New Zealand 2010
a road trip
Share- Friday, December 17, 2010
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Our year end holiday finally started ! We took an evening Jetstar flight that arrived in Christchurch at 1am. It was a packed flight and even though Jetstar has very nice leather seats (the best seats that I've seen on any airline that I've travelled with), their leg room leaves much to be desired. It was quite an uncomfortable flight and I definitely wouldn't fly Jetstar for more than 3 hours (the flight time between Sydney and Christchurch). - Saturday, December 18, 2010
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We spent a couple of hours walking around the small city centre. Christchurch is a pretty city built on the very picturesque Avon River. We didn't see any earthquake damage even though the city was hit by several earthquakes in recent weeks. We drove to the nearby seaside town of Lyttelton. The town itself wasn't all that interesting but the drive via the Summit Road from Christchurch was very scenic and there were several beautiful lookouts over Lyttelton Harbour. -
- Sunday, December 19, 2010
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Castle Hill is the site of some impressive and intriguing limestone boulders. We stopped for a short walk and some photos. -
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We had planned on doing the walk to the Devil's Punchbowl Waterfall here but the torrential rain (with more being forecasted for the afternoon) made us abandon those plans. We decided to press on through Arthur's Pass before the storm intensified in the afternoon. -
Hokitika was our stop for this leg of the trip. The rain continued unabated since we left Arthur's Pass. We really couldn't do much today. We stayed right next to the beach and it was quite an interesting beach, very different to the ones in Australia. We took advantage of a short pause in the rain to take a walk on the beach. The West Coast is a very rugged place and the beach showed it. There were a lot of seaborne debris on this black sand beach. Later in the afternoon, we visited a glow worm dell which was quite impressive. - Monday, December 20, 2010
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It was still raining when we reached Franz Josef Glacier this morning but we decided to go ahead with our planned walks despite the rain. Our first walk was to Sentinel Rock for an overview of the glacier valley. From there, we walked to the glacier valley floor and walked towards the glacier. The glacier valley is covered with rocks and ringed by tall mountains with multiple waterfalls gushing down (from the rain). -
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The Fox Glacier valley walk was closed today but we were able to do the river walk which took us over an historic swing bridge. It was quite fun crossing this bridge as it does swing a lot. The afternoon really cleared up for us and we had some fantastic sunshine for the rest of the day. We visited a nearby lookout for an amazing panoramic view of the Southern Alps. We also dropped by Lake Matheson but by that time, the clouds had rolled back in and we weren't able to enjoy the famed mirrored view of Mt Cook and Mt Tasman. -
- Tuesday, December 21, 2010
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The drive from Franz Josef Glacier to Wanaka took us through some amazing scenery, especially the second part of the drive between Haast Pass and Wanaka. We drove past two amazing alpine lakes - Hawea and Wanaka.
Wanaka is very a nice resort town built alongside Lake Wanaka and has evolved a promising restaurant scene. We had a nice dinner at The Cow. -
- Wednesday, December 22, 2010
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We took the scenic route from Wanaka to Queenstown via Cadrona Valley. This drive was another spectacular one, especially the Crown Range Road which was closer to the Queenstown end of the drive. We stopped by at the quaint Arrowtown to see the historic Chinese mining settlement. -
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We stopped briefly for lunch here at the famous Fergburger joint. The burgers were very delicious and the menu was varied. Highly recommended ! -
The drive from Queenstown to Glenorchy is apparently one of the most beautiful drives in the world. Unfortunately we weren't able to enjoy the views on this trip as it was raining heavily the entire time. -
We enjoyed our two nights in Queenstown. It is a bustling resort town built by the beautiful Lake Wakatipu which is ringed by The Remarkables mountain range. There are lots of interesting cafes and restaurants to re-charge the palate after making do with the very limited selections available in the smaller towns. -
- Thursday, December 23, 2010
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Instead of driving 4 hour one way to Milford Sound from Queenstown, we opted to take a Real Journeys bus / cruise tour instead. The Real Journeys coach was very nice and purpose built to allow the passengers to enjoy the scenery. The scenery from Te Anau to Milford Sound was dramatic to say the least, especially the portion from the Homer Tunnel. The cruise itself was OK. Unfortunately, due to the overcast weather, we could see much of the mountains around the sound and we certainly didn't get to see the jaw dropping scenes that you see in postcards. -
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- Friday, December 24, 2010
