23 Nov - 9 Dec 2007
Last month I had a 17 days trip to New Zealand with my uni friends, Yoseph and Yenju. This entry is about the adventures and experiences we had.
Day 0 & 1
The trip started at Changi Airport, Singapore (obviously). The flight was scheduled to leave at 8pm, and since it was a weekday, I still went to the office in the morning. I was not feeling very well that day, probably because of the shitty weather we have been having lately, plus I was really tired and didn’t get a good night’s sleep the day before. I tried to sleep as much as possible on the plane, but I did managed to watch The Simpsons Movie on the Singapore-Sydney leg of the flight. We had to transit at Sydney for about 3 hours since we are taking BA/Qantas flight.
Sydney airport was not too bad, but not nearly as good as Changi. Then we got some bad news that the flight was delayed. Luckily it was only delayed for about 1 hour. So the journey goes on, and finally we arrive at Christchurch airport at about 4pm. Picked up the rental car, and turns out that the car was not really what I expected (in a bad way). The car was a Nissan Eprise. Before the trip, I had expected that I would be doing a lot of driving, so I took the liberty to prepare some CDs for the music. Well, in the end it didn’t really work out because the car doesn’t have a CD player. It’s either radio or tape T_T
We didn’t really have a choice but to start moving because we weren’t going to stay in Christchurch that night. We planned to stay at Lake Tekapo, which is about 3 hours drive from there. Luckily it was late spring/early summer when we were there, so it only starts to get dark at around 9/9.30 pm. So, forcing myself to stay awake (without music and barely any proper sleep the night before), we finally arrived safely at Lake Tekapo around 10pm that night.
The hostel was not too bad but not too good either. We only managed to get a 4 bed (double bunk) room, and we had to share the room with someone else. Didn’t really talk much with him because we were all very tired and basically just collapsed on the beds (after taking a shower, of course).Day 2 – The trekking begins….
Started the day quite early, moving on to our destination of the day : Mount Cook.
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On the way to Mount Cook, we passed by Lake Pukaki, and it was amazing! The color of the water was really blue, and it’s just beautiful.
Once we arrived at Mt Cook, we stopped by the information centre to get directions about which track(s) to choose. The guide recommended a track called “Red Tarn”. She did mentioned that it is quite steep, but we tried it anyway. Wow, now THAT’S what I call steep!!! There’s probably more stairs there than going up the Great Wall of China! I mean, it’s like crazy….. definitely one of the most tiring tracks I’ve ever been to. The view was amazing, but you can’t really appreciate it when you’re huffing and panting… and there’s nothing really special once you reach the top. According to the information, there was supposed to be a “red” tarn (a small mountain lake/pool – dictionary.com). Well, when we got there I didn’t see any red… it was more like brown/muddy pool.
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After that we need to go back through the same way, but this time it’s going down. It took us about 2 hours to go up, but only ½ an hour going down haha. When we reached the village, we were exhausted and went straight to have a late lunch (it was about 2pm) at one of the few café there. Afterwards we went on another track (what else is there to do?) called “Hooker Valley” track. Information said it was a fairly flat track, just a bit long, and it takes about 3 hours to go and return back. Well, she was right this time, and us being narcissistic, we took about 4 hours to complete the track (I guess the 1 hour must be photo taking time! haha).
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Oh, almost forgot. When we arrived in the morning, the room in the hostel was not ready yet, so we just leave everything in the car and went to Red Tarn first. After lunch, when we transfer the things to the room, we found out how strong NZ sun really is (see picture). Burnt banana, anyone?
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OK back to the story. After Hooker Valley, we were really tired and very hungry. There wasn’t a lot of dining options in Mt.Cook, and since we already tried the café, we decided to take a look at the restaurant inside the only hotel there. Turns out it was a buffet-style dinner. It was quite expensive (NZ$53), but we decided to go for it anyway. It was GOOOODD…. The best thing is definitely the lamb racks with the mint sauce. Perfectly roasted, and just simply delicious.
