Middle Earth
Friday, June 9th, 2006We have been in New Zeland now for 9 days, like it love it, reminds us of home. Christchurch is very homely even down to the rain, the city has a certain Englishness to it. Drving around the north of the South Island is beuatiful the landscape is rugged mountains green forests, a mix of Scotland lakedistrict type places.
We have joined a hope on hope off bus tour around NZ Stray travel, didn’t start too well we got left behind in Christchurch……. driver forgot about us had to get a normal bus up to the town we where visiting to catch the tour bus. then that night in the hostel we had an all night power cut. Since than it has got better and better, the scenery is breath taking we have just walked up a glasier. The people on the bus are great, have found montieths black a nice dark almost stout like beer drank lots. We have seen seals, walked a hostel dog, walked around a forest, made a knife, played bingo, and walked on ice.
Making a knife and walking up an ice glasier or two of the most cool things i have ever done. We made the knifes from scratch, a piece of old steel, and 1500 year old wood for the handle. Handle wood was chopped down in the mid 1800’s to make the first looney bn in NZ, trees where very old when they where cut down (they are now protected by law), Lonney bin closes dude buys the wood, and then we turn it into handles Sweet. A bit of blacksmithing on the steel a hammer and an anvil, walla a blade. took us most of the day to make these knifes, and later we drank 2 hour old moonshine 🙂 This was in Barrytown on the west coast, the locals are a bit strange, and I wouldn’t really call it a town more a pub come hostel, and a few houses.
The Glasier was is in Franz Josef, we hiked up hard to explain in worlds will add pictures just fantastic.
So NZ so far is Sweet as they say down here. we are 11 hours ahead of England and I don’t think we could get much further from home.
Miller