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Published: March 20th 2015
I have always wanted to visit New Zealand. In fact, about 5 years ago I was trying really hard to find a job there so I could relocate and live there. Needless to say, it didn’t work out but I’m grateful to have had the chance this past Christmas to go. New Zealand is definitely one of my dream trips!
About a year ago I proposed to a bunch of people if they wanted to travel around New Zealand with me over our winter break. In the end there was a lot of interest that we ended up dividing up into two groups of four. We intentionally met up for Christmas and New Years, but other than that our trips were different in some ways.
When they say New Zealand is a gorgeous country – it truly is. The scenery is nonstop and displays beauty relentlessly. The water colour is one thing that really stood out to me. I have seen clear turquoise blue water before many times back home, but I always associate that kind of water to hiking - glacier lakes in the mountains. In New Zealand, every body of water we saw
was like this – large lakes to rivers, small streams, etc. even the open ocean waters of Abel Tasman National Park on the South Island was like this . The environmental laws are stricter in New Zealand which has certainly paid off. Their country is stunning. It certainly helps the overall population is lower in comparison to most countries around the world. However, that set aside, they do a phenomenal job at looking after their natural landscapes.
For each day there are three words to summarize the day’s events with a brief description for each.
DAY 1 . Saturday December 20, 2014
Anticipation · Finishing up the end of term, running around to finish packing, cleaning up the apartment and on the way to the airport for my dream vacation.
Subway Sandwich · One year later I am enjoying a scrumptious subway sandwich in the Singapore airport . We were on our way to Brisbane, Australia for a stopover before continuing on to Auckland, New Zealand.
Sleepless Night · Our flight from Singapore left at 8:50pm. It was an overnight flight = not prime conditions for a good night sleep.
DAY 2 . Sunday December 21, 2014
Fresh Air · Leaving the Auckland airport and breathing in clean air under partly cloudy but sunny skies.
Excitement · In shock with reality - we are really walking on New Zealand’s soil! Adrenaline kicks in when the mountains and ocean are spotted in the distance as we deplaned the aircraft.
Food Truck Garage · After walking around the streets of Auckland and having difficulty finding a place to eat , everything was shutting down. We stopped and did a quick search before setting on a cool, original and organic food truck restaurant.
DAY 3 . Monday December 22, 2014
Auckland · We had one full day in Auckland. We picked up our rental car, visited the sky tower and walked around downtown – including the harbor front.
*We named our car “kiwi
cruiser” *We kept mixing up the windshield wipers with our turn signal at first as we each took turns driving the streets of Auckland and getting used to driving on the left hand side of the road. In Indonesia we drive on the left too but I have never driven a car on the left hand side before – a motorbike is much easier
. After getting our nerves out, we all became much more comfortable behind the wheel.
Garden BBQ · One of the new teachers this year is a Kiwi. She’s a little older than I am by a couple of years but we get along really well. Her parents were here this past fall to visit and I was able to meet them. My friend said her parents would be more than willing to pick us up from the airport , but then her mom also invited us all over for a backyard BBQ. It was delicious! We had BBQ lamb, steak, sausages, potatoes, garden salad etc. and then pavlova, fresh strawberries, fondue, and hokie pokie ice cream . The other group of four was there also for dinner. It was nice to see the other girls before we met up again a few days later for Christmas at Mount Maunganui.
Christmas Lights · Franklin Road is really popular for its Christmas light displays. Large crowds filling the sidewalks as people enjoy the Christmas music and lights on the homes. The sky tower was seen in the distance decked out in white, red and green lighting.
Day 4 . Tuesday December 23, 2014
Crunch · As we were packing our car up, a large truck drove into our back right light. The light busted so we had to get it fixed at the car rental place. We ended up getting the same vehicle but in silver instead of white. Then I drive us to get groceries before we headed on our road trip further north.
