New Zealand – 2006 Actualized Itinerary

This is just a very brief account of the covered grounds.
(We had easily covered more than 3200 km.)

This is for my memory to keep. I wouldn't mind sharing and hope I don't bore you too much. I had tried to take some photographs and have noted (much due to my limited skills) they don't do justice to the beauty of the country. Nevertheless, you will still see them.

Flight between S’pore & Sydney : appro. 7 hours +
Flight between Sydney & Christchurch : appro. 3 hours +

Sunrise (in Dec) : around 5am
Sunset (in Dec) : around 10pm
See, we have plenty of daylight time to play around with.

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Day 1 (06/12/06 - Wed)

The excitement had already started during the gradual plane descend to Christchurch. We were well-greeted by many snow-capped peaks and wide green fields of the Methven region. Simply awesome.

Landed at around 1400h. It was cold. *shivering*..

We got plenty of essential maps and brochures at the arrival hall. Without much delay, we took the Red Bus and headed towards Living Space located at Lichfield Street and checked in. Quite a comfortable accommodation, I would say. We settled in pretty well.

Dinner time : we went to Mainstreet Café (at the corner of Colombo and Salisbury Streets). I was rather impressed with their generous and imaginative vegetarian dishes. The portions were big and most of us ended up requesting the waitress to pack the remaining food as take-away. Saying that also mean that our breakfast for the next day was settled.

After dinner, we took a leisure stroll at the Cathedral Square, Victoria Square and the areas around.

~ ~ Cathedral @ Cathedral Square ~ ~

We would have gone on and on. But nope, we were discipline enough. We chose to return to Living Space to have a good rest for tomorrow. :o)



Day 2 (07/12/06 - Thur)

Mission 1 : 0800h Set off to collect car from Apex, which is just a short walk away from our accommodation.

Mission 2 : Took a trip to PAK’N SAVE (a supermarket chain) to stock up and pump up petrol nearby.
(Learnt something new : The self-help petrol kiosk at Pak’N Save only accept payment by cards with PIN. You remember yours? None of us remember ours lor. We resorted to approach the local for assistance. That is, they use their card and we pay them in cash.)

And we are on the road again…

We were traveling on roads (sometimes very straight, sometimes very winding) between fields and ranges. We saw plenty of sheeps, cows, horses, alpacas and deers, and they were practically gazing almost all the time, if not all the time. And during one final surprising turn, we were greeted by Lake Tekapo in its amazingly turquoise glory.

1245h We reached Lake Tekapo.
No rush. No rush. We took our time to absord the chi at Lake Tekapo.

~ ~ Lake Tekapo ~ ~

We took our lunch at a café nearby.

1455h We reached Lake Pukaki.
It was so windy and cold. We didn’t stay long. But it is very big and nice.

~ ~ Lake Pukaki ~ ~

1515h We reached Twizel.
We checked in at the Mountain Chalet Motel.

~ ~ Mountain Chalet Motel ~ ~

We thought of visiting Mount Cook immediately, but it was raining there (information provided at the information desk at Twizel). Of course, we could still go, but we wouldn’t be able to see the glory of Mount Cook and that defeats the entire purpose. Our plan was then to visit Mount Cook the next day in the morning. But no one can be sure of the weather tomorrow. We can only hope. We dearly hope the weather will be fine.

1605h We dropped by at High Country Salmon instead.
Frankly, that wasn’t a very impressive venue. The water was chalky. We couldn’t see any Salmon (at first) despite them claiming they have tens of thousand. Nevertheless, we were allowed to feed those “invisible” Salmons. We took the feed and just throw into the enclosed water body lor. Kaoz.. Those big Salmons literally almost leaped out to compete for their share of feed, splashing us quite a bit.

1700h We packed our dinner at Shawtys Café.
Maybe I should make a special note here about Shawtys Café. When I requested some ingredients to be removed, the waiter approached the chef for advice without hesitation. Shortly after that, the waiter reported that the chef was willing to open a new can of tomato puree just to meet our requirements. I was rather impressed with their service.

We went back to our accommodation just to have our dinner, watched TV and simply relax ourselves.

Oh my god, the news reported rain and hail and whatever for the next at our area. Mm.. Maybe we just got to get used to the idea that every holiday trip is heavily weather-dependent. We can’t complain. But I can’t deny that there will be a little dampening spirit if it were to rain.

We maintained as positive as possible. We were determined to wake up earlier tomorrow so as to cover more grounds. See, we planned as if the weather is going to be fine, despite the weather-forecast. Cool right?! Haha..