Day 3 – On the road
We wanted to take a boat tour through a glacier that was close to Mt.Cook, but that day the weather was just not compromising. It was very windy, and so the tour did not operate. It really shows how unpredictable the weather in NZ can be. The weather on the day before was perfect, but it takes an ugly turn overnight. So we decided to leave the place and head on to our next destination.
Next stop : Dunedin. Dunedin is the 2nd largest city in the south island. The drive itself takes about 5 hours, and we did stopover at 2 places along the road. One was Oamaru, a small city with nice looking old historical buildings. We had lunch at a random café there. Well, the lunch was pretty to look at, but it tastes yucky.
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Afterwards we did another stop at the famous Moeraki Boulders. Basically they are boulders that are shaped almost perfectly round. Took some good pictures there =)
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Finally we arrived at Dunedin. As usual, the first stop was the information centre, then check in to the hostel. I wanted to buy a radio transmitter for my iPod, but the electronics shops were all closed by the time we get there (shops closed at 5/6, same as Australia…. which I really hate). The hostel that we stayed at was quite unique. It’s called Stafford Gables (operated by YHA). It used to be a hospital, and the architecture was just like a colonial house. We got a room on the attic, with slanted ceiling. Interesting….
Dunedin is also famous for it’s brewery, called Speight’s. I’m not sure if they export it to Singapore. For dinner, we decided to try the restaurant at the brewery. The food was OK, and the beer was really nice. I tried the “Speight’s Distinction Ale”, and it has caramel infused on it, so it leaves a nice aftertaste.
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Day 4 – Detour
We begin the day by visiting Otago Peninsula. There wasn’t really anything special there, just some nice sceneries. I couldn’t really enjoy it as I had to concentrate on driving, so if I’ve known better, I would just skip this part.
To get to the next destination, we had to turn back and go to the city again. So we decided to have lunch at the city, and at the same time get the radio transmitter for my iPod. After lunch, it was on the way to Nugget Point.
On the way there was this little town called Balclutha. We did stop for restroom visit, but there’s nothing much there, so we continued on. From Balclutha, it was Yoseph’s (his nickname is Tike) turn to drive (most of the time I’m the driver, but we took turns once in a while). So, we were on the way to Nugget Point, and it was a gravel road, when suddenly (on a right bend)…..
Tike : “What the…??? Stef! Why is the car not responding??”
Stef : “Hit the brakes! Hit the brakes!!!”
Yenju : “Tikeeeeee!!!”
All : “Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa……..”
Next thing I know, I was hanging upside down inside the car, with the seatbelt suspending my body. So I opened it (and fall down a little), then I crawled out of the car through the driver side window. Well, the photo says everything….
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But luckily nobody got hurt. I only grazed my knee a little bit when I crawled out, and Yoseph got some small cuts in the palm of his hand, but other than that, we were perfectly fine. So I called the police, and after about 10-15 minutes they came together with an ambulance. So we went back to the city (Balclutha) riding the ambulance, and the car was towed back afterwards. Once we got to the hospital, there was this one lady who greet us and she introduced herself as the “Victim Support” unit of the police. I think it was a very good initiative that the NZ police have. So basically what they do is to help us (tourists) to get re-organized in case something like this happens. So she made some calls to arrange for the accommodation, getting a new car, etc.
Since we can only get the new car at Dunedin the day after, so we had no choice but to go back to Dunedin. Luckily there was a bus going there, so we took the bus and spend another night at Stafford Gables, Dunedin. This time we got a different room. It was very nice (not sure if it was because they knew we just had an accident, but it was definitely one of the nicest rooms that we had on the trip).
