Hickies NZ

Here we go again! Another tour, another blog!... read more

Day 32 Saturday Our last full day, but no time to waste as it’s off early for a City Tour. This took us to the Marina, China Town, a gemstone factory, the Orchid garden in the Botanic Gardens and Little India. But monsoon rain came early today. At the Marina there is a vast hotel complex (The Marina Bay Sands hotel) – three towers with a superstructure for swimming, eating, relaxing and a great view; apparently the tallest building in south east Asia. Look at the water and you will see lots of white balls floating – they are wish balls. People pay and make a wish and then release the ball in the Marina. Apparently it’s part of their New Year celebrations! The Chinese temple was a must to see and then to the orchids, ... read more

Day 29 Wednesday Our last full day in NZ: we spent it in Christchurch, strolling around the main square (buskers, street chess, a launch of some cut price air tickets, groups singing carols to raise funds).The cathedral and the museum is worth a visit. A lot on the early settlers to the area (this area is known as Canterbury) and some interesting bits on Christchurch from about 100 years ago. There was also a good exhibition on the Antarctic and the early explorers like Scott and Shackleton. They have a good collection of various bits they had used, books and photographs. Christchurch was an important base for these explorers. Wandering slowly back to our house for the night we passed many examples of the damage done by the earthquake – walls cracked and now behind barriers, ... read more

Day 27 Monday Left Queenstown today and headed north. It feels strange because we are on the last leg of our journey heading to Christchurch with an overnight stop at Lake Tekapo. We took our time cos there were places we wanted to stop on the way. First stop – the bridge where they started the whole bungy jumping thing. We watched a bloke jump and I obviously didn’t know him but I felt so nervous I felt sick! Most of the journey was on very long straight roads and it turned out to be another lupin day! Mike said no more photos but it just got better and better so eventually we stopped by a small river that was totally carpeted by them in all colours ranging from pale pink to the deepest purple – ... read more

Day 25 Saturday On the trip yesterday we learnt about all the activities centered on Te Anau. It is the main tourist base for the area known as Fiordland, a world heritage area full of mountains, fiords, streams, waterfalls, native forest and sandflies. The road to Milford Sound is one of the very few roads into the vast area and is used by several thousand tourists each year to access Milford. Another important activity is walking (tramping) and there are several long distance (3 to 6 day) walks through the mountains with campsites or lodges spaced along the way. These open up for the summer months and about 3000 people use them each year. They are so popular they are being booked up up to two years in advance! So, who’s up for it? Anyway, today ... read more