South Island Trip
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Topic: South Island Trip
Posted By: heaf3
Subject: South Island Trip
Date Posted: 11 March 2010 at 9:14am
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Hey guys
Just wanting some advice.....just got married on the weekend and we are trying to sort out our honeymoon! Originally we were thinking a south island trip then we decided to go to raro, now we are thinking do the south island trip now and save up to go to raro later! Neither of us have been to the south island before so want to do lots of cool things! preferably that dont cost too much as we dont have a lot of money...(i wanted to go hot air ballooning but that will have to be next trip now). We dont care so much about doing lots of things adventure wise...but we want to go where theres nice scenery etc. We are looking at going in about 3-4 weeks so in april. Is this a good time to go, i.e. lots to do around then, hows the weather, are there lots of nice trees around etc, it doesnt snow then right???? Oh and we will go for 2 weeks. Is this enough time to see things? And how much roughly would it cost? We are from Whangarei so will be driving down and taking the ferry etc. My aunt lives in the hakataramea valley which i think is a couple of hours drive from dunedin so will probably stay with her a couple of nights. Any advice from south islanders or anyone having been on a great holiday down there would be much appreciated! TIA ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> 
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Replies:
Posted By: Hunnybunny
Date Posted: 11 March 2010 at 9:24am
OOOOOH I shall be your Southland/Fiordland guide for the day 
If you want scenery, you can NOT miss the Caitlins. Absolutely stunning, Jacks blow hole, Nugget Point, Tautuku Bay, Papatowai, Mclean falls, Pourakanui falls, cathedral caves(which i think costs) its just stunning. Make sure you have a full day here! Also the petfrified forest is down there somewhere too. Fiordland, you have to take a coach and cruise into Milford Sound. Its a complete and utter waste of time driving yourself, you will miss SO much stuff (trust me, I know, I've been there done that and seen SO many tourists waste their time/money! It's not a money making ploy telling you to take a bus, I know a really good one!). Its a full day and off memory will cost about $100 each. You really wanna go there when its raining otherwise its sorta a waste of time aswell Doubtful sound-STUNNING. I'd rate it higher than Milford Sound (JMHO) Also another day trip, although more expensive. Unlike Milford (where you follow 8 other boats around in a circle) 5mins from the jetty and your the only boat there. So so stunning and peaceful and just WOW!!!!! Queenstown, well I'm sure you know about Queenstown. Gondola,luge, skyline, jetboats, bungy jumping, sky diving and all that sort of stuff. Arrowtown is well worth a day trip to just walk around, it is such a cute wee area! Also up that way there are some wee places you can stop in to see the chinese miners huts (i can't remember where so don't quote me on that one... I just remember it but havent been there in a couple of years) Opposite to popular believe, its not actually that cold down here. But you will always know a Southlander from the way they carry a coat (just like a aucklander always seems to have a umbrella!). We can have 4 seasons in one day. But its actually not that bad. I also always have sun block and dress in LAYERS! Lol. Ok, I'll shut up now. Wanna know any more about Southland/Fiordland? PM me haha |
Posted By: Hunnybunny
Date Posted: 11 March 2010 at 9:27am
I'm running off for a shower, but thats my thinking time, so I'll probably be back after bible study with another post for you 
Hope you don't mind. Come on, you should have expected it. Born and bred southlander and I think its worth a visit down here!!
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Posted By: heaf3
Date Posted: 11 March 2010 at 9:36am
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yay thanks HB was hoping you would post! and no i dont mind, the more info the better!!
slightly confuzzled though, up where you said about fiordland you said you want to go there when its raining.....did you mean when its raining or when its NOT raining?? just to clarify LOL and let me know what the bus company is so i can look it up (p.s. love your siggy!) ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow">
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Posted By: _H_
Date Posted: 11 March 2010 at 9:42am
if you go to dunedin you HAVE to do the speight's tour! I didnt drink beer but it was really good. oh and the Cadbury tour  ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: minik8e
Date Posted: 11 March 2010 at 9:43am
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I did a trip with my ex, from Hamilton to Temuka and then around the lower South Island...we did the same as you, and drove down, caught the ferry etc. We stayed with the ex's parents in Temuka, and friends down Mossburn way. All up we spent between around $2-2,500, including diesel. We drove from Hams to NP, stayed overnight here, then drove to Wgtn, then caught the night ferry (easier because then we could a) sleep and b) not miss out on time driving/touristing through the daylight hours). We then drove straight down to Temuka. We drove across Central Otago, stopped at some dams, went round all the lakes, to Queenstown, down to Invercargill, then back up a different way. The only place we didn't see was Dunedin. We just stopped at whatever places we wanted to along the way - I loved Central Otago, with the little villages (Ophir, Omarama and heaps of others). We tended to follow the Otago Rail Trail to an extent. I absolutely LOVED Otago. I would happily move there!!!