Day 5 – Back on track
Another famous place in Dunedin is the Cadbury factory that they had there. We weren’t planning on visiting that (due to time constraints), but since now we are back here, it just seems like a waste to miss it haha. So we went on a tour and got loads of chocolate samples. Some of the varieties are only unique to NZ and not sold anywhere else. One particular type that I really like is the Perky Nana, which is a very chewy banana centre coated with chocolate. Nice! But I found out later that it’s only nice in NZ, and not in Singapore, because in Singapore the weather is too hot and it’s just not chewy anymore. T_T
Anyway we got a new car, which is better than the last one. This one is a Nissan Sunny, and it feels more secure and less crappy than the last one. The only downside is that there is not even a tape player, only radio. But that’s not a problem now, because we already bought the radio transmitter for my iPod. The only problem now is that the transmitter takes up so much battery power from the iPod, it can only last for about 7/8 hours compared to the normal 24 hours.
After lunch, we move on to our next destination, Te Anau. Didn’t really do much that day, just stopping over at a small random town called Gore. There was a big fish statue and apparently, Gore is NZ’s capital of country music. Yeah, whatever….
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Te Anau is a small but touristy place because it is the gateway to Milford Sound. Milford Sound is a really famous place in NZ. Basically a ‘sound’ is an inlet, arm, or recessed portion of the sea (dictionary.com, of course). So it’s like a strait.
When we got to Te Anau, it was around 6pm but as expected, most of the shops are closed already. So we just cook dinner (simple tomato based pasta with beef), and I mean lots of it. We cook 500g of pasta for the 3 of us. We call it “baboon appetite/portion” haha.
Day 6 – Milford Sound
Started the day quite early because to get to Milford Sound, we need to drive for about 2 hours, and we were booked for a 10am cruise along the sound. Along the road there were quite a number of “photo opportunity” places, but we only stop at a few because we were worried that we would miss the cruise and also we thought that we can always go on the way back.
Tips : A ‘mirror’ lake is only a mirror when it’s not windy, usually in the mornings.
That’s one thing that we regretted because on the way back, the scenery was just not as nice as morning time. The sun was too bright and it was windy, so no more mirror lake.
The cruise itself was really nice, even though it was quite freezing when we were on the boat.
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After the cruise, we had to go back to Te Anau and on to Queenstown, the adventure capital of the world!
Queenstown is really different from the other cities in NZ. You can really feel the touristy-ness of the place. Lots and lots of Asian people, souvenirs shops (and they open till late night), and restaurants. Definitely one of my favorite place during the trip!
We had dinner at a pizza place that was recommended by the hostel reception. The place is called Winnie’s, and the pizzas are amazing! One of the best pizzas I’ve ever had. Yummy!!!
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Day 7 – Action time!
What do you do when you are in the adventure capital of the world? Well, there’s endless options that you can choose, but because of the time (and money.. they’re not exactly cheap) constraints, we decided to do a 3 action combo : shotover jet, heli ride, and white water rafting.
Since the combo will only start at 12.30, in the morning we went to check out the Queenstown gondola. The view from up there was really nice. Plus there was a luge ride on the top, and it’s definitely better than the one in Sentosa.
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So after a quick Subway sandwich lunch, it was on to the first action, Shotover Jet. Basically it’s a jetboat but it can operate at very shallow waters because of some special mechanism. It can go up to 80km/hr, and it can turn 360 degrees. How cool is that? It is one of Queenstown main attraction, a must-do thing. And it’s not physically demanding at all, because basically what you do is just sit down and enjoy the ride!
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After the shotover jet, we didn’t really know when we are going to be in the heli. We thought that it’s a separate thing, and we can take cameras to take pictures. But turns out that the ride is just to get you to the starting point for the rafting. So we were already on our wetsuits and left our belongings on the base station. Other people that did not opt for the heli ride were transported by bus, and once we get there, we still have to wait for them to come. So the heli ride was not really a great thing.
The rafting, on the other hand, was really great! There were 2 options for the rafting : easy one (grade 1-2) and challenging one (grade 3-5). Obviously we choose the challenging one. If we went on the easy track, it would be very boring. I mean, I did rafting on grade 2 before in China and it was nothing. So, this one is definitely enjoyable and very nice. At the end of the track we even went in a cave and had to squeeze inside the raft so that we can fit in. I definitely wouldn’t hesitate to go for a 2nd time if I ever have the chance again.
