Stewart Island

Like I mentioned on my last post, have been working last few wks in Invercargill. Since I've been this far south I couldn't resist temptation taking a day trip to Stewart Island and finally weather was good enough to do it. Initially I thought of flying to the island and getting few more hours of expedition but afterwards decided to take ferry instead. This time I decided just to settle for hike around Horseshoe Bay. It took me just short of 3hrs with plenty of photographing breaks and what a views did I got on my hike, at times it was simply overwhelming, especially standing on top of Horseshoe Point. Even thou I wasn't so far from settlement, I still felt so isolated. Above all, everything was so tranquil in there. I can't wait to visit the island another time when I can stay there overnight and do longer tramping.

New Zealand : The Beginning

So, it's been quite awhile since my last post.. Like I mentioned on my last blog entry, I got back to trucking again and that's pretty much all I've done past months, just working my arse off and getting foot on the door in the industry here in NZ. Haven't really done any excursions during the weekends, reckon just been a bit lazy and of course, it's been winter here so not the best weather for tramping etc. But, spring is arriving and I've got big plans to start doing some serious tramping/camping when weather starts getting warmer.

Mainly I've been just doing metro work around Christchurch but also done few trips few hours down the road as well and as I'm writing this entry I'm sitting in my motel room down south in Invercargill. It's now my 2nd week down here, I came here to cover sick leave, drivin linehaul night swaps. I gotta admit that it's been fairly tough being back on the night shifts after so many years but yet again, it's nice to cover some kays again.

As for everything else, feeling like I'm properly settling down to Christchurch and NZ, already miss being back in the city and I've been away now only for 1,5wks.. I'm living in a townhouse with a great housemate and few furry animals and bought a car as well, been awhile since had one. Like said, for now it's been pretty much just about work but as the spring and summer draws closer, headin for tramping tracks. Until then, here's few pics from of the trucks I've been driving here.

Road Trip : Picton to Christchurch

The ferry ride itself was alrite, althou it was fairly rough after we'd left Wellington to open waters. I was plannin to watch movie durin the trip but for some reason or another I had to stick just hanging around.. I visited the deck few times just to take few photos.

Leaving Wellington & North Island

Arriving to Picton & South Island

Once we were approaching Picton the whole scenery was almost completely different in South Island than in North Island. You could really witness the presence of mountains right next to you. After getting out from ferry I headed to the closest camping spot in Rarangi. I took a wee look at the spot that was right next to the shore but felt that this was gonna be too open place and since forecast had promised fairly cold nite I decided to head to the next one, Whites Bay. To get there I had to start climbing up a mountain up and down, another beautiful drive even a short one. This was fairly popular spot and I spent the night chatting with British and Irish/French couples. The next mornin I woke up fairly early, took a few photos and hit the road again.

I was still unsure at which day I wanted to reach Christchurch. I drove to Blenheim and did a bit of re-stocking in Countdown. After that it was time to phone NZ Immigration again. All the time my reason to come to New Zealand was to get a job. I already had a job offer and had lodged my application before departing Auckland to Christchurch where I was gonna be based. Didn't really get the news that I wanted but what the heck, I still had few days to get to Christchurch, back on the road again. I had a slight plan to stop somewhere close to Kaikoura but that all changed after just about 15min drive from Blenheim. I got a call from my immigration officer and she told me that she needs the original police certificate that was sent to my employer in Christchurch and then she can approve my work visa asap. So, this day turned out to be a race down to Christchurch, get my original certificate and deliver it to immigration office. Road down south was just absolutely amazing, especially when it was twisting next to shoreline while hugging mountains. I did few brief stops for photos but other than that, just kept drivin down to reach Christchurch in time. Got there on time, managed to deliver my certificate and now as I'm writing this blog entry, I'm having my first day off after 6days of work and back to business again tomorrow morning. As you might guess, I'm back on trucking again, this time carrying refrigerated goods in Christchurch metro area. I will be posting more from Christchurch when I get settled down better and have time to explore the area better. But for now it's time settle down, at least for awhile. Who knows if it'll even be permanent..