We did go in November though, but it meant it was MEGA hot. We also had our two dogs with us...so lots of stops!! |
Posted By: Peanut
Date Posted: 11 March 2010 at 9:55am
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We do a road trip every year round the south island and it usually costs us $1000 for 2 weeks that including petrol, food camp fees etc.
We have a caravan thou so don't pay for accomodation so I woul add an extra $700 in for that at least. The ferry is really expensive - we looked at doing the north island this year but was going to cost way too much. This years trip we did chch, kaikoura, nelson, westport, franz josef, wanaka (day trip to queenstown and cromwell), tekapo and back to chch. Brilliant trip and really recommend Wanaka and Tekapo as places to stay. Nice wee hot pools in Tekapo and great camping ground which also has cheap motel units. Wanaka is a great base and heaps cheaper than Queenstown. We have also done the bottom of the south island and its very cool. We basically did the caitlins, invercargill, milford sounds, dunedin, te anu - great trip but disagree about taking a bus into the milford. We drove and then did a boat ride and it was brilliant. Feel free to PM me if you want any info. |
Posted By: caliandjack
Date Posted: 11 March 2010 at 10:03am
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Have you thought of flying to Chch and hiring a camper - I did Kiwi experience but I was single.
It is better to go to Fiordland when it IS raining, as then all the waterfalls etc look amazing. The trip I did took 2 weeks I stopped in Kaikoura swimming with the dolphins was amazing, Nelson - went sea kayaking in Motueka / Able Tasman National Park, Westport/Greymouth - make sure you check out Monteiths brewery. Punakaiki Rocks. Went Jet Boating on the Tasman river, cheaper and more spectacular than the shot over IMO. Wanaka is lovely - Weird Puzzle world is good for a giggle. Queenstown very expensive ok for a stop. From Christchurch I can recommend Hanmer Springs especially for a Honeymoon. The drive over to Akaroa is lovely as well. My recommendation would be to hire a van out of chch, grab yourselves a couple of maps and go where ever you wish. The advantage of the vans is you can stop whenever you want and camp grounds are cheap. ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow">   [/url] Angel June 2012 |
Posted By: caliandjack
Date Posted: 11 March 2010 at 10:04am
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Beginning of April is Easter - Not sure when school holidays is. ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> [/url] Angel June 2012 |
Posted By: GuestGuest
Date Posted: 11 March 2010 at 10:09am
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On where to go I couldn't have said it better than HunnyBunny. Perfect recommendations.
On how much it will cost - A LOT! If you are comparing 7 nights in Raro vs this Sth Island trip I would say that Raro would work out cheaper. You can get package deals that are only around $1200 each! I guess it depends on the accommodation type that you choose on your Sth Island trip though. Isn't April school holidays? If so it will be peak rates. |
Posted By: Mucky_Tiger
Date Posted: 11 March 2010 at 10:11am
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you have to go to fiordland when it IS raining.
it means all the waterfalls are out and look so Amazing. no rain = still beautiful but not as cool |
Posted By: minik8e
Date Posted: 11 March 2010 at 10:14am
| Agree re. the ferry....I just did a quick look on the Interislander page, and for 2 adults with a car, you're looking at just over $500 return, for the cheapest fares which are the middle of the night ones (6am and 2am times). Flying, using Air NZ, if you can get to Auckland, you can get fares from Akld to Christchurch, in the first 2-3 weeks of April, for $59 each way per person. That's only just over $200 for your fares, which means you automatically save $300 PLUS the cost of petrol from Whangarei to the South Island which could easily be $100 or so...therefore paying part of a motorhome/rental vehicle in the South Island. You also save huge amounts of time because it's easily over a day to drive each way - it took us 23 hours from Hams to Temuka, including ferry crossings and some sleep times. |
Posted By: jaz
Date Posted: 11 March 2010 at 10:56am
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I think the West Coast, Queenstown and Milford Sound are the most spectacular areas. You could do a loop from Christchurch across to the West Coast, down to Wanaka and Queenstown then out to Te Anau and Milford Sound, over to Dunedin and back up to Christchurch in about two weeks. The distance isn't far but roads can be windy and there is lots to see and do on the way so driving about 200km can take a full day.
