Finally some blogging about NZ.
I will try to cut it short. Start of with a day to day presentation and then some thoughts after that.
Day 1.
After 1,5 hours of sleep I got a cab to the airport and got on the plane taking me to Christchurch NZ.
Its the biggest town on the south island with about 300.000 inhabitants.
Picked up my car and drove to my hotel in town. Was dead tired but had a quick walk around the city center and had a great meal at a bar.
Christchurch is the most European looking town I have seen since I went to the southern hemisphere. But could have been any town really. Not bad, but didn't feel that special either.
Went to bed early as I was going to do a hot air balloon ride the next morning, had to get up at 4.30 and call a number to check if the flight was on or not.
Dusk in Christchurch
Day 2
Got up to call that number just to find out that the balloon ride was canceled due to weather conditions. A bit disappointing off course. slept for a little longer.
Had some breakfast, checked out and started my journey towards Mt Cook. According to my itinerary it was meant to be a very scenic drive. Driving for about an hour through flat farm land and villages that could as well have been anywhere in south Sweden. I wasn't impressed. The only thing that was vaguely interesting was the big hills and mountains I could see in the far distance.
Eventually I got fairly close to those mountains and hills and the landscape turned rather interesting all of a sudden. It was some time around here where I stopped the car for the first time to take photographs.
Little did I know that was only the beginning. As I got closer to Mt Cook the landscape the landscape just turned more and more jaw dropping.
About 5 hours after leaving Christchurch behind I arrived in the tiny remote village of Mt Cook With about 150 inhabitants. Situated in a valley at the end of the road at the foot of NZ highest mountain with the same name. The weather was stunning, so I did a few hour walk and got a bit closer to the actual mountain.
The valley where I stayed
Mt Cook it self. I Saw the mountain from my bed too.
The tip of Mt Cook
Day 3
Got up to get ready for my next 5 hour drive down to Queenstown, the most southern point I have ever been too so far.
It was raining in the morning.
The scenery was still stunning, and it kept my jaw drop over and over again, it didn't take long till the weather got better.
The scenery around Queenstown was like a post card. It was a very interesting town. It was very small I guess it was somewhere around the same size as Borgholm were my parents live. I don't think I have ever experienced a small town where young people all over the world would move to. Usually young people with ambition move out of small towns. It was such a buzz and energy there. Well there was quite a few things I would have changed if I had the power, but still. It was an interesting place. Also called the adventure capitol of the world.
Walking around town in the afternoon and then I took the gondola (like a cabin ski lift) up to a mountain top to have dinner at a restaurant there. Views where stunning, but food was average.
It was a buffet. And I don't think buffet is my thing in most cases. Food in bulk cant be cooked with love.
I was going to stay in Queenstown for 3 nights and I had a great hotel room with stunning views over the lake and the mountains.
Day 4
I was going to catch a bout 1.30 at Milford Sounds. I was told the surroundings would be like a post card. I didn't really know what to expect, but didn't want to jeopardize good photograph opportunities. The drive would be about 4,5 hours so I decided to leave early. The weather just got worse and worse. The rain was just pouring down. As I was driving through a rain forest covered valley surrounded by steep leafy mountains I had to stop. There was a few cars in front of me, and I soon found out that there had been a rock slide pulling a tree across the road. This was the only road to and from Milford Sounds so we where stuck there for about 2 hours. The heavy rain formed waterfalls on the mountain sides. And it was quite spectacular.
Cars and buses started to turn around and head back as they probably had missed their boats. I was lucky I left so early otherwise I would never have made it. As soon as the road was cleared we could move on. Eventually we reached a one way tunnel. It was very long and dark, and pipes had burst and water was going everywhere. Arriving at the other side of the mountain, I found my self on the mountain side and had to drive down a steep serpentine road. The view was amazing. The mountains had turned into sharp cliffs and was literally crying with water. 1000s of waterfalls. The road was party flooded and had collapsed in places.
Arriving at the bottom of the valley the very last minute, I arrived just in time to catch the boat. It was actually the first boat leaving that day due to the weather. They could not go as far out as they where meant to do, so I got buffet lunch as compensation. Well, the lunch was average, but I didn't care much because Milford Sounds was so amazing.
Roaring wind, wild skies, but at least it stopped raining.
All of a sudden this little feller appeared on a rock
On my way back to Queenstown that evening I got a bit scared. Driving for over 2 hours without any petrol station in sight. It was about 50km left and the indicator had been flashing for a long time. I was preparing my self mentally for what to do if the car suddenly stopped. I was in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by flat plains and mountains. And then there it was, an old scruffy looking petrol station.
