Let's do this!

Back in Qtown now. I am searching quite in depth for a car now.. I have decided to take the plunge and purchase a car to take me the rest of the way around this beautiful country. I have located one in Picton that is actually owned by a French couple I met in that great YHA in Punakaiki. I have to just try and find my way up there to check it out...
Well, continuing on from my last post, I made my way to Hanmer Springs on Wednesday. Within minutes of arriving, walking down the seemingly peaceful and safe streets, I was coerced into a moving vehicle full of strangers and whisked away to some unknown destination. Turns out that the vehicle was actually a four-seater bicycle (technically a quadcycle), and 'whisk' meant rode sluggishly down the road at about 10km/h. Great fun though..
And what a coincidence it was that I happened to bump into some people there I believe I had seen before.. Nic and Jode! They were up there admiring the views, the thermal springs and, of course, me. On Thursday, we did venture into the hotsprings, but not before I purchased some boardies (for some reason I didn't think I'd be doing any swimming over here..?) and a new pair of thongs (flip-flops for those uneducated folk among us). There are several different temperature pools in the complex, determined by the volume of cold water running through each spring, from 26 to 40 degrees C. It doesn't seem very natural here, however, with the pools having been moulded in cement and tiled. I thought we'd be chilling out in a swamp or lake-type setting, not a commercial swimming pool. A little disappointing, but still made for a relaxing day.
The next day, we parted ways again (briefly), both cars heading in the direction of Christchurch. We happened to both take a detour down the Inland Scenic Route and ended up in a place called Sefton! I had to find a park there somewhere, and was pointed in the direction of the local Domain where several pictures were taken. Moving on, we bumped into each other again in Sheffield (the girls' home town back in England) where more pictures were taken.
After all the pictures were taken and reminiscing done, I headed back to Christchurch and then onto a quaint little sea-side town called Akaroa, about 90km South East of the city. This town was one of the first French settlements in New Zealand, and they like to keep it that way with street names such as Rue Lavaud and houses such as the Langlois-Eteveneaux. I stayed in a place called Chez la Mer, with English translation: at the sea. The entire settlement is based, along with several other towns, around the edge of a volcanic crater which now forms a magnificent sound.
Yesterday morning, I did a bit of swimming with the dolphins at the mouth of this sound. Definitely not one of my most distinguished moments.. The dolphins were fantastic: more than 20 or so Hector's Dolphins came well within arms reach of us. However, my feelings of discomfort with being in the open sea, equipped with only snorkelling gear were far too great for me to bear, and I eventually climbed back into the boat to watch the others from the deck. This tells me one thing: I need to get out there more often! Was a great experience though, if only brief..
I stopped off at the massive Lake Tekapo before arriving at the Mount Cook township (Mt Cook being the highest peak in NZ) a good 6 hours after setting off from Akaroa. Most of the afternoon and night was plagued by high winds and rainfall, so no outdoor activities such as scenic walks were undertaken. I did manage to watch the New Zealand vs Great Britain Rugby League match being played in Christchurch on TV. And wouldn't you know it, on screen, among the crowd of 17,005, was Nic (even if she doesn't believe me)! This girl is stalking me! ;)
This morning, I made my way back to Queenstown to drop the car off. Luckily, the guy didn't notice the sheep stuck in the grill. Phew!! Some quite Lord-of-the-Ringsesque scenery around this area, which isn't surprising as some of the surrounding areas were used in the films.. Well, I'm back in the same room as I had before, and have met up (again) with Andrea as she is working as a cleaner in the same hostel.
Tonight, I think I will be trying to catch up on my travel diary again: I am still over 2 weeks behind..

Photos:
1. The offending vehicle
2. Nic, Jode and Nigel
3. One of the thermal pools - Ooooh so warm..
4. Look what I found, Ma
5. In the park in Sefton.. Steam train or tractor?
6. Aquaman
7. In amongst the dolphins, Akaroa
8. Attempting to stand in front of Lake Tekapo. My heels are actually off the rock in this pic, it was so windy..
9. I thought I needed to put a picture of sheep in here somewhere (the white specks).. On the way to Qtown
10. For Lee