We spent 6 weeks off the bikes, mostly travelling by intercity bus, which we\nthought was great - cheap (check for eg YHA / BBH discount), friendly\n(including running commentary) and comfortable (lots of rest stops).
\nWe overnighted in Christchurch (actually a pleasant spot for a couple of days)\non our way to Queenstown, which we found to be far too touristy, although\nundeniably beautiful. We then took a tramping shuttle to Glenorchy for half a\nday and one night, before tackling the Greenstone-Caples loop (4 days, 61km)\nwhich we'd certainly recommend particularly if you're looking for a less\ncrowded / cheaper alternative to the Routeburn. We then hopped over to Wanaka\nwhere we spent 5 nights at the wonderful Wanaka Bakpaka and tasted wine,\ncooked tons of food, did parkrun and generally soaked up the incredible\nmountain views.
\nThen it was back on the intercity bus again for a jaunt up the west coast. We\nwere really on a mission to get to Nelson, but we did stop for a couple of\nnights at both Fox Glacier (underwhelming, go to Frank Josef) and Punakaiki.\nThe scenery was utterly stunning.
\nThen to the very pleasant little city of Nelson. We hired a car for a couple\nof weeks to explore the northern reaches of Abel Tasman (in order to avoid the\nday trippers), Golden Bay and Nelson Lakes. Camping all on our own in Abel\nTasman at Mutton Cove was an absolutely highlight, as was Nelson Lakes. We\nparked at Mt Robert carpark and hiked in to Coldwater hut on day 1, to\nHopeless hut on day 2 (incredible) and then to Angelus hut up the Cascade\ntrack (extremely steep!) on day 3. The Angelus basin and the hike out along\nRoberts Ridge was some of the best scenery I've ever witnessed.
\nA few more days in Nelson and we were back on the bus.....to Tuamarina and the\nbikes!
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