Nightmare Few Days

I really dont know how to start describing the last few days. on Tuesday i took the ferry across to the South Island. the weather, and therefore the boat journey, wasn't pleasant and so by the time i got across i felt thoroughly sick. Then drove down to Nelson in the afternoon. I had a quick walk around but there was very little to see so i ended up having an early night. very boring

On wednesday we stopped off in the morning at one of the most beautiful places as i've seen so far in New Zealand, a place which i think was called Nelson Lake. it was an absolutely gorgeous clear lake surrounded by mountains completely covered in trees. it was fantastic until i took my camera out, turned it on, and saw that it was broken. there was a strange squiggle pattern on the screen that could still be seen when i turned it off. before i made a rather teary phone call home i had pretty much decided that my whole trip was ruined, thankfully this didn't last for very long.
In the afternoon, to try and cheer myself up i went on a Jet Boating trip up the Buller River (it's not the one i thought it was, Mum). the Scottish guy who did it took us down the river relatively gently, pointing out all the various landmarks, wildlife and tree-life around, telling us about how high the river rises and other relatively gentle things. and then on the way back he drove like a madman, doing 360 turns and spinning away from cliff walls at the last second, not to mention absolutely soaking us. we stopped in Westport, another relatively non-discript town with little to do. it would have been a brilliant day if it hadn't been for my camera.

today we stopped off for lunch at Punakaiki, otherwise known as the Pancake Rocks because of their layered appearance. unfortunately it was Pancake Day yesterday so there was no excuse for me to eat the very impressive looking stack of pancakes on offer in the nearby cafe. it was another really impressive looking place even without the the massive sprays of water being generated by the high tide and windy weather. the photos would have been spectacular if i had more than a rubbish Kodak one-click dispossable camera.
the afternoon was spent wandering around Greymouth looking for a new camera. the one i got is an older version of the one i already had, so hopefully the pictures will be okay, when i get to take some. I had thought about leaving it for a few days, but there wasn't anywhere else between Greymouth and Queenstown in about 3 days time where i would be able to get one, and i wanted to be familiar with its features before i got to Milford Sound.
This evening we have stopped in yet another remote area, a place called Mahinapua and it's charmingly titled Pu Pub. I have just had a meal the hostel provided which consisted of a massive steak, venison stew, potatoes and pasta and i now feel thoroughly sick.

on a side note i set up this blog so people can tel me things as well. will people please post what they've been doing because i feel thoroughly out of the loop.

speak again soon