Hey y’all, here are some pictures from my South Island tour. It’s the 3rd day and already I am amazed at the beauty this country. This won’t be a full account of everything I do, but you’ll get the more interesting parts…
DAY ONE: We saw Christchurch and its gorgeous church. Then we were off to Kaikora. Zach, Boris, Travis and I are moving counter clockwise around the island. On the way there we saw a hitchhiker, we drove past him 2km, and turned around to “pick him up” (a Dumb and Dumber reference). His name was Ian and he was from Canada. He had hitched around the South Island for about 2 months and was heading up north. Once in Kaikora we headed out to a beach and slept there that evening. 
We sleep two in a tent and two in the back of the station wagon. We tried to get a fire going that evening but the wind and spitting rain keep the twigs and cardboard from lighting. It was nice to look at the snow capped mountains, which seemed to light up the sky.
We sleep two in a tent and two in the back of the station wagon. We tried to get a fire going that evening but the wind and spitting rain keep the twigs and cardboard from lighting. It was nice to look at the snow capped mountains, which seemed to light up the sky. DAY TWO: We woke up to the most beautiful sight. The sun rising over the ocean and the snow capped mountains on the other side. A seal even swam gracefully across the glistening ocean. We headed over to a seal colony and I truly felt like a National Geographic videographer as I crept up to get close to the seal to film them on the beaches and rocks; big creatures with a tendency to bark at anyone who gets too close as I found out. We met up with some others for dinner and slept on a side road. They had a stove in their van, so we enjoyed spaghetti and baked beans for dinner. I sang songs and played my harmonica as we ate and drank by the fire.
DAY THREE: We were on our way to Nelson when we found an spectacular river with rock cliffs on each side. It has been chilly every day and gets extremely frigid at night and in the morning. It averages around 10 degrees Celsius (about 52 F). Three of us decided to do some cliff jumping into some of the coldest water I’ve EVER swam in. Ryan, you know how it feels… This cold numbed your body and sends you into a hyperventilating state, a great feeling when you try to swim over to the rocks to get out. It was one of the most exhilarating things I’ve ever done. I jumped 4 times. We then proceeded to hike around the river and scale some of the cliffs without falling in. The Pelorus Bridge (where we jumped) on the way to Nelson would be a mountain man’s playground. Karson, I did a little Marmot sun bathing to warm up. We drove to Nelson and here I am typing to you all. We’re off to Able Tasman tomorrow and will be hiking and kayaking there for two days. I’ll keep you posted.
Feel free to check out my facebook album for more pictures.
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