Day 5
Today I was meant to do a bus tour through the wine region. I had been driving for so many hours the past days, and the day before was 9 drive plus 2 hours waiting for the rock slide to be cleared. So I couldn't stand the thought of sitting down for another few hours. I canceled it and went into town to have breakfast. Was walking up and down the street to make my mind up if I dared to sky diving. The weather was stunning. I decided not to think and and book the damnthing, but it was all sold out for the day. I decided to do paragliding instead. Where you run off a mountain with a parachute on your back (and another person, as you cant do it on your own if you are not experienced). It was great as I got to bring my camera with me.
Yes its my knees
We landed in a field with sheep
Day 6
Time to say good bye to Queenstown
Driving for about 4,5 hours along the west coast up to Franz Joseph glacier.
A tiny very surreal village at the bottom of the glacier. a few hundred inhabitants at its most.
Its one out of 3 places in the world where rain forest and glacier meets. The second one is Fox Glacier one mountain away, and the 3rd is in Argentina. Very interesting concept. As it is a rain forest it rains a lot. about 270 days a year, and then most days are gray and very few are blue skied. The day I arrived it was certainly raining. It was not accessible a few days earlier due to flooding. The village was quite ugly, but people where very friendly.
They turned an old bus into an internet café
I also got the opportunity to try a local delicacy called White Bait. A tiny fish traditionally served in omelet
Day 7
Today it was time to do a glacier hike, and there was no rain thank god.
Spikes where needed
Day 8
Time to leave Franz Joseph behind, and the weather was actually good.
Drove for another 5 hours or so along the coast up to Greymouth to catch the Tranz Alpine railway back to Christchurch and hand back my car. Meant to be one of the most beautiful train rides in the world. And it sure must be. Some carriages had outdoor space where you could take pictures.
When back in Christchurch I was picked up at the train station by Mia, an old colleague from King in London. Haven't seen her for years, and we went for food and drinks. Didn't stay up late as I had to catch a flight to the north island very early the next morning.
Day 9
Leaving the south island behind
Flew from Christchurch to Rotorua on the north island. Apparently one of the most popular destinations in NZ.
I arrived early and my room wasn't ready so I left my bags in the reception to walk into town.
On paper it sounds all good. Town next to a lake wich is an old volcanic crater. Thermal area with volcanic activity and geysers. The area where most Maori people live. It's an achievement to be able to create such a horrible town with circumstances like that. It was absolutely awful. Not only ugly and soul less. It seemed like it was all about selling cheap things for a lot of money to tourists. People didn't care if what they where doing or selling was good as long as it brought money in.
I cant wait to get married and book the honeymoon suite at this place
I guess looking expensive is a matter of opinion
Quite tempting "plumspool" in Swedish
Had breakfast at this place, it breaths good quality and food cooked with care doesn't it?
Please book me in at this lovely looking restaurant for my birth day, the food is free after all
With an excessive amount of young people in "fast and the furious" type cars I guess adverts like this is needed. Deep frozen veggies is probably better than most things they usually eat.
I really disliked this place, and didn't feel at all like the rest of NZ I had seen so far. There was not much I could do during that day as I was going to be picked up at 5 to head of to a Mauri village to dine and see a Mauri concert. During the afternoon I kind of got the idea of what that dinner was going to be like. And I couldn't be more right. It felt like being in a Disney movie. Taken to this fake village together with other bus groups of mindless people.
Day 10
Today I had a ticket to the thermal reserve. It was very beautiful, but I think it would have been alot better if it wasn't so organized and just left alone in nature.
But it was amazing to experience boiling mud pools and geysers.
I couldn't stand the idea of spending the afternoon in that horrible town, so I booked river rafting. When picked up I was back in NZ all of a sudden again. People loving what they where doing and keen on doing a good job. It was really exciting. Got to go down the highest water fall in the world in a commercially rafted river. 7m drop. It was about 50% to flip over, we where 2 rafts, the other one did flip but we didn't. Here is the sequence caught on camera.
Went to a thermal spa in the after noon, was exhausted. Feel a sleep early that night.
Day 11
Caught a bus to Auckland stopping at the Waitomo Glow worm caves. It was great, almost like a star lit sky with the ceilings covered with glow worms.
Arrived in Auckland in the evening, had dinner in town and went to bed.
Day 12
Spent the day in Auckland, a city that reminded me very much of Sydney.
Day 13
Got up early and went home to Sydney again
Review.
This was the story in a very short form. I took about 1500 pictures. Will put the best ones up on Flickr if I can be bothered.
NZ is an amazing country, If you get the opportunity go there. But go for at least 3 weeks if you can, there where so many things I saw that I wanted to do, but there wasn't enough time.
The food was excellent too, I did some quick research on what to eat, and I had a lot of local fish and lamb off course.
Had these amazing bluff oysters in Queenstown. Some say that Bluff oysters are the finest in the world. They are a prized delicacy, and harvested from March to August. They are grown slowly in the cold clean waters of the Foveaux Strait.
Tarakihi fish