Coromandel/Cathedral Cove · A beautiful and stunning place. Scenes from Chronicles of Narnia and Prince Caspian were filmed on the beach there. It was great to dip my feet into the ocean again and walk on the sand.
I was loving it!
Milk · We stayed at a nice motel at the base of Mount Maunganui where we spent Christmas. The owners were an older British couple. As we were checking in he said to just wait a moment as he went to get our milk….we thought maybe it was a welcome drink? We were really confused and tried our best not to burst into laughter when he brought back a small container of milk. It wasn’t until a few minutes later that he told us the milk was for our tea or coffee which at that point we had made the connection.
Mexican Food · We walked to a recommended Mexican restaurant along the main street and enjoyed a lamb burrito. It was SO good!
Day 5 . Wednesday December 24, 2014
Grindz Café · We slept in and headed into Tauranga once we got ready. We went to Grindz Café for brunch before finding a grocery store for a few more items.
Salt Hot Water Pools · After browsing in many boutiques and shops along the main
strip in Mount Mauganui, we walked around the base of Mount. We enjoyed the beautiful scenery including the sheep on Mount Maunganui’s hillside! We returned back to our accommodation, ate a few snacks, planned on a late dinner and decided to pay the Salt Hot Water Pools. These pools are located right at the base of Mount Maunganui and we swam as the sun went down. Once the sun disappeared behind the horizon, we were greeted by Christmas lights as we continued to swim a little longer into the night.
Christmas Eve Service · After a late dinner we showered, got ready and met the other girls at the church. It was a midnight candle light and Christmas Carol service. They came over to our place for red velvet cake and to chill before heading back to their campsite for the night.
Day 6 . Thursday December 25, 2014
Relaxing Morning · We slept in, enjoyed breakfast together, and phoned home to wish family a Merry Christmas.
Mount Maunganui Summit · We hiked to the hilltop and saw amazing views from the summit.
Ters and I made it well before the other two girls and stopped to read our books for a bit while taking in the views.
Main Beach and Water Blow Holes · We relaxed on the beach with the locals and slept, read books, walked in the surf along the beach and to the end of an island to see the blow holes. The day ended with a magnificent sun set BUT the sun disappeared behind the horizon so quickly – I mean I never saw anything like it before. It was crazy. Seriously, it disappeared in a matter of seconds not minutes!
Day 7 . Friday December 26, 2014
Hobbiton Movie Set · We drove early in the morning to Rotorua to catch the Hobbiton shuttle bus for 8:15am. We toured the movie set and found out how much detail and thought went into the films. The movie set is located on a sheep farmer’s land. Originally, the owner gave permission for the construction as long as his land was returned back to the original state. This was for the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Later
on, when the Hobbit Trilogy was filmed, the owner decided it was okay for the construction to be permanent, as later he wanted to turn it into a place for the public to view and tour. Needless to say, we drove through fields of sheep before reaching the movie set. The tour ended with a complementary beer or cider in the at the Green Dragon Inn.
Whakarewarewa: The Living Maori Village · This village is located in a geothermal area with geothermal pools and lakes in close proximity.
We ate a traditional Hangi meal [potatoes,
Meat (chicken and roast beef), corn on the cob and a dessert (a cake of some sort topped with custard and fresh fruit). It was all cooked geothermically. We saw a cultural show and had a tour of the community. At the end of the tour the four of us had a great talk with our tour guide and learned more about the Maori people. All tour guides are Maori themselves.
Starbucks · After checking into our hostel we chilled and relaxed at a Starbucks early evening. We read our books happily. Since shops close early
in New Zealand, two of my friends went back to the hostel where as my other friend and I explored the lake front and continued to read on the grass as the sun set.
Day 8 . Saturday December 27, 2014
Kiwi-Indo Friends · We met up with the head of school, his wife, kids and grandson for morning coffee. We had two hours to kill before our Glowworm cave Tour. Their eldest son owns a dairy farm nearby so it worked out to meet with them half way. It was awesome meeting Kiwi friends in Kiwiland .