Day 3 (08/12/06 - Fri)

0630h We woke up and had breakfast.
Only too glad that we could see snow-capped mountains right in front of our door step. That only implied that the weather-forecast wasn’t too accurate, for our very own good. It was a little cloudy, but no rain, no hail. Feeling kind of blessed indeed.

0710h We set off for Mount Cook.
We stopped by at Peter’s Lookout along the way.

0820h We attempted the Hooker Valley walk at Mount Cook.

~ ~ A View along Hooker Valley ~ ~

0925h We stopped at the end-point of the walk after crossing two suspension bridges along the way.

~ ~ Our Resting Point @ Hooker Valley ~ ~

We later realised we stopped at the wrong end. We were probably only slightly more than half way through the trail. We should be crossing three suspension bridges in total. Mm.. We didn’t know we have to do a little stone-hopping along/across the river from where we actually stopped. Haha.. So.. Erm.. That would mean I will be back again?

We moved on and lunched in a Mac Donald restaurant at Oamaru. I was equally impressed with the services there. The manager actually brought our a "secret manual" checking out the ingredients within the sauces they use, when I was generally clarifying with him something about the preparation of food.

1505h We reached Moeraki Boulders.

~ ~ Moeraki Boulders ~ ~

We then drove through Dunedin and packed our dinner at Jizo Café & Bar (a Japanese Restaurant).

From here onwards, we were then travelling along the Southern Scenic Route.

1925h We reached Papatowai – where we stayed for the night.
Our accommodation : Greenwood Farm Stay

~ ~ Greenwood Farm Stay ~ ~

This is a neat accommodation meant for 10 people. We sure had a nice rest there.



Day 4 (09/12/06 - Sat)

0700h We woke up and had our breakfast.

0800h We set off to Purakaunai Falls.

0845h We saw the Purakaunai Falls, after a stroll on a steep trail for 5 minutes.

~ ~ Purakaunai Falls ~ ~

On our way out. Aiyo.. We missed a turn and for the first time felt a little lost. We stopped an approaching car and asked for direction.

1025h We reached Nugget Point, a steep-sided, windswept promontory rising 133m above the sea. Just offshore lie The Nuggets, jagged stacks of rock whose layers have been tilted vertical over time. The track ends at a still-functioning lighthouse from where we can gaze down on living groups of honking southern fur seals.

By the way, it was drizzling when we were making our way to the lighthouse. It was cold but bearable. The drizzle only stopped slightly after we were about to leave the lighthouse. In fact, we only managed to see a few fur seals about 20 metres away from the lighthouse. It wasn’t easy to spot them for their colour blended too well with the stone they lied on.

If I remember correctly, when we were in the car travelling out of Nugget Point, we experienced hail. We could hear that it was hitting pretty hard on the car.

1240h We reached Cathedral Caves.
There were two big caves and these can only be visted during low tides. The low tide on that day was 1245h and we passed by the area at 1240h. What reason have we got for not visiting? Haha.. And so we dropped by.

~ ~ Cathedral Caves ~ ~

Actually if we are rushing for time. We may give this a pass.

1415h We lunched at Niagara Falls Café.

1520h We reached Curio Bay, a wave-cut platform reveals evidence of a petrified forest, a prticularly fine example of fossilized Jurassic trees that are clearly visible at low tide.

~ ~ Curio Bay ~ ~

1600h We popped by Porpoise Bay, just nearby. It may be noted that Hector’s Dolphins come in close to the shore at Porpoise Bay to rear their young from November to April. We didn’t see any though. Nevertheless, the view of Porpiose Bay is indeed a very peaceful one. I could have sat there all day, feeling the breeze and seeing the waves slowly coming in.

1930h We reach Te Anau.
We checked in at Te Anau Lakeview Holiday Park.

We dined at Olive Tree Café and was only back to our room at around 2200h.

It was a stunning starry night we had that day.



Day 5 (10/12/06 - Sun)

0700h We woke up and had our breakfast.

0800h We set off to Milford Sound.

1005h We reached the Visitor’s Centre. We were early as our cruise will only start later (at 1125h). Hence, we went for a stroll at the Milford Foreshore Walk.

1125h Tutu… Our cruise set sail. Milford Sound is indeed stunning. The region is particularly wet. I mean it rains 200 days out of 365 days. But that day was sunny for us. Yeah! We were even lucky enough to have sighted easily more than 10 dolphins. A local shared that she went 3 times and only saw a few dolphins once. We saw some fur seals too. By the way, the Underwater Observatory at the end of the cruise isn’t that specular, I think.

