Mission Impossible: Finding work in Blenheim - Jobs, Jack's and Cyclones.

Having seen most of the South Island, after the stay in Christchurch we made plans to start work and restore our savings again. Up we went, along the coast with a pleasant stop in Kaikoura and to Blenheim. The area of Marlborough is famous for its wineries. Vineyards cover every inch of land.

Climbing around Christchurch

Our second stop in Christchurch was filled with a lot of sunshine and rockclimbing. Our amazing hosts took us to several locations around town, in the forest, on top of the hill, and hidden on the end of a usual residential street. Christchurch has a lot to offer to climbers, and afterwards you can just stop by at the beach to cool down. See for yourselves:

From West to east - Arthur's Pass

Coast and Glaciers

The southernmost pass over the alps is the Haast Pass, quickly crossing in between the mountains following the Haast river. It is fascinating how different the weather can be on the two sides of the Island: as we started off, the mountains where barely visible behind thick rainclouds. After maybe 20 minutes of driving, the sky was crisp and blue and sunshine greeted us on the westcoast.

As we learned, it often is the other way round, with the West Coast getting all the rain. We were lucky and the clouds got stuck in the east this time.

The whole West Coast is quite remote with only a few settlements along the only highway there. We took the way south first, a beautiful road through the unique West Coast forest to Jackson Bay. There you can find some nice bush walks and a funny Fish& Chips restaurant located in an old caravan.

Back to Queenstown & Wanaka

Before heading over the alps, we returned to our favourite area: Queenstown and Wanaka and the beautiful Mountain ranges around them.