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Published: December 28th 2017
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2 flights, a layover and almost 12 hours later, we finally landed in Christchurch airport! The child within us was unleashed and we almost couldn’t contain our excitement, eager to rush outside to breathe in the crisp air we imagined. Alas grey skies were looming overhead and it was drizzling; we didn’t ‘plan’ for the foul weather! Still, it wouldn’t dampen our spirits as we sought to wreak havoc for the next 2 weeks in the Southern Island, a place on my to-visit list ever since. I also planned for something really special for her (and both of us) during this trip of a lifetime. Surprise surprise!
The whole journey was broken down into 2 parts: 1 loop across to the west coast in a smaller campervan big enough for a couple, before we returned back to Christchurch for the 2
nd loop further down south, where we had a bigger self-contained vehicle, as 3 other friends joined us on the adventure down under. These are the most memorable short stories, including the surprises in-store for us:
1. Steph – Le Alpaca Whisperer It was in Akaroa, Shamarra Alpacas, where Steph’s behaviour took a dramatic
change and somehow morphed into a 3 year old. It wasn’t our first encounter with the cutest animal on Planet Earth (according to her) and certainly wouldn’t be our last. We paid close to 50 NZD and had a good amount of time wandering in the fields’ home to the Alpacas, feeding and whispering gibberish to them! Even as a neutral, I must say these flurry friends are really adorable and I’m sure we would return with our kids in the future.
2. A night over at the edge of the island A 30-minutes drive from the city centre, we meandered along narrow highland roads, into the territory of herds of sheep. It’s only our 2
nd night in the country and we already love it, despite the constant grey skies and looming thunderstorm. We stayed over at Godley head campsite, where it overlooked the Pacific Ocean, and supposedly whole of Christchurch (we could not see the city due to the fog). Had a cooling evening walk along the marked trails, cooked our dinner in the campervan before retiring to bed early. This place has an eerily serene peace to it and will definitely beacon to nature
lovers.
3. From East to West Setting off early with a short stopover at ‘New World’ Supermarket (our favorite refuel pit stop), we drove across the Arthur’s Pass from the east coast to the west, stopping by at Castle Hill, Arthur’s Pass town. The journey took us through drastic landscapes of lush greenery, rocky mountains and winding roads, totally the type of roads which I wouldn’t mind driving the entire day for. We ended the day drive in Paparoa National Park where we visited Pancake blowholes and had a good dinner and drinks at a local pub restaurant.
4. One second of flying horror So, the most surprising, or rather, shocking event took place. I bought a Drone, the pocket size DJI Spark with an intention to capture bird’s eye views of the incredible landscapes of New Zealand, and of course, the surprise. I was flying the drone sporadically the first few days and thought I would be able to catch a nice front view shot of us at the swinging bridge of the beautiful Hokitika Gorge. Taking off Sparkie from the bridge barely 1 metre off the ground, a strong gust
of wind took it slightly off its course as it hits the side of the railings of the swing bridge. The next second, the propeller guard-less drone lost it’s orientation, flipped onto the wrong side of the railings and went down swimming in the waters. Horror. The next hours were spent getting a earful from Steph and reflecting on my over-eagerness stupidity of flying without propeller guards. I concluded: I lost close to 800SGD and will probably not own another drone, at least in the near future.
5. Master chefs in the making Took us probably a few hours to get over the loss, but we were back in our swagger, exploring Hokitika town before heading further down south to Fox Glacier town. It was almost night time and we decided to make dinner – our own version of master chef. Thanks to the huge space at Top 10 Holiday Park, and the abundance of ingredients bought earlier, we cooked up a feast, and in my humble opinion, the best dinner (& breakfast) we had during the trip. Lightly spiced chicken breast, perfectly baked potatoes served with mac & cheese, coupled with local wine and a
shared culinary experience. Always looking forward to more meals that we’d prepare together.
6. Beautiful West Coast Drive We spent the morning exploring Lake Matheson and the Fox Glacier lookout point, and were supposed to do the Heli-hike if not for the poor weather. But things always happen for a reason, and that provided us enough daytime to cover the ground in the day all the way through to Haast Pass. Thankfully, the weather turned better and grey clouds gave way to clear blue skies from this day onwards! This made the drive along the remaining west coast so scenic and I will always remember the winding roads overlooking the ocean on one side, and snow-capped mountains on the other. We had a couple of photo stops and short side walks to waterfalls along the Haast River.
7. Most Surreal Camping Experience We witnessed probably the best sunset backdrop in the trip as we were rushing to reach our campsite at Kidd’s Bush before nightfall. The setting sun casted a streak of golden ray on the mountains we were approaching, with lake Hawea before the mountains and snaking roads by its
side. As we were heading downhill, the viewpoint we were at captured all of these in, and we just stared in awe at the scenery. The Kidd’s Bush campsite was just another 10mins drive down, nestled in a private farm, overlooking lake Hawea. We had enough daylight to pitch our tent, make a quick dinner and enjoyed the rest of the evening watching the sky give way to the million of stars out at play above us. We had the most peaceful of mornings as well; awaken to the sound of nature of birds chirping and cows mooing. With a fuss-free breakfast and eyes fixed at the changing colours of the lake and surrounding mountains, all I could say was that it was the most surreal, and indeed unreal, camping experience we’ve had.
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