Magical Glowworms · We paid a afternoon visit to the famous Waitomo Glowworm Caves. We booked the well known Black Labyrinth Tour: Black Water Rafting. It was amazing! We learned a lot on the tour. The glowworms are not actually worms at all – in fact, they are maggots. The maggots poo, their feces glow and the glow attracts insects . The maggots create a web like structure to catch their prey. The maggots suck out the
insides of their food and then create a cocoon for themselves. They sleep for two to three weeks, hatch, mate and then die. Females live long enough to lay eggs then die, where as males die after they mate. The eggs will eventually hatch and cannibalism begins – they eat each other to survive. The survivors then will start the cycle themselves. The word glowworm captures much more interest than if the advertisement read glow pooping, cannibalistic, gut sucking maggots.
Rolling Hills · As we continued driving down the state hwy, we were surrounded by miles on miles of green and sometimes forested rolling hills. They were beautiful and of course are equipped with some cattle or sheep grazing their pastures – such a peaceful sight!
Day 9 . Sunday December 28, 2014
TERESA’S BIRTHDAY
Disappointment · We had a skydive appointment for 10am to celebrate Ters’ birthday but when I called they said all appointments were cancelled because of cloudy conditions. Instead, we went to a recommended café for a birthday brunch.
Breathless · We headed to the lake after some shopping following brunch and saw skydivers. I called another company up I knew about from my pre-trip research and 30min later we found ourselves filling out paperwork for the jump! We suited up, loaded onto the plane and fell 15,000 ft to the earth below! By this point some of the cloud had lifted and pockets of blue sky and sunshine were visible. We all experienced a time during the freefall where we couldn’t breathe – the rush of air was too much.
Tongariro National Park At Sunset · Driving into the National Park at sunset was stunning! Mount Doom from Lord of the Rings in the distance and a huge snow-capped mountain beside it. Certainly nothing shy of beauty.
Day 10 . Monday December 29, 2014
Tongariro Alpine Crossing · Desolate barren land with emerald green lakes. The hike was steep in the beginning with a few other steep sections, but the rest was very doable. After the 19.4 km trek we made the first shuttle bus back! We got off
the trail at 6 hours 50 minutes.
Thunder Clouds · As we descended, dark clouds formed and stopped at the peak of the trek – hovered over the mountain tops. Claps of thunder could be heard behind us as we trudged down to the parking lot far in the distance. The rain started just as we were in the bus and driving back to our accommodations to pick up our car. Great timing! We were so thankful we were able to see the beautiful scenery on the hike that we wanted to and the landmarks this hike is known for in dry conditions with semi-clear skies. This was our first rain fall of the trip!
Pine Tree Love · Roads lined with
large pine tree forests on either side and hillsides covered in them - such a beautiful sight after being in Jakarta for the last year and a half.
Day 11 . Tuesday December 30, 2014
Cuba Street · After a sleep in morning we walked downtown Wellington and browsed in the shops along the strip. It reminded me a lot of commercial
drive or so from back home. We were pretty exhausted still from the hike the day before that we spent some time chilling in a coffee shop drinking flat whites and reading our books.
Forks and Brewers · We headed to a brewery for dinner. They had a roof top outdoor patio we sat on and enjoyed a delicious meal accompanied of course with a flight of beers –some tasting better than others.
Ice Cream Cake· For the last couple of days Janna and I were craving ice cream cake. After settling in for the evening, watching TV and about to open a bottle of wine, we researched where the closest ice cream shop was and drove there to pick it up for the group. The others were too tired to accompany, but enjoyed the cake we brought home.
Day 12 . Wednesday December 31, 2014
Te Papa · It was a cool, rainy day so after another sleep in and lazy morning we headed to the well known museum Te Papa downtown Wellington.
Group Two · The other group
of ladies came over for our place for a New Year’s party. They were staying real close to us so they just walked over. Together we ate good food, played games and welcomed the 2015.