~ ~ Dolphins @ Milford Sound ~ ~

~ ~ Milford Sound ~ ~

This region is ever-masterful, ever dramatic where people are dwarfed into comparative insignificance.

Along our way back to Te Anau, we stopped by at The Chasm (reached at 1420h) and Mirror Lake. We saw big fields of lupins too.

We dinned at a Chinese restaurant at Te Anau.
I don’t think it’s a good idea to try Chinese food in New Zealand.

We were on the road again.

2045h We reached Queenstown and we checked in at Lakeview Holiday Park @ Queenstown. We stayed here for the next three nights.



Day 6 (11/12/06 - Mon)

0710h We woke up.

0800h We settled some administration tasks at the accommodation help desk. We were mainly booking the activities we wanted to participate in.

0900h We proceeded to the Skyline Gondola.
Fr jogged up.
Dyun & myself walked up.
Wil & SCheng took the Gondola up.
All of us took the Gondola down.
The view on top was pretty stunning. We could see the entire Queenstown!

~ ~ Queenstown viewed from the Gondola ~ ~

1115h We took our brunch at Café 111.
We returned shortly to prepare for our next activity.

1300h We reached Queenstown Info Centre, our journey to rafting had begun. An amazing experience, passing through rapids and dark tunnel! I also like the feeling when we were drifting by shaded region between tall cliffs.

We had an impressive, experienced guide with us. He is an engineering-related degree holder and is in this rafting guide business for 19 years! Wow. We felt safe in his hands.

~ ~ Rafting : Rough it out ~ ~

We returned to our accommodation, got ourselves freshened up and headed for our dinner at Tatler Café and Bar.

2045h Back to our accommodation.



Day 7 (12/12/06 - Tue)

0700h We woke up and had a very light breakfast.

0805h Fr, Dyun and myself proceeded for our next activity – Skydive. The others had decided to explore Queenstown a little by foot instead.

We had to jump out of the plane at 12000 feet, free fall for about 40 seconds before supported by parachute. Of course, there was a tandem master with each of us.

The freefall was solid. But erm.. Once the parachute was released and with the wind blowing, it wasn’t that enjoyable anymore. In order to balance, the parachute got to spin in circles. It was almost like playing drunken sailor.

~ ~ Skydiving : The tandem master and I ~ ~

1100h The three of us returned to our accommodation. I took a nap as I was not particularly feeling well. Rested till 1245h. Felt much better. Paiseh, dear mates got to pack lunch for me.

1405h We set off to Deer Park Heights.
It is a kind of a drive-through zoo. We saw ducks, wild boars, miniature horses, llamas, bisons, highland cattles, donkeys, thar, goats and deers. It was an enjoyable experience there. We were so upclose with the tamed animals. Some were even very fierce looking.

~ ~ Meeting the Highland Cattles ~ ~

~ ~ Meeting the Donkeys ~ ~

We only left the place at around 1635h.

By the way, some scenes of LOTR were shot there (@ Deer Park Heights).

We proceed to Fresh Choice (another supermarket chain) to buy "raw materials". Fr was the cook of the day. Cool!



Day 8 (13/12/06 - Wed)

0700h We woke up and had our breakfast.

0800h Set off to Glenorchy.
We reached the beginning part of the famous Routeburn Track at 0900h.

~ ~ The beginning part of Routeburn Track ~ ~

We did a little exploration and got ready to set off to our next destination.

1150h We reached Wanaka.
After getting the details we needed at the information counter, we lunched at the nearby Relishes Café.

1320h We stopped by at Lake Hawea Lookout. The view was good.

~ ~ Lake Hawea Lookout. Awesome! ~ ~

1700h We reached Fox Glacier and we checked in at Fox Glacier Holiday Park.

That was the day, I learnt the game of Chua Tai Di from Wil, Fr and Dyun.

That night, we dined at The Plateau.
After which, we visited a small glow worm trail just beside the café. Glow worms appearred as tiny blue dots. Interestingly, we saw them moving too. Amazing.

Oh, while waiting for an empty table for our dinner, what we do? Some games of Chua Tai Di. Haha..



Day 9 (14/12/06 - Thur)

0800h We woke up slightly later than usual.

We went to the Hobnail Café for our breakfast. After which, we set of to Fox Glacier.

1030h We started the trail, walking towards Fox Glacier.