Personally I would consider flying to Christchurch and picking up either a rental car or motorhome as this will probably work out cheaper than driving all the way there and back plus paying for the ferry crossings. If you book ahead the flights start from about $59 pp each way. You would also lose about two days each way just getting there and back. Costs vary so much depending on where you stay and eat and what type of sight seeing you do. If you get discounted airline tickets there and back, hired an older car, camped, self catered and did lots of walks you could probably do the whole trip for about $2000 or less. Staying in motels or hotels will add about $1000 and eating out for every meal another $1000 easily. Excursions can be costly but there are lots of walks and free or cheapish things to do. I think its worth budgeting on a few excursions like the Milford Sound cruise and maybe a white water rafting or jet boat trip somewhere. All depends on what you are in to. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: sweetpea
Date Posted: 11 March 2010 at 11:32am
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Agree with all the posts about milford it is best when raining i have seen it both ways. Agree with the bus trip in too the road.
DO NOT DO IT FROM QUEENSTOWN instead i reccomend staying in Te Anau and going from there its a very long day if you do it from queenstown there is alot to do in Te Anau too ( i should know i spend half my time there). I can higly reccomend going to their local picture theatre and seeing the local film its what they built the theatre for. Definately do Arrowtown April is lovely time of the year there they have an autumn festival which runs for most of April it really is beautiful there and there are some really lovely restaurants and some quirky shops too. As for aqueenstown i really wouldn't bother its expensive and full of toursits. If you want to go there and do shopping most now go to the shopping centre at Frankton its where all the chain shops are. Caitlins are well worth a trip they really are beautiful. Christchurch is good too as is hamner. Nelson is good too although its been a while since of been there. west coast is good too. As for the weather we can still get some really nice days i got married 2 years ago in May and the temperature that day was 16 so quite warm for that time of year. You are best to bring layers the nights are likely to be cool but the days can be both warm and cool. There might be a little bit of snow on the mountain tops but it will be high up and it often doesn't last very long at that time of the year. Oh i also reccomend staying In Invercargill too if you have time there really are some nice places to visit here. Fell free to PM me if you want anymore details. ------------- http://daisypath.com"> 
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Posted By: Hunnybunny
Date Posted: 11 March 2010 at 12:36pm
Duh I worked in Te Anau and totally forgot about the movie! Its AMAZING!!!! I still say DON'T drive into milford yourself!! And you DO want to do it when its raining (crazy I know!) for the waterfalls etc etc. I know of SO many tourists who just drive there without realising all the beautiful little stops on the way, there are some much smaller bus companies who do the trip (Tracknet do one) and they are good cos will still stop for photos. Whatever you do, don't miss out the Caitlins, its one of the most beautiful,untouched part of the country (ONE of lol) its just incredible, its kind of like a secret as so many people come down here and don't bother going there. Oh Queenstown is definately very expensive. Wanaka is too but not quite so expensive. Whatever you do, DO NOT STAY AT A BACKPACKERS IN QUEENSTOWN!!!! That is one place that I couldn't stress enough to not stay somewhere cheap, try to go slightly more up market!!! I love love loooove wanaka, and from there go up through tekapo and twizel, it is a longish drive but so so soooo beautiful. At a rough estimate, I'd say (depending on if your coming from chch or nelson it wont matter) go down the right hand side of the country (right down to the bottom, you GOTTA do bluff ) and then up fiordland then to wanaka then up through the middle, and the west coast if you want?? The west coast is wet though really beautiful (pancake rocks, sorry not sure what else is up there though)
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sweetpea wrote:Posted By: UpsyDaisy
Date Posted: 11 March 2010 at 12:47pm
Congrats on getting married 
I agree about cost of trip in NZ probably being about as dear as trip to Raro but I think it is important to see your own country plus you'll get to see your aunt. I live in Timaru and really love the Mackenzie area and also the Haka Valley on your way there (or back) a nice scenic route would be Chch, Geraldine, Tekapo, Twizel, Omarama, Otematata, Kurow - Haka Valley as you go past all the lakes. There is a good view of Mt Cook from end of lake pukaki. 2 weeks is a good length of time but would be way too much driving to do all of the Sth Island I know people do it but they must spend the whole time in the car! Since you are coming down to see your Aunt I would probably concentrate on the lower sth island on this trip. I saw something on TV recently about the whale watching at Kaikouri something I've always wanted to do. It was about how sucessful the business is and they mentioned the cost per adult. I can't remember how much it was but can remember thinking most NZ families would not be able to afford it. |
Posted By: caliandjack
Date Posted: 11 March 2010 at 1:48pm
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For a honeymooning couple, I'd advise staying away from the backpackers in Queenstown too - great for singlies but not for couples.