Fireworks · When midnight struck we could see the firework display from our airbnd accommodation at the capital’s waterfront. The fireworks were also being shown on the TV broadcast/new year countdown we had on! It was surreal to see it both in person and on the – we didn’t know where to look!
Day 13 . Thursday January 1, 2015
Interisland Ferry · We woke up super early to catch the 7:30am ferry from the North Island to the South Island. The ferry was delayed for an hour before we left the dock, but it didn’t matter as we enjoyed reading on the observatory deck in the sun with our flat whites and blueberry muffins. We walked on the decks enjoying the scenery as we entered the islands off the south island. We ended up splitting some fish and chips - a NZ special. There was a cinema on board plus
a children’s magic show, but other than that the experience was very comparable to BC’s Ferries. This was a first experience for the other girls to be on such a large boat.
Wine Tasting · We stayed the night in Blenheim – situated right in the middle of Marlborough’s vineyards and wine region. We called several vineyards but only one place was open on New Year’s Day. We visited Cloudy Bay which happened to be the one we wanted to visit the most. We relaxed in the courtyard, enjoyed our wine and bathed in the sun. We sampled Cloudy Bay’s Sauvignon Blanc and a Pinot Noir. Both were delicious, particularly the Pinot Noir I thought.
Chinese Takeaway · We were exhausted from a lack of sleep the night before and a early start. We went back to our accommodations – took a two hour nap, watched Dirty Dancing, Chronicles of Narnia and the first few minutes of the Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, just to view the Shire scenes post our Hobbiton visit. It was cool to see it
again just after visiting the movie set.
Day 14 . Friday January 2, 2015
Happy Hour · After driving the morning to Abel Tasman National Park, we checked into our accommodations and went back into town for some groceries. We decided there wasn’t enough to make what we wanted for dinner, so we opt out to have happy hour at the café next door and dinner too. As we relaxed and talked, we overlooked part of the Abel Tasman National Park and the ocean. The scenery of course was beautiful.
Sunset Hike · As the sun was setting, Janna and I walked a little ways into the park to the first beach site. The sun had not quite hid behind the hills and the tide was still coming in. The other two were tired, stayed back and read their books.
Star Gazing · With an almost full moon shining bright we laid on a picnic table for a little while looking up into the night’s sky. Again, with all the air pollution in Jakarta, this is a rare experience we now get so we wanted to take advantage
of the opportunity.
Day 15 . Saturday January 3, 2015
Scenic Boat Ride · We booked a scenic motorboat ride for half the day. It was a great way to see the length of NZ’s famous Abel Tasman National Park including several jelly fish in the water, seals, crystal blue waters and kilometers of white sandy beaches amongst rock cliffs. We passed many kayakers and sailboats too.
Sun Tanning · After lunch upon our return, we got ready for the beach and spent it at the one Janna and I walked to the night before. It was our first real time just truly beaching it – bathing suit, towel, sunscreen and book affair. The tide was way out so Teresa and I trekked out to the ocean’s edge as the other girls continued to nap on the beach. We came across crabs, endless empty shells, sand dollars, and jelly fish. We even passed a few groups who were horse riding on the beach.
Wood Burning Pizza · We had made dinner reservations at a nearby restaurant on our way back from the
beach. After a shower and getting ready, we enjoyed a wonderful patio dinner with beer and shared some delicious wood oven pizzas.
Day 16 . Sunday January 4, 2015
Wide Open Space · The combination of mountains, desert like terrain and crystal clear rivers in the valley below make for beautiful scenery on our five plus hour drive.
Christchurch . Botanical Gardens · We arrived in Christchurch early evening and walked to dinner through the botanical gardens. We were staying at a YHA (hostel) kitty corner to the gardens. It was nice to walk around after being cooped up inside the car for most of the day.