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Later that night we just cook pasta again for dinner, and we decided to do some laundry as our laundry bags are getting bigger by the day. Unfortunately, when we were doing laundry and drying, the power suddenly went out, and it didn’t turn back on until the next morning.
Day 8 – Bungy day!
I was already booked to do the Kawarau Bridge bungy (the original bungy site) that morning, and my friends were supposed to go and watch me jump. However, due to the power blackout the night before, they had to stay back and finish the laundry. But luckily when I got to the site, I opted to jump later, and they came just in time to watch me do the jump.
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The jump itself is 43m, and definitely feels much safer than the one I did in China last year. It was a different experience. When I did it for the first time, I only start to feel scared after my feet was off the platform, but this time it feels scary even when I was standing at the platform looking down. Well, probably because the first time they didn’t really give me a chance to prepare, they basically push me off the platform haha. But this time they let me take my own time to prepare my jump.
The after feeling was also different. After my first jump, I can still feel the excitement for days and nights after that. Whenever I think about it, the feeling came rushing back. But this time, it doesn’t feel like that. Maybe I’m quite used to it already…. Hmm…
So after the bungy we went back to town to get some lunch (Fergburger…. It was always crowded so we decided to try it, but it’s not really that special). After lunch we went to an area called Glenorchy. It’s supposed to have some nice sceneries, and also some locations there were used to shot scenes from Lord of The Rings movie.
Tips : DO NOT go to Glenorchy. Complete waste of time….
It was a horrible experience. Half of the journey was gravel road, and there was nothing special there. Scenes from LOTR? You better just watch the movie…
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OK I must admit some sceneries was nice, but you can get it anywhere in NZ. After a while it gets boring, you know…
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The only good thing that we got from there is that we found this small shop in a small little town that sells products made of possum fur. Possum is like a giant rat, and is very common in NZ. They usually come out at night, and you can see lots and lots of roadkill along the roads. Their fur is really soft and are often used for rugs, bags, coin purse, belly button warmer, willy warmer (what the?), you name it….
And they’re not exactly cheap. However, in this shop they sell the leftovers material in bulk and it was really cheap. I didn’t want to have anything to do with that, but my friends loved it. So they bought 1 big plastic bag of leftover possum fur for only NZ$10. Ewww…..
After Glenorchy, we drove to the next destination, Wanaka. Arrived there quite late, and basically just check in to the hostel and sleep.
Day 9 – More trekking
Wanaka is a nice little town surrounded by some lakes and mountains, so plenty of nice sceneries (again). When we asked the information centre what is recommended to do there, they mentioned something exciting…. Quad bikes! Me and Yoseph were all excited about it, but not Yenju… not so much because first, she’s a girl, and second, she can’t drive a car. But she was supportive and we got booked on the 1pm session. So in the morning we decided to check out a nearby attraction…. Puzzle World!
Basically Puzzle World is, well, a world of puzzles. You can find many kinds of puzzles here that can really make you work your brain. There’s also some oddly shaped and oriented monuments that you can use for wacky photo opportunities.
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They also have a maze, but for that you have to pay, and we decided to give it a pass since we are running late for the quad bike session. For lunch, we scoured the main city area, and we stumbled upon not one, but TWO FREE sausage (hotdogs) stands. The first one was organized by some bank to promote something, and the second one was not exactly free since they ask for donations. So I gave them NZ$2, and there you go, the cheapest meal that I had in NZ.
After the lunch, it was on to the quad bikes. Turns out that in the area they also have some monster trucks, which are not useable, but obviously great for taking photos =)
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Riding a quad bike is easy and fun! Of course, the risk of toppling over is always there, but it's barely noticeable. Plus, the instructor is right in front, so he can always help. The only downside to my experience is that Yenju was not as brave (or crazy) as we are, and since we need to move as a group, we were moving quite slow. But that gives us the opportunity to enjoy the scenery (notice a trend here, anyone?)