~ ~ Fox Glacier : @ the terminal phase of the glacier ~ ~

It may be noted that it is best to view the glacier in the morning. When the sun is out, more cold fumes from the glacier seem to block off its stunning view. Just compare :

~ ~ Fox Glacier : At different timings. ~ ~
You would know which one is taken later, wouldn't you?

Of course, there were options to hike on the glacier itself. But it is really expensive and we decided to give it a pass on that.

1245h We went over to Franz Josef Glacier.
We were adviced not to go to the terminal phase of Franz Josef Glacier due to flooding. So we can only view Franz Josef Glacier from afar.

~ ~ Franz Josef Glacier viewed from afar ~ ~

We took our lunch at Cook Saddle Café.

After lunch, we drove back to our accommodation. We wanted to take a little rest before our next destination, with promising view during dusk. When we were back, we were not idling. We played Chua Tai Di. Since we had more or less warmed-up to the game, we played with “stake”. Winner of 3 games could take a afternoon nap first till the next event. The winners in order : Fr, Wil and SCheng. Erps.. Where was I? I was/am that lousy. Haha..

1800h We got ready to set off to Lake Matheson.

~ ~ Lake Matheson ~ ~

It would be perfect if the wind was still and it wasn't that cloudy. The clouds actually blocked three magnificient mountains which would otherwise be reflected on the lake.

2000h We dined at Mountain Goats Bakery and Café.

When we were backed in our accommodation, we had more games of Chua Tai Di. DYun “won” herself an about-to-expire croissant; Fr “won” himself an about-to-expire muffin. :p


Day 10 (15/12/06 - Fri)

0800h We set off to Hobnail Café for our breakfast.

1250h We reached Punakaiki Pancake Rocks and Blowholes.
Aiya.. We reached during low tide. The blowholes will be awesome during high tide. Nevertheless we saw one blowhole in action (although not in its full might).

~ ~ Punakaiki Pancake Rocks and Blowholes ~ ~
The sun was behind us.
The spray of water in front of us actually form a temporary rainbow.
Simply unforgettable.

1515h We reached Cape Foulwind. This is a place to see fur seal colony. Wa.. The smell of the wind explained why the place is named so.

1930h We reached Kairuru Farm Stay (just about 17 km north-west of Motueka)
Amongst all the accommodations we had, I like here best. We were literally staying almost on top of a mountain, facing the sea. The fields beside us were steep and filled with many sheeps.

~ ~ A view from our Kairuru Farm Stay ~ ~
Not just an accommodation.

There is also a pretty big enclosure just beside where we were staying. That enclosure has some tamed animals too.

~ ~ Ladies and Gentlemen, this is Loopy, the tamed sheep. ~ ~

Oh, dinner tonight was cooked by Fr again. Got dessert some more, okay! Cool!

That night, the sky was particularly starry. Maybe we were really on top on a mountain. I thought I could feel the stars with my hand outstretched. Just to get a few of how starry the night can be. I lifted my last finger high up and placed it as far as possible but trying to block the view of the night sky. But no matter how I positioned my last finger, the silhouette of just my last finger will still blocked off countless of stars.



Day 11 (16/12/06 - Sat)

0400h We tried to wake up to catch the sunrise. Erps.. Noted the sunrise only happens at around 0500h and the view was blocked by the other slightly higher grounds and clouds. Nevetheless, it was still quite an experience for me, standing there in the open, seeing the sky getting brighter and brighter, listening to the first sheep calling, listening the the first bird chirping…

0835h Animal feeding time. I quite like the experience.

~ ~ Wil and Loopy ~ ~
The bond between them was there, I think. Haha..

0940h We walked around the farm freely.

1130h We reached Te Waikoropupu Springs.
This is one of the largest freshwater springs of the world! They are also famous for the visual clarity of the water. It the clearest fresh water in the Southern Hemisphere, second in the world. There is constantly water welling up from underneath the surface, and the sign noted that "Waikoropupu springs discharges an average 14,000 litres of water a second - that's about 40 bathtubs full!".

~ ~ Te Waikoropupu Springs ~ ~

1230h We reached Grove Scenic Reserve.
This place was recommended by the local. It was not mentioned in all guide books. Personally, I quite like it.

~ ~ Grove Scenic Reserve ~ ~
We had to walk through this crack.

The view after crossing the gap is stunning too. I forget to take some pictures there. Mm..

1250h We reached Abel Tasman Memorial.
At the Abel Tasman Memorial, the view was good too.

~ ~ A view from Abel Tasman Memorial ~ ~
You can't deny, the way the waves gradually came in was kind of cool.