The DuxdeLux · We ate a cute restaurant we read on a blog. From the road it didn’t look like much – a home really. Once we stepped in and went to the backyard, it was beautiful! The home was transformed into a restaurant. Eating on the patio in the setting sun – it felt like you were in your own backyard eating a meal. Over the course of our trip thus far we had seen several
billboards and advertisements playing off the Kiwi accent with a bear holding a beer glass for Ginger Beer . We tried it and it was delicious with our meals. The ending to the day was a relaxing one and very much enjoyable!
Day 17 . Monday January 5, 2015
Mount. Cook · New Zealand’s tallest mountain. We woke up super early and drove down to Milford Sound while stopping along the way. Our first stop about half way to Queenstown where there is a historic church called the Church of the Good Sheperd. Our Kiwi friends told us about it and said it was worth seeing. The church is a small, single isle building and behind the pulpit there is a large rectangular window stretching from wall to wall with a view looking down Lake Tekapo lengthwise right to Mount. Cook and its surrounding mountains. Bright turquoise blue waters, snow capped Mount. Cook and high cloud with blue skies made for one beautiful sight.
Water Falls · As we made our final decent to Milford Sound the scenery was breathtaking. We entered a foggy patch in
the middle with mountain tops poking through the clouds and the first sights of snow and glacier tops. The road was squeezed between huge mountain faces and streaming down them were waterfalls – one right after another. We stopped briefly before a one way tunnel going inside the mountain and the rock face right beside the car literally had ten plus falls coming down it (most due to the rain). After driving through the tree lined roads, fog, surrounded by green lush scenery and waterfalls, it seemed like we were seeing Aviator in real life. It was stunning!
Riverside Sunset Walk · Before dinner, Michelle and I walked outside along the riverbank taking photos, drinking our flat whites and talking. At that point the sun had broken out a little and scattered the clouds somewhat.
Day 18 . Tuesday January 6, 2015
Kayaking · We woke up early and met our kayaking group in the lobby for our half day kayak trip in Milford Sound. The waters were relatively calm – no major waves like what I was expecting. It was an easy paddle I thought and
soaked in the breathtaking scenery.
Milford Sound · The previous day was overcast so we weren’t sure what weather we’d get. The morning had some cloud but also some clear skies. The peaks were covered more or less but by the middle of our paddle most of the cloud had disappeared and blown away. We were told it’s rare to have such a sunny and clear day in Milford Sound and man, we lucked out! We were able to see every peak in Milford Sound and all the waterfalls. The water runoff goes literally straight into the ocean – no stream in between for some of them. There are two main waterfalls in Milford Sound. The waterfall we kayaked underneath was three times the height of Niagara Falls [with the huge mountains around us it was hard to wrap my brain around how that can be so as I’ve seen Niagara Falls in person myself. It’s just a testament to how small we were in our kayaks against the towering mountains. The amount of water from that fall is the main source of drinking water for the Milford Sound area. The water is so pure and fresh
that it is not treated at all – one of the few places in the world where you can get waterfall water from your kitchen tap! As for the other water fall, it was too far away to see the whole thing. Our guide asked us as we were floating under the first water fall how far away we thought the other water fall was. Guesses were thrown out, but in the end it ended up being 10km away from where we were. Our guide continued to share with us that the curvature of the earth is so great in Milford Sound that we could not see the last two to three meters of the waterfall! This too was hard to believe! Then I saw a ship parallel to the falls –all we could see from where we were, were the smoke stacks. As the ship got closer we gained more and more visual of the ship – it was insane! Something I will never forget – ever! Milford Sound was absolutely stunning. The fantastic weather definitely influenced the way we felt about this place, but it certainly was one of the most amazing places I have ever seen and
been. We even saw a baby New Zealand Fur Seal. The glacier water floats on top of the salt water which impacts sea life and foliage there too. Dolphins will swim into the sound from the ocean every once in a while to clean their skin of pests that have latched on. These pests cannot survive in fresh water and fall off as the dolphin spends time in the fresh water layer.