Coming from Whangarei I'd highly recommend flying to Chch and going from there, look out for some internet cheapies etc - you'll loose 2 days in travel driving down and the cost of petrol/ferry crossing you could put towards petrol etc Have you looked at relocating a campervan, they have a lot of deals relocating them from Chch back to Akl at a fraction of the normal rental cost - could be something to think about. ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> [/url] Angel June 2012 |
Posted By: mrsturtle
Date Posted: 11 March 2010 at 2:07pm
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Easter weekend is warbirds over wananka, so very very busy although great to see if your into that sort of thing, most accomodation will be booked out though.
Central otago/milford/teanau is deff worth seeing. Imo Queenstown is very tourist orrientated and this means things are very pricey so be carefull there. Catlins are beautiful for the scenery I love Hamner springs a great way to spend a couple of days and the hot pools are lovely! Nelson is another place we particularly like and if you go over the hill to Golden bay thats really nice too, there are some awsome caves on that road (cant remember the name) We live in dunedin and there is the stuff others have mentioned Taieri george railway, the albotrosses and penguins, cadbury world (dont go in the weekends though as not all the stuff maybe running so tour usually shorter and you get to see alot of turned off machines) and the speights tour (yummy food at there pub) There is the AA book that you can get if your a member which has alot of the info, if your not a member we are and i can pick one up and post it for you if you want
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Posted By: sweetpea
Date Posted: 11 March 2010 at 2:09pm
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i second not staying at a backpackers in quennstown and you could always stay in arrowtown if you liked too its proberly cheaper. Itas not that far away from memeory i think there is a bus into queenstown from there as parking in Quennstown is a nightmare. ------------- http://daisypath.com">
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Posted By: mrsturtle
Date Posted: 11 March 2010 at 2:09pm
and CONGRATULATIONS on getting married 
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Posted By: Hunnybunny
Date Posted: 11 March 2010 at 2:21pm
| OOoooh Easter! - Wanaka is most definately booked out. You won't even be able to move in there with Warbirds on, and the road between wanaka and the airport is ridiculous (hence why we are staying out this side and traveling in from this way) |
Posted By: heaf3
Date Posted: 11 March 2010 at 2:23pm
oh thanks so much for offering, i would love it if you could! as long as its no trouble....will PM you my addy. thanks heaps for the suggestions everyone, there are a lot of things to think about. thanks C&J i hadnt thought about school holidays yet....have looked at the campervan relocations and theres not much on at the moment. but there are some cheap as flights through jetstar to christchurch! and campavan hire looks about $1000 or so depending on how long for. will have a talk with DH tonight methinks and see if we cant put it off for a couple more weeks! ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow">
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Posted By: heaf3
Date Posted: 15 March 2010 at 9:33am
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ok so its official, we are going on the 27th march for 2 weeks. and i found out how much money we got given from the wedding and we have just over $2000.
DH is thinking we can fly into christchurch and then do the top of the S.I. im a bit gutted because i really wanted to do the bottom, but i guess that will have to be another trip. but we do have 2 weeks and we have found a rental car thats relatively cheap so we may be able to do a bit of driving.... so ladies, what things are there to do from christchurch up on a limited budget? and where are the best places to stay? ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow">
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Posted By: IVFGirl1111
Date Posted: 15 March 2010 at 12:01pm
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Ok so are you wanting to stay in Christchurch at all?