1350h We finished our lunch at Penguin Café & Bar.

1420h We reached Tata Beach.
We visited some other beaches too.
I think we somehow missed the better ones. We actually expect more from Golden Bay.

1600h We reached Ngarua Caves.
We saw stalactites in the dark caves. It is really geologically old, historically interesting. Coupled with a humourous guide with us, what more can we ask?

~ ~ Ngarua Caves ~ ~

Besides stalactites, we saw moa bones too.

We were so close to the stalactites that we are allowed to feel some of them.

1820h We returned back to Kairuru Farm Stay.
We simply spent some relaxing time sitting around enjoying the relaxing views or just watching the tamed animals.

1930h We dined at Hot Mama’s Café and Bar at Motueka.
After dinner, we got back to our lodging for fruits.

We played Chua Tai Di.
The new rules were set.
Winner of 3 games : to claim more fresh kiwi fruits.
Loser of 3 games : to claim the overnight fruits cocktail.
I shamelessly claimed both. Mm.. Power! :p



Day 12 (17/12/06 - Sun)

0500h I tried to wake up to catch the sunrise again. Just too cloudy. So I went back to sleep again.

We lingered around the farm till around 1045h, since the check-out time was 1100h. That place is simply awesome.

While travelling downhill, the tyre gave off some foul burning rubbery smell. We stopped and waited for the car to cool down. We drove off later and were determined to request for a change of car at the nearest branch.

1230h We reached Nelson.
We stopped by at Apex and Fr and Wil did the required administrative tasks to get the car changed. Thanks.

While waiting for the swop, we took our lunch at The Victoria Rose.

When the new car was ready, we headed towards Picton, travelling along the scenic Queen Charlotte Drive.

~ ~ A view along Queen Charlotte Drive ~ ~

1640h We reached Picton.

We moved on. It may be noted that we sighted many seals along the stoney beach from Clarence to Kaikoura.

1900h We reached Kaikoura and checked in at Kaikoura Top 10 Holiday Park.

~ ~ Kaikoura Top 10 Holiday Park ~ ~
Noticed the changed car? :)

We dined at Hislops Wholefood Café.
While waiting for dinner to be served, Wil “won” himself a hard, over-baked, crusty raisin bun through a few games of Chua Tai Di. Upon returned from our dinner, he “won” himself another overnight muffin. *Ahem.. His supper was “well-taken care of”. :p


Day 13 (18/12/06 - Mon)

0715h We woke up.

~ ~ Snap shot just outside our accommodation ~ ~
I just like the view right outside our accommodation, early in the morning.

0815h We checked out and went to a nearby bakery to buy our breakfast and took our breakfast in our car.

In our next stretch of journey, we were traveling along part of the Alpine Pacific Triangle.

~ ~ Along a part of the Alpine Pacific Triangle ~ ~
The road can be so straight, so long, so empty.
You think we were travelling at the lawful maximum speed of 100km/h?

We tried lah.. :P

1130h We reached Christchurch (again). We had just made a clockwise loop in the South Island.
We went to Pak’N Save to buy some sourvenirs.
We pumped up the petrol for our car.
We checked in to Living Space (again) while Wil proceeded to return the car.

1340h We lunched at The Globe Café and Deli.

After lunch, it was shopping time. That was the time, the ladies rulez! I simply tagged along.

1700h All of us returned to our Living Space.

1900h We meet up with Ir for dinner. It was quite a nice feeling to meet common friend in a land so far away from home. Anyway, we went to The Blue Note Café.

After dinner, we came back to our Living Space.
There were 4 "defrozed" apples that need to go. We decided to settle it through more Chua Tai Di games. Hehe.. In order (if I remember correctly), the apples were taken up by SCheng, Wil, Fr and DYun. Haha.. I escaped. Don't pray pray ah :P



Day 14 (19/12/06 - Tue)

0730h We woke up.

We had breakfast at Honey Pot Café.
After which, we went around to do more shopping.

1215h The shuttle we arranged picked us up at Living Space to the airport.

- - - - - - - - - -

All these just went into my history.
There are things which I am already missing (very) badly.

I simply captured some of the happened events there. I couldn't capture the much more happening/wonderful moments, conversations, thoughts and feelings that went through throughout our journey. Those will be always in my mind though.

I know I wouldn't have made this far, alone.
Thanks for all the planning, company and understanding.
The memories are indeed wonderful!

MORE PHOTOS HERE : http://flickr.com/photos/spn/