After having fun on the bikes, we went trekking (again). The track is called Diamond Lake track. I don’t know why but I felt quite tired that day, and my stomach was not cooperating as well. So, halfway up the (very steep) track, I gave up. I went down and wait at the car while my friends continued up to the top. They say that at the top it was very windy and they have a 360 degrees view of the surrounding scenery. Well, I got the rest I needed, so no regrets…..
For dinner, instead of cooking pasta again, we decided to cook Japanese curry with some chicken, potatoes, and carrots. It was a nice change from the monotonous western food that we has for days.
After dinner, since it was still quite early, we went to the Speight’s Ale House. Remember Speight’s (Dunedin)? Well, apparently they had a branch in this town, so we went there to get some beer. This time round I tried the Summer Harvest, which has a really fruity taste to it. The first sip tasted weird, but it was really nice after a few sips.
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Day 10
We did another track in the morning, called Mt Iron track. Not as challenging as Red Tarn, but enough to make me huff and puff. Nothing really special about the track…. It was a dry track (not much vegetation) and the sun was really hot. By this time we (well, me) are already quite sick of trekking.
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After the trek, and lunch at some café in the city (also nothing special about the food), we make out way to the next destination, the Franz Josef glacier. I know what you’re thinking…. Glacier? Doesn’t it only exist in the North/South Pole and probably Iceland? Well, that’s what I thought too. But turns out that in NZ, there are not one, but two glaciers that are very close to the land. There’s only one other place in the world where you can do this, and it’s in Argentina.
The ones in NZ are called Fox glacier and Franz Josef glacier. They’re both famous, but we decided to do the Franz Josef since a lot of people say it’s nicer.
There was one part of the road that was very windy going up and down through a mountain. We couldn’t go fast. But in the end we arrived at the village, and cook some pasta with corned beef for dinner (we were quite sick of traditional tomato based pasta already).
Day 11 – Glacier Tour
The day was completely dedicated to the full day glacier tour. The glacier itself is not that far from the village… 10 minutes bus ride plus 30 minutes walking, and we’re there! From afar it looks small, but as you get nearer and nearer you realize just how huge it is.
The tour was from 9am to about 4.30pm. It was definitely the most tiring day of the trip. You have to be really physically fit to be able to join the tour. We were given a rental waterproof jacket and pants, and also boots and spikes. It’s not really THAT cold, partly because we’re perspiring from the exhaustion underneath all those layers of clothing. But walking with the boots and spikes was challenging. First of all, the boots itself is already heavy. Add on the spikes, and try walking on it for about 7 hours. Oh, and it’s not a flat surface…. Lots and lots of climbing up and down, squeezing through narrow alleys, and other physically demanding actions. At the end of the day, I was really exhausted.
Another problem during the tour was that…. There’s no toilet, and you have to stay with the group at all times, making peeing difficult. Oh, and also it’s a hassle to pull down 2 layers of pants. We only had one long break, which we used for lunch. Lunch was basically bread that we bought from the only supermarket in the village the day before.
But the whole experience was an amazing one. It was beautiful (the pictures says everything).
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By the time we got back to the village, I was completely drained out. When we got to the hostel, we were very hungry and proceed to start cooking. Before that, I went up to the room first to put down our stuff. When I got to the room, I sat down to read a message on my handphone. Next thing I know, it’s half an hour later, and my handphone was on the floor. I practically collapsed on the chair within 5 seconds. Luckily my 2 friends didn’t, and when I go to the kitchen, dinner’s ready! Yayyyy!!! =P
Dinner that day was fried rice with corned beef (we miss rice….). Of course, it’s baboon portion. I mean, there’s probably enough fried rice for 6, and yet we finished it all.
Day 12 – All day driving
This day was the ultimate driving journey during the whole trip. We estimated a total driving time of 8-9 hours for the day, so we left quite early. First stop was actually backtracking the route before, because we wanted to go to Lake Matheson.
