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After leaving Wanaka we got the short bus to Queenstown. We were recommended a hostel on the edge of town but when the bus driver suggested we should get a taxi, and after a very steep walk with all our heavy bags we were starting to think that it wasn’t the best recommendation. We were happily proved wrong once we got there. It was a lovely hostel with a nice room and a warm communal area with great views over the lake. Queenstown was much prettier than expected, Queenstown is know for its extreme activities like skydiving and bungee jumping but it is rarely mentioned how beautiful it is, situated round a lake with hills and mountains surrounding it. We got there late the first night so didn’t do too much but an American guy cooked everyone chocolate bread and butter pudding, even though he though the oven was in fahrenheit and burnt it a little, it was very nice. Our first day we had booked a trip to Milford Sound, not many places are worth 8 hours of driving in a day to get to and back but this certainly was. The weather had improved and we were lucky to
get a sunny day on the cruise, it rains 9meters a year here and 200 days in a year. It is one of the most beautiful places in the world, Rujard Kipling (not the bloke who makes cakes as Claire thought) said it is the eighth wonder of the world, and he wasn’t wrong, it is stunning. The tour took all day so the following day we explored Queenstown. It’s much smaller than expected and easy to walk around, we went to the gardens which were pretty and had a Frisbee golf course, in the afternoon we decided to climb Mount Bob, which looks like a small hill behind the town. There is a lift to the top but at about $30 return we decided walking would be better. It was much steeper than expected and what we though would be a quick walk turned out to an all afternoon activity. The sun came out when we got to the top which made the views ever more spectacular and the tiring walk worth it. We treated our selves when we got back to a Ferg Burger (a famous Queenstown burger bar) which was amazing, and a few drinks in the
$5 bar - $5 drinks all day every day - brilliant!
After two night we headed north to Lake Tekapo. We arrived in cloud and rain so we couldn’t see much over the lake and as it is a very small town there wasn’t much to do so we headed up to the hot springs. On the way the weather changed, the cloud lifted and the sun came out and we saw the stunning landscape for the first time. The lake is a milky turquoise colour (due to rock eroded by glaciers in the mountains) which looks amazing against the hills and snow capped mountains in the background. The next day we woke to bright blue skies for the first time in New Zealand. We packed a bag and headed off to climb Mt John. It was steep but pretty quick climb to the top but the wind was incredibly strong when we got there. We found out later it was 100kmph and the road to the top was closed due to extreme weather. We quickly headed back out of the wind and once we got down we went on a walk out away from the lake down a
river bed and over hills for a few hours. We lost the track for a while but it was a nice being in the middle of nowhere in the nice weather. That night we were booked in to the star gazing tour. Luckily the sky stayed reasonably clear and more importantly the wind died down. The tour was fantastic, like nothing else we have ever done. The stars were incredibly clear as there is very little light pollution around, it was spectacular. The guides pointed out stars and constellations with lasers and we got to go in one of the university telescopes in the dome with a fantastically geeky and funny guide, we found him hilarious. Seeing Saturn was incredible, it didn’t look real, we also saw nebular, star clusters and the moon in really clear detail. The only downer on the tour was the most incredible idiot I have ever heard, a young guy from England who must have watched Brian Cox a few too many times and though he knew everything about space and constantly asked questions which were pointless. We found him very funny in the end and his conversation with his chav girlfriend on the bus
back was something I’ll never forget, I don’t know how we didn’t burst out laughing. It was a fantastic trip though, a lot of the tours to see places are similar all over the world but this was something very different and there aren’t many places better in the world to do this tour than at Tekapo. Tekapo was definitely one of the best places we have been to so far, the weather helped but it is just stunningly beautiful.
We left Tekapo for Christchurch, we didn’t want to go but there was no way around it on the busses. As we drove though on the bus there wasn’t too much damage but the odd house and church was badly damaged and the dominant building on the city skyline was leaning ready to be knocked down. The CBD is closed off and the surrounding area is closed off to cars so we only stayed one night arriving late and leaving early the next day. It’s a strange place to be so soon after such a horrible disaster. The hostel though was absolutely disgusting, we booked it because it was close to the bus stop but the small kitchen was
filthy and it was obvious they couldn’t be bothered to clean it or make it nice. It is a shame because at this time more than any Christchurch needs the tourism money but this place didn’t care at all, I have never stayed anywhere so horrible. It is called Rucksacker Backpacker, please don’t go there. We did have a TV in our room though so we stayed up there watching a terrible movie. We wish we had paid extra to stay down the road where according to the website they were making a huge effort to attract people back to Christchurch like other places should be, it was such a shame. We were glad to leave early the next morning.
We arrived early at Kaikoura on the east coast around midday. It is a beautiful coastal town. We also arrived to beautiful weather, which made it seem even nicer, the town is small and has rolling hills and snow topped mountains surrounding it. It is very different from the wild west coast and the lakes of the southern alps but very beautiful. Our hostel is maybe the best we have stayed at, it is owned by travellers who have
made it a lovely place. Everything is recycled even the bikes we borrowed for free when we got there - recycled bikes aren’t the best but was nice riding down the coast towards the seal colony. The ride was lovely it was 18 degrees which felt really warm (I remember in Melbourne 18 degrees being freezing) in my shorts and tee-shirt. There were a few seals around on the rocks lazing in the sunshine. On the way back we called into a BBQ seafood stand on the coast out of town and had Whitebait and Paua fritters, it was cheap and very tasty. We had a relaxing evening with yet another cheap bottle of wine in front of the fire in the lovely hostel.
The next day we woke to another beautiful day so decided to do a walk around the headland to where we had biked to the other day. It was supposed to be a 4 hour walk so we packed a picnic and headed off. The walk was lovely at first over rolling green hills and round the coast. Unfortunately as we were heading up the headland the wind picked up and the rain soon followed,
we were exactly half way round and a long way from shelter so got soaked until we found cover near the seal colony. We were very wet and very cold but the rain seemed to make the seals come out of the water and there were loads of them on the shore, we nearly walked into one lying by the road! We saw a pub and headed in out of the rain and warmed up in front of the fire with a drink. As quickly as the weather had come it went again so we managed to get back and dry off and head out again down the beautiful beach late in the afternoon. After the walk we treated ourselves to a drink and a few games of pool before some very cheap and very tasty fish and chips - no vinegar and no mushy peas though, nowhere does it like home.
We leave soon for Picton, our last stop on the south island before we get the ferry to the north island. Kaikoura and Tekapo were two of our favourite places we have been, probably helped by the weather but still beautiful places with great hostels. So far
New Zealand has been amazing, the scenery is incredible, and very different from everywhere we have been on our travels, and the hostels apart from the Chistchurch one have been lovely and so homely.
Lots of love x x x
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Sam
non-member comment
Tekapo
Of course your hostels have been great and the star gazing was brilliant! You were guided by the best tour guides... How good are those green laser pens??!!