Geo: -42.4576, 171.206 The intercity bus picked me up from Yha to go to Greymouth for the Transalphine train to Christchurch and on the way we stopped at Harihari, Hokitika and Kumara junction. We arrived at the Greymouth station just when the train arrived and all the passengers were coming out. The train was delayed for 40 mins so we had to wait outside till the train was ready and finally the train took off. TranzAlpine train. The TranzAlpine is run by New Zealand train operator Kiwi Rail which runs once daily between Christchurch, Arthurs Pass, Greymouth and back passing the mountain scenery of the Southern Alps, the journey takes 4½ hours.The Seats in the train were very comfortable with clean glass windows for viewing the scenery, there were open viewing platforms to look at the ... read more

Geo: -44.6987, 169.133 Today I took the Connectabus outside the subway in Camp Street, I was the only one in the bus but the driver still took me to Wanaka passing through Cardona Pass which is v scenic. It climbed up on few sharp hair pin bends; I saw the rainbows, mountains. I paid only $45 but it was most enjoyable ride. I arrived at Wanaka early at Yha Wanaka so I dropped my bag at the locker room. The staff here were really friendly and went out of their way to be helpful. I walked to the lake which is scenic with shops restaurants, the weather was very sunny and it was really nice here, on the way back, I shopped at new World Supermarket, which was v reasonable. I decided to do bit of ... read more

Geo: -44.6698, 167.928 Today the pickup was at 7.20 am and it was only 5 mins walk from the hostel to Athol st. Again the tour was with Great Sights and the coach had glass-roof for views of the skyline but the weather was gloomy, cold and it had rained heavily at night. The tour was packed and along the way there are few stops for brief walks at Mirror Lake, The Chasm a short walk over footbridges spanning a series of swirling waterfalls and at the Monkey Creek which was good place for pictures. We passed the rugged mountain terrain past Te Anau on the shores of the largest lake in the South Island. This is a Journey through the Southern Alps and along the picturesque Eglinton Valley, a place of ancient alpine forest with ... read more

Geo: -38.1398, 176.247 Next morning I was picked up at 8 am by Grumpy's Tour for visit to Wai o Tapu, the Thermal Wonderland, A geological volcanic hot spot area with hot pools with fancy colours due to different minerals in the rocks by the volcanic activity. The Kiwis have a good sense of humour and have given spooky names like Devils Home, Devils bath (green) Devils ink pot and Champagne pool to various hot spots. I was very fascinated by the all colourful geothermal activity, our guide was really good and took us to all the main spots. Also there were written posters describing everything in details and colour chart for each mineral, I absolutely loved each and every minute of my time walking there. Then the highlight of the morning was to see a ... read more

Geo: -38.1398, 176.247 I caught the 8 am intercity bus going to Rotorua from Hobson Street, I had booked all the buses and day tours from London. We passed the rainforests, Hamilton & Matamata, Matamata is a must see if you're a Lord of the Rings and Hobbit fan. You can take a guided tour of the Hobbiton Movie Set. We reached Rotorua, which is famous for its geothermal activity and is one of the most visited tourist regions in New Zealand. I headed to YHA hostel, It was my first time to stay in a proper hostel. According to my research many Kiwis and Australians stay in hostels. The hostels in New Zealand are of good standards so I thought I would love to have the experience. I had become member of YHA so I ... read more