reading what to do in the country way back in February before I left I really wanted to climb the mountain but I think it's best left to the proper mountaineers. Also I couldn't get any extra time there to do any longer walks as the buses behind ours were all fully booked for a while. So I settled for a short walk when we arrived to see the glacier and get a better look of the peak (unfortunately shrouded in a bit too much cloud). The hostel was probably the best we'd stayed in, more like a proper hotel. We settled in for a quietish night playing cards and knocking back a few cheeky wines.

The following day we drove to a few stunning lakes and then went snow tubing on what little snow was left in the area. It was great feeling like a kid again heading up the slope with a big tube and as the guys looking after the place abandoned us for a few gos we all joined up and went down in threes and fours (which they probably wouldn't have let us do), picking up a good bit of thrilling speed as we went.

That night we stayed in another pretty good place in Rangitata (apart from the communal showers, something we've not come across before). The hostel owner had made us a huge, sticky chocolate pudding and our driver bought some cream so we indulged ourselves on our final night together with those of us remaining from the original group before separating later the next day in Christchurch. Most cards ensued with our bellies full.

It was good to catch up with some friends in Christchurch, Ruth and Andrew who I met on the cycling trip in Thailand. Ruth picked me up in her Porsche Boxster which felt like a huge departure from my previous modes of transport. I even had the luxury of taking it for a spin later that day as we headed out to the epicentre of the earthquake, Lyttleton.

At first you can kid yourself that Christchurch is just a normal city or that it's doing a good job of picking itself up after the devastation it's suffered over the last year. But then you start to notice driving around the cracks in the pavements, how terrible the roads are, the houses that have simply slid off the cliff faces and the shipping containers that are the only barrier between you and the subsiding cliffs. Many a garden wall is propped up by lines of wooden supports and loose tiles are lined up along half-missing roofs. But the people are soldiering on and shops, cafes and businesses have sprung up in makeshift premises outside the city centre.

It's hard to imagine quite how terrifying it must have been though, with Ruth and Andrew describing how they clung to each other in the doorway of the first earthquake last September and how Andrew struggled to get himself out to the garden when the big one struck in February. And then had to go to the hospital where Ruth works to check if she was ok. As I lay in my makeshift bed in the lounge last night I wondered how I would react should any such tremors occur while I'm here.

As Andrew is an experienced climber, he took me out to Arthur's Pass the other day to do a very full-on climb/walk up Avalanche Peak. Having struggled with my fitness on a few shorter walks lately I wasn't sure how I'd fare doing something more energetic. But I surprised myself by steaming up the first part (Andrew may not have thought so but it was quicker than I expected my pace to be up such an ascent) until we reached the top of the treeline, with me sweating buckets despite the snow and chilly breeze. We had amazing views as we trekked up, at times waist-deep in snow with our ice axes should we slip. I've not done anything quite so technical before but I put my trust in someone who knew what they were doing. I did doubt myself at times and tried not to look either side of me when perched vicariously on a narrow ridge.

We were joined by the odd Kea or two, the only alpine parrot in the world. Very inquisitive and known to rip off bits of rubber from vehicles in car parks. But it had the most amazing feathers under its wingspan when it takes off.

Following our energetic day, the next day was spent mostly chilling out in front of the tv, with a short walk to the supermarket to give Ruth a bit of peace and quiet while studying. Today I headed off on my last stretch on the Stray bus to Kaikoura for the whale watching that I promised myself when I didn't go in Australia. Another rough boat ride with me feeling pretty queasy at times but we saw two sperm whale and got some good shots of their tales flipping up as they dove into the depths of the sea.

Tomorrow it's back to Christchurch before I fly back up to Auckland for a couple of days. Then, unbelievably it seems at the moment, I fly off to South America for the final phase of my trip. How has it come around so quickly? Been thinking about home more as reality seems ebbing ever closer...