Lake Matheson is said to be the most photographed lake in NZ, because of its crystal clear mirror-like reflection. And as I mentioned before, it only stays mirror-like in the morning.
In order to go there, we had to go through the windy mountain road again =(
We didn’t think that there will be a lot of people so early in the morning, but surprise surprise, when we got there the carpark was quite full.
Tips : When going to Lake Matheson, prepare to spend at least 1 ½ hours there.
There are 2 photo spot in Lake Matheson, and in order to go to the best one, we have to walk around the lake, and the circuit takes about 1 hour to complete. Since we can’t afford the time, we only went to the other one, which was nearer (about 15 minutes walk). What a disappointment. But the photos that we took wasn’t that bad either.
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After Lake Matheson, we had to go back the windy road (again), pass by Franz Josef (again), and go on. Next stop is Punakaiki rocks, which were on the way to our next destination. It is also one of the famous spot in NZ, and it’s easy to see why. First of all, it’s FREE. And it’s close to the carpark. Just a leisurely 10 minutes walk, and voila, Punakaiki rocks.
It’s an interesting rocks formation. They look like stacked pancakes (but of course you can’t eat them).
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One thing that we like about it (being narcissistic people) is that there are many photo spots. 10 meters to the right, another photo spot. 20 more steps, yet another one. So we spend quite some time taking pictures there.
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Continuing on with the journey, we had lunch at a town along the way. Since it was already quite late for lunchtime (around 2pm), we ordered 2 large pizzas. As a result, we were really full and couldn’t finish it. So we packed the remaining few slices and brought it along.
At long last (around 9pm), we arrived at our final destination, a city called Picton. It’s not a big city, so as expected all the dining places were all closed. Luckily we had the leftover pizzas so we finished it for dinner.
Btw, the ‘hostel’ that we stayed in is called Tombstone Backpackers. Me and Yenju did not know about this, because Yoseph was the one who made all the accommodation arrangements. When we learned about this, we were quite freaked out at first. It was located right next to a cemetery, hence the name. But as soon as we got there, all doubts were gone, and I was very happy. The only thing related to the name was only the front door, shaped like a coffin door. But the rooms were really good. Definitely much better than the hostels that we stayed at the days before.
To clarify, there are 2 main ‘hostel chain’ in NZ. One is YHA, and the other one is BBH. YHA is more like a company. Each of the hostel is standardized, with receptions that sell everything from calling cards to food. BBH is more like homestay type of hostel. Each BBH hostel is run by
‘hosts’, usually a family. So it feels more homey rather than a cheap motel. Up to that day, we stayed in YHA hostels. This ‘Tombstone Backpackers’ was the first BBH hostel we tried.
Both of them have their own rating system. YHA uses a 5 star rating system, like a hotel, while BBH goes by percentage. The Tombstone was rated 96%, and it lives up to its reputation. The hosts were Lynne and Gordon, who are very nice people. The rooms (as I mentioned before) were fantastic. Clean, very comfortable spring beds (I even got a room with a queen size bed to myself!). And the main attraction: a jacuzzi overlooking the city!
Day 13 – Queen Charlotte Track
One famous attraction of Picton is the Queen Charlotte track. We had doubts about this since we were sick of trekking by then. But, since it is a very famous track, we decided to give it a go. Well, that, and because there’s not a lot of other options of activities to do in Picton.
To get to the track, we have to take a boat for about 20 minutes. Now, the interesting thing about the track is that the boat will drop you off at one point, and they will pick you up at another place in the afternoon. So, whether you like it or not, you HAVE TO finish the track, on time. If you’re slow, that’s it…. You’re gonna have to spend the night at the island. Of course, there’s lodging (resorts) on the island as well, but basically you just have to persist and complete the track. We arrived at 10am, and were going to be picked up at 3.30pm. So… 5 hours of trekking. Greatttt…..