Id probably reccomend something like this: Saturday 27th March - Christchurch Stay at the Holiday Inn Central City (great location) and then just have a wonder around the shops and all that on the Saturday (was going to suggest the Gondola but I wouldnt bother Id do it in Queenstown instead WAY better there) Saturday night, go out for tea (heaps of funky places to choose from) then go into SOL Square for a drink, maybe over to the Casino for a look have great bands etc playing Sunday: Go to the Arts Centre in town for a look around and you HAVE to get a Costers Suvalarki from there - AMAZING. Lots to see and do in the City but really dont know on your budget. Monday: Go to Akaroa (about an hour) - what an amazing beautiful place especially if your on your honeymoon. Id get a house from http://www.akaroarentalhomes.co.nz/fastpage/fpengine.php/templateid/1 seems to be cheaper than motels and a lot nicer etc because its bigger. Id suggest 2 nights in Akaroa. Totally have fish n chips one night for tea there - they are brillant there! Wednesday: Drive back from Akaroa to Christchurch stay in Christchurch at Hotel So (just remembered that place its nice and CHEAP as) Thursday: Drive to Hanmer Springs (about 1.5 hour) they have hot pools there which are awesome! You will love it! Really Alpiney there great for walks and stuff - its lovely. Again get a holiday house there (www.hanmerholidayhomes.co.nz) and that way you can save some money by getting food from the supermarket for lunches and teas etc. Stay there maybe 2 nights as well. Saturday: Drive back from Hanmer, stay at Hotel So again in Christchurch Sunday: I would try and get flights from Christchurch to Queenstown (you can get some really cheap ones for $29 each way at the moment) otherwise its like a 7 hour drive! And you wont really need a car in Queenstown at all so I would highly suggest doing that! If not you would probably need the rest of the week just going to Queenstown because its a whole day driving there and then driving back, plus a couple of days to get over the driving if that makes sense. So look into flying and if thats an option come back to me and I'll give you some options for the other days when you fly back here! Exciting times! ------------- TTC 6 years IVF it is IVF/ICSI round one 10 eggs, 8 mature, 3 fertilised BFN IVF/ICSI #2 = 22 eggs! 20 mature, 15 fertilised, 1 fresh transfer and 2 frosties BFN 2 Frosties still in freezer thank god |
Posted By: rachndean
Date Posted: 15 March 2010 at 4:32pm
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Congratulations on getting married!!
The Nelson/Picton/Blenheim area is very cool, definitely worth a few days! The drive over Arthurs Pass is stunning. Punakaiki Rocks are very cool. The west coast is also a great place to spend a few days travelling down. So maybe do Christchurch, up to Blenheim, Picton, Nelson, maybe Motueka, Westport, Greymouth, across to Hamner Springs then back to Christchurch? The AA website is really good for attractions etc, as well as accommodation. Good luck, I'm very jealous! Hanging out to take DH down to the SI, as he has never been! ------------- http://lilypie.com">  
DD Savannah 18.01.04 DS Austin 04.09.08 |
Posted By: heaf3
Date Posted: 19 March 2010 at 10:40am
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thanks for the ideas guys!
have got a rough plan now (Depends on my aunty) but we are going to take our own car now and take the ferry. surprisingly enough its going to work out cheaper that way then to fly and hire a car!! and i did want to do the ferry trip (hoping teh weather will be nice!) so will be in the SI on the 28th, look around picton / blenheim and then drive to kaikoura and stay the night. 29th drive to christchurch and stay the night. 30th drive to my aunty's place and hopefully use her place as a base for about a week - shes going camping at mt cook so im hoping we can look after her house while shes away as im not so keen on camping! will be freezing! and DH doesnt want to stay in a tent or anything. so from there we can do day trips up to the lakes, down to wanaka/arrowtown and down to dunedin and stay a night there. then back up to christchurch and to picton back on the ferry and stay with DH's mate in wellys for a night then go to tauranga and use our voucher for 2 nights at their motel & spa voucher that DH's aunt gave us for a wedding gift and then home! hopefully that all works out! ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow">
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Posted By: james
Date Posted: 19 March 2010 at 11:06am
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yay that sounds like great fun ------------- <a href="http://lilypie.com"><img src="http://b4.lilypie.com/nLJ5p13.png" alt="Lilypie 4th Birthday Ticker" border="0" /></a> |
Posted By: IVFGirl1111
Date Posted: 19 March 2010 at 1:07pm
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Awesome!
In Kaikoura I HIGHLY suggest staying at Aspen Court - we stayed there after reading the reviews on trrip adviser and it was awesome. Such a great price $130 for 5 star luxery! Get the spa shower room - it is awesome! ------------- TTC 6 years IVF it is IVF/ICSI round one 10 eggs, 8 mature, 3 fertilised BFN IVF/ICSI #2 = 22 eggs! 20 mature, 15 fertilised, 1 fresh transfer and 2 frosties BFN 2 Frosties still in freezer thank god |