Blue Duck Café and Pub · Situated at Milford Sounds water edge sits the only Pub in Milford. We enjoyed our delicious meals with the mountain views to look at.
Day 19 . Wednesday January 7, 2015
PioPio Café · Michelle and Janna wanted to go on a boat cruise that circled Milford Sound and goes out into the ocean a little ways. From outside the Sound they could see how the first explorers couldn’t tell there was more beyond the mountains. They said it really did look like a wall of mountains. As the cruise was further out on the ocean, there were a few dolphins swimming and jumping nearby. Teresa and I dropped them off for their
boast ride and went back to our accommodation and had breakfast at the café there. We ordered a savory dish and a sweet dish then split the two accompanied with a flat white and a chai latte - t was delicious. Since we had just kayaked Milford Sound the day before and it wasn’t my first time seeing mountains unlike some of my friends, I didn’t have the same enthusiasm to spend lots of money for a cruise that circles around the scenery we enjoyed on the water the morning before. After breakfast Ters and I packed the car, signed out and took a walk along the water getting a different perspective of Milford Sound than we had gotten on our kayak trip. It was a super clear morning again and the water was glasslike as the tide was going out. The mountain view was mirrored in the still water which made for a picturesque moment. Once we saw the cruise ship come back we headed for the car to pick the girls up from the dock and to begin our four hour journey back to Queenstown. Along the way we stopped for lunch at a spot surrounded by sheep
fields. We also ate the kiwi fruit we had bought. You can’t go to Kiwiland without sampling their fruit!
Fatburger · Furburger is the name of Queenstown’s famous burger joint. The menu is made up of the finest and fresh ingredients. The cue was consistently super long. We strolled the streets and came back to pick it up. It really was one the best burgers I have ever ordered! For real! Then again, maybe living in Indonesia for the last year and a half has influenced my judgment a little as well!
Cable Car · We ended our holidays by going up the mountain top for the stargazing tour. We caught the tail end of the sunset. The tour guides gave everyone an Arctic Canadian Goose full length jacket to keep us warm on the tour. It was hard not to feel a little Canadian pride in those amazing jackets! In addition, a cup of hot chocolate on the go was given to us too. The sky was super clear and they had two telescopes for us to view through. We saw Orion, Orion’s dog, Betelgeuse [major star – red in colour in Orion’s
constellation], the southern cross, milky way etc. The tour gave us lots of info and it was neat to learn more about the southern hemisphere’s night skies. The full moon eventually came over the ridge and we were able to view it from the telescope as well.
Day 20 and Day 21 . Thursday January 8, 2015 – Friday January 9, 2015
Flight #1: Queenstown to Auckland · Jetstar Airlines
Flight #2: Auckland to Brisbane · Emirates Airlines
Flight #3: Brisbane to Singapore · Emirates Airlines
Flight #4: Singapore to Jakarta · Air Asia Airlines *Flew two weeks after the deadly crash of another Air Asia flight
On our trip from Auckland to Brisbane Janna and Michelle’s boarding passes were flagged. Ters and I continued on the flight and sat down in our exit row seats. What we didn’t know what that the other two had been bumped up to First Class! Our Emirates flight was a double decker plane to boot! Ters being much taller than I had requested the
emergency isle for us to sit in when we checked in. We will never know if that request jeopardized our chances to be bumped up to First Class with the others or not, as we all booked our tickets at the same time. Nevertheless, not a shabby way to end a fantastic vacation! We all traveled very well together and agreed it was one of the best vacations we have ever gone on! If ever you have the chance to visit New Zealand I would strongly encourage you to pay a visit to this amazing country. It’s truly amazing and the scenery is relentless!
*The girls and I have not exchanged photos yet, but I thought I would update my blog even without them. Unfortunately there are better photos for some things that are not included.
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Angela Elliott
non-member comment
Wow!
So glad that you got to full fill one of your dreams. The pictures are just a small indication of the beauty of that place. It's amazing. Looking forward to seeing you back this summer!