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The first part of the track was really challenging…. Going up, up, and up. But we had no choice. I mean, it’s not like we can go back. The track was a forest track, and really shady. It was green everywhere. Lunch was, again, some bread that we bought earlier.
We finally arrived at the pick up point just 10 minutes before the agreed pick up time. Well, we did rest for about 15 minutes in the middle, but I think the time given was too tight.
Anyway, after we got back to town we had dinner at some random seafood restaurant. I don’t know what’s wrong with New Zealanders, but we were the only customer there, probably for the whole night. The 3 stuck up waitresses were ‘busy’ making Christmas decoration. How do they even survive doing business like that? Well, at least the food was great… it looks a lot, but believe me, there’s lots of shells there, so it’s not much.
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After the dinner, it was time to enjoy life =)
First we went to a liquor store and bought some kiwifruit sparkling wine, then we enjoyed it while soaking up our tired muscles in the jacuzzi. Ahhh…. the pleasure of life…. Haha.
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Day 14 – Hopewell!
Next stop is an even more remote place called Hopewell. To get there, you can either drive for about 3 hours, or take a ‘water taxi’ from one of the docks. The drive to the dock only takes about 1 ½ hour, and it’s called the Queen Charlotte drive.
Honestly, what is wrong with Queen Charlotte?? Anything named after her is horrible…. The track, the drive…. It’s just an unpleasant experience. Our theory is that the people hated the queen so much, so when they saw the track/drive, they thought of her and named it after her. =P
So, after a 10 minute ride on the water taxi, we arrived at Hopewell. It is also one of the BBH backpacker place, and the hosts there is a family. The dad was the water taxi driver, and the wife takes care of the place. It’s a really nice place, and definitely recommended to go and just relax. It’s secluded, and you just feel like you can leave all your worries behind and relax there.
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It’s also a paradise for shellfishes lover. When we arrived, the owner told us that she just got back from a nearby mussel farm, and she gave us a potful of mussels, that we gladly took and steamed for lunch.
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After lunch, since it’s low tide, she recommended us to go oyster collecting. It was practically walking on top of a sea of oysters. We can also find some cockles if we dig up certain areas of the beach. We collected about half a bucket full of oysters and cockles.
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Back at the hostel, the owner taught us how to crack those oysters open properly. It was a fun experience. And they were very fresh (of course, I just picked them up from the ocean!). I ate some of them raw, with balsamic vinegar, and the rest we barbeque them with some simple batter made of flour, water, and baking soda. Simple food at its best!
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There’s different things that you can do at Hopewell, but some of them are weather dependent. Kayaks are freely available (you just have to pay $10 for unlimited use while you are there). You can also go waterskiing. But unfortunately, the weather that day was cloudy and windy. So we didn’t get a chance to do any of that.
Besides that, you can also rent mountain bikes and go around the area. But… since I can’t ride a bike, I decided to take a little nap while my friends went biking.
Oh, in this hostel, we were lucky enough to get a cottage all for ourselves. There’s enough beds there for 7 people (2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, and a kitchen/lounge), but since nobody was staying there, we only paid NZ$100 for the whole cottage. Nice, huh?
For dinner, we can actually order pizza from the owner and they cook it for us. It wasn’t the best pizza, but not bad. We also finished up the kiwifruit wine that night.
Day 15 – Back on the road
At first we were thinking of spending one more day in Hopewell, with the hope that the weather gets better and we can try kayaking and waterskiing. Unfortunately, the weather was still windy, in fact it was even windier than the day before. So, we went back to out car via the water taxi, and off to Christchurch.
The water taxi driver told us that the area on the way is famous for its wineries. He even gave us directions to one of them that he likes best. So we stopped by for lunch, and of course I bought a bottle of wine that is sitting on my table now. It’s a dessert wine, so it’s very sweet, almost like syrup. I didn’t want to buy one, but since both my friends each bought one, well what the heck…
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Another famous town that was on the way was Kaikoura, which is actually famous for 2 things : whale watching tours and crayfish. Whale watching takes a lot of time, so we decided to give it a pass. But the crayfish, well, we just couldn’t miss it hee hee.