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Moeraki was a very memorable stop for us on our South Island road trip. We were delighted to be able to see yellow eyed penguins in the wild, including one who decided to pay us a visit in our hideout (purpose built for penguin watching). We also went down to the beach to see the impressive and unique Moeraki Boulders. -
- Saturday, December 25, 2010
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The Mackenzie Region is another stunning part of the South Island. Our drive through here took us past some amazing large alpine lakes resplendent in their turquoise blue colour. The most notable being Lake Pukaki and Lake Tekapo. In Lake Tekapo, we also drove up to the nearby Mount John for a 360 degree view of the region. -
- Sunday, December 26, 2010
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Our stay in Methven was to allow us to participate in a hot air balloon flight the next morning. Unfortunately this was cancelled due to strong winds. Methven was extremely quiet during the time that we were there (summer) with all but two pubs opened for meals. I'm sure it's a lot livelier during winter when the ski season kicks into gear. - Monday, December 27, 2010
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Kaikoura is another highlight of our South Island tour. Although our much anticipated whale watching tour was cancelled due to bad weather (again !!), we did enjoy some stunning scenery during our walk on the Kaikoura Peninsula Walkway. -
- Tuesday, December 28, 2010
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Picton was our last stop on the South Island and it was only for us to take the Interislander Ferry over to the North Island. The ferry ride itself was uneventful and thankfully not too rough. -
After disembarking from the ferry at Wellington, we made a stop in the city for a quick walk around and to have dinner before driving the rest of the way to Palmerston North. Wellington (like all the New Zealand cities we've visited) is a pleasant city but not all that interesting for tourists. We had dinner at Sweet Mother's Kitchen which gave us a good taste of some American southern cuisine. -
It's been a long day driving that started from Kaikoura in the South Island but we finally reached our stop for the day. Palmerston North is much bigger than we had anticipated but we didn't explore the city as we arrived at 9pm and due to leave early the next day. -
Lake Taupo is the largest lake in New Zealand and Taupo itself is a busy resort town built around it. We had driven 2 hours north from Palmerston North and still had another hour to go to reach Wai-O-Tapu so we didn't spend too much time in Taupo itself. We did make a quick stop to see the Huka Falls which luckily was easily accessible by car. -
- Wednesday, December 29, 2010
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Our stop at Wai-O-Tapu is one of the highlights of the North Island segment of our New Zealand trip. There are numerous geo-thermal attractions located within this area, the most impressive being the famous Champagne Pool.
From Wai-O-Tapu, we drove a short distance to Rotorua itself, our stop for the day. Rotorua was not the utilitarian town we had expected. It's a very nicely laid out town built on the shores of Lake Rotorua. -
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Our trip to White Island ranks as one of the highlights of our entire New Zealand trip. We were so glad that we finally had one tour that wasn't cancelled due to bad weather. The boat ride out to White Island was quite rough but no one got sick onboard. Enroute, the captain made a detour to allow us a closer view of a pod of dolphins, which was very nice. The adventure started the minute the boat anchored off White Island. We were transferred into rubber inflatable crafts for the final 50m to shore where we have to climb into a scaffolding that was built into the side of a disused pier. From there, we had to walk over some boulders before being securely on the island. It was a truly amazing experience to be able to walk on the inner crater of an active volcano. There was a lot of volcanic activity going on around us and we had to use masks when the steam and smell became too overbearing. It wasn't a cheap tour but highly recommended. -
- Thursday, December 30, 2010
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Hamilton was out stop after White Island. I know I keep saying this but this is another pretty city ! The key attraction here is the very well maintained and presented Hamilton Gardens and best of it, it's free ! There were a number of themed gardens that were the highlights of the gardens. -
- Friday, December 31, 2010
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Our last stop of our New Zealand road trip is Auckland. It's strange being back in a large city after driving through the New Zealand countryside for the past two weeks. Auckland is functional city but not overly interesting for tourists. We visited Mount Eden for a very nice view of the city. Later in the day, we went down to the Westhaven Marina to watch the New Year's Eve fireworks. -
- Saturday, January 1, 2011
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Before boarding our flight back to Sydney in the afternoon, we made a stop in the fashionable Newmarket area for a yum cha lunch. We also went for a walk through the One Tree Hill domain which was very nice.
Overall, while we didn't have the best of weather during some parts of the trip, it was a memorable trip and New Zealand is blessed with amazing landscapes and also some of the friendliest people that we've encountered. - total distance: 4,068 miles (6.547 km)
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