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Published: August 10th 2014
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Grace & Mag,
As you know, Dad flew to NZ for a holiday for two and a half weeks. It was so good to see him again...laughing at stupid stuff and being slow idiots together 😊 We met and started our trip in Christchurch, got a camper and toured around the South Island the whole time. For the first two days we were very well looked after by Mel's parents, Mary and Pat. They were so nice and funny and we got on really well. We stayed at their house with the camper parked on the driveway for a couple of nights and they showed us around the City. We saw Wayne a few times at the pub, he is such a good man. One of Mary and Pat's friends that I had previously met when they came for a holiday to Cairns. When we were being shown around the City it was quite strange to think that we were seeing the place that we nearly immigrated to about 11 years ago. As you can probably imagine, it is really sad seeing the City. You can see from the layout of the centre that it was a vibrant and buzzing
place before but now there are lots of empty spaces and the buildings that are still there are being held up with scaffolding. The Cathedral is a beautiful building but it is now completely crumbled at one end. We also drove out the the suburbs and saw so many neighbourhoods with stunning, big family homes that are all crooked and empty because the land underneath has been classified 'red zone' which you can not build on it again. They are sitting and waiting to be pulled down and it's so sad to think of all the families who had their memories built within these. The City has come a long way since the earthquakes caused all the damage and people around the City seem to be quite positive and determined. There was even a light joke going around between the locals about a huge rock that was called 'Shag Rock' is now called 'Shag Rubble'. I call that good Kiwi spirit, they are very down to earth, positive people in general. The best way to be in my opinion.
Me and Dad began our camper trip and saw so much in a short amount of time. Everywhere we drove
was stunning. The lakes looked like sheets of glass - so smooth with the mountains reflecting. Most of the mountains were half white with snow and almost looked fake. I said to Dad a few times that I felt like I was in a jigsaw puzzle picture all the time!! So our trip went like this......
Christchurch for two nights, then up to Kaikoura where we went whale watching and met up Mel's sister and nieces. The next day we took an inland route over to Hanmer Springs and jumped in hot pools. It was really cold outside, we were looking at snow on the mountains - in a bikini! Felt weird hehe but was so relaxing and really warms you up before bed. The day after we had a nice little breakfast in a cafe then drove down to Lake Tekapo. Stayed the night, had a look around then over to Wanaka. Stayed there for three nights and had the best time. We did a lot...shooting, archery, puzzling world (where Dad lost all abilities to cope with life haha). There were really powerful visual illusions there and one house was on a slope but everything inside the house
was level, it felt so weird and Dad didn't like it at all! It was hilarious, I couldn't stop laughing. We had a gorgeous lamb meal (I guess if anyone knows how to cook it, they do - so many sheep) and I don't think anyone will beat it! We wondered into Upper Cluther Rugby Club, the local club of Wanaka, on the Saturday night to watch the Eng vs All Blacks match. We had bright white shirts on (just asking for it really hehe) and had such a laugh with everyone and lots of banter between us all and ended up going out in town after. Everyone was so friendly, giving us plenty of stick about the game. After Wanaka we headed for Arrowtown - a really small, cute and querky town about 45mins drive away from Queenstown. We slept in Queenstown that night and ended up staying for five nights because we kept finding stuff to do. When it rained on the first day we took cover in the pub so that was a good day 😊 Another day we booked a day trip to Milford Sounds and saw beautiful scenery, seals and sailed to most western point
of NZ. I went jet boating another time and Dad watched, not his cuppa tea! The last day was amazing! We went up to Coronet Peak a ski field for the morning to enjoy the views and watch people (didn't quite get round to trying it myself) then we went on a helicopter ride. It was the clearest day, perfect for flying, no wind and I will never forget that ride! We landed on top of a snowy mountain and could see everything. Was breath taking! Before we left Queenstown I got to see Emily as well! She is a friend I used to live with in Cairns and it was so good to catch up! She's lovely and will always be my friend (if she allows that hehe). We drove to Dunedin ready for the rugby the next day. We had tickets for Eng vs All Blacks. It was amazing live, so exciting, we were literally up and down off our seats, which were practically on the pitch. We were so close to it all. The rest of the England squad were sat behind us. Thanks to the unique and silly t-shirt we had on, me and Dad were
apparently on the tele which we did not know at the time. The Haka was great, especially when the crowd join in towards the end and it gets loud and exciting! Before we walked to the stadium we were in town which was quite busy as you would assume on a Saturday and a big match is in town, but we managed to run into some of the rugby guys from Wanaka. Such a coincidence and such a small world. We had a few beers with them before the match and it just felt like old mates.
Overall, the people, the weather, camping facilities, scenery and the activities were absolutely faultless. I definitely will be returning for my working holiday visa at one point.
If I have missed anything, ask Dad when he gets back 😊
Love you both
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