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When we arrived at Christchurch, there was one little problem. The hostel was located right in the middle of the city, and since Christchurch is the biggest city in the South Island, there was some problem finding a parking lot. So my friends took care of the luggage while I drove around to find free parking. At that time it was already 8pm, and parking anywhere is free until 9am the next day. So obviously all the spots were already taken. Luckily I managed to find one about 3 blocks away, and miraculously I managed to do parallel parking in a very tight spot in one go (I must admit that I suck at parallel parking).
So, for dinner, basically we had to finish every foodstuff that we have (it was nearing the end of the whole trip), so no other choice other than…. pasta.
The room that we got is one of the worst rooms during the whole trip. It does have an attached bathroom, but the whole hostel itself was quite old, and just doesn’t have a pleasant feeling. Luckily we only stayed there for 1 night.
Day 16 – Shopping and LeBons Bay
In the morning, we decided to check out the city and do some souvenir shopping. Christchurch is pretty much like Melbourne, but not as organized. So we went to the city centre and some weekend market (it was a Saturday). Didn’t really buy anything anyway…. wasn’t as good as expected.
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And then we made a terrible mistake when choosing the place for lunch. We couldn’t decide what to eat, so we randomly picked a café and it was one the bad experiences we had. It took them ages to cook the food. All we ordered was simple burgers (of course they put some fancy name to it to make it sound appealing, but basically it was just burger), and it took them about 1 hour to get it done. What the f**k?? Do you have to kill the cow first to get the meat? Even asking for water was difficult because they need to find a clean glass first. Oh… my…. God….
After lunch we went to a supermarket, and then off to our last destination of the trip : LeBons Bay. It is one of the many bays in the Akaroa region, approximately 1 ½ hour drive from Christchurch. The place was recommended by Yenju’s friend who had been there.
It is also a BBH backpackers hostel. The hosts there was also a family, headed by a guy (I forgot his name… I think it’s Gary). The unique thing about the place was that there were some people who actually are backpackers but they work there to get some money. There was a girl from Taiwan, one German girl, and 2 other people (not sure where they’re from). The guests there were also from different nationalities….. there were a couple from Greece, a French couple, American couple (they actually look like Rob and Amber from Survivor/Amazing Race, and they are from Chicago… what a coincidence), one guy from Ukraine, and a family from Denmark. And of course us.
The famous thing about LeBons Bay backpackers is the dinner! Gary and the ‘workers’ prepare a dinner for all the guests (you can opt to cook your own dinner, but who would want to miss out on this?), and we all had dinner together on a long table, enough for 16 people! Most of the dishes are seafood, but the one dish that I think was unique and delicious is the roasted pumpkin with caramel, onions, and balsamic vinegar. Nice…. =)
Well, there’s nothing else to do there (it’s really a remote and secluded place… I couldn’t even get a phone signal), so after dinner we just rest.
Day 17 – Home Sweet Home
The Akaroa region is actually famous for its marine life, including a rare breed of dolphins. The backpackers actually have daily trips to the sea to see the dolphins, but again, the weather was not on our side, and it was too windy to go out to the sea. So we had some free time, and decided to visit the town of Akaroa itself. Nothing much to see or do there. We just had lunch, and head back to Christchurch and off to the airport.
By 4pm we left NZ and had to transit at Sydney again. The transit time was only supposed to be 1 hour, but again, the universe just seems to be against us that day, and there was a thunderstorm that causes a 1 hour delay. So we landed at Singapore really late (11.30pm), and I only arrived at my room at about 12.30am. Strangely, I didn’t feel really tired, and was really refreshed the next morning (probably because of the time difference).
So, that’s it. Wow, I can’t believe I just wrote 13 pages of blog in one day. What can I say? You never know what you are capable of unless you try it.
