Day Ten – Franz Josef to Queenstown
We woke to continued wild weather but that didn’t deter us from taking a walk around Lake Matheson first thing in the morning on our way to Queenstown. We had breakfast at the beautiful café and then we tried our luck at getting some mirror views in the kettle lake with its dark brown waters caused by tannins from the surrounding vegetation.
We couldn't see the mountain ranges in the distance so we acted like the missing mountains,
We travelled further south from here, along the Tasman Sea, stopping in Haast for a comfort stop and Thunder Creek falls after following the Haast River inland. We went over the Gates of Haast, an awesome schist rock formation teaming with water from the torrential rain just a few hours earlier, and were pleasantly surprised by the sunshine as we crossed the Southern Alps at the Haast Pass and travelled into the Makarora Valley. We stopped for lunch at the Makarora Country Café and then hit the road, travelling past the stunning glacial lakes of Wanaka and Hawea. We stopped at Marie's favourite view over Lake Hawea for a family photo.
Today we went through 3 national parks on the west coast. Two of them were Aoraki national park and Westland national park. There are a total of 13 national parks in NZ.
Pic is a little fuzzy cause it was pouring rain and I had my phone in a plastic bag. Ha!
We took a break in the township of Wanaka. The break in Wanaka was due to a gas refuel but then ended up longer since we had a flat tire on the van.
After Wanaka, we traveled over the Crown Range, New Zealand’s highest mountain pass, and into Queenstown.
Day Eleven – Queenstown
Today was a free day in Queenstown and our sun dances obviously worked! The sun shone all day.
This was the day I decided to skydive. Yep, just out of a perfectly good airplane. Thankfully another woman on the tour, Bessie, also signed up for skydiving. We had to meet at the place at 8 am in time for safety, rules and transport to the drop zone. Embrace the fear!
Blue skies made for a gorgeous day.
Getting ready...
The before shot...
Here I am in the plane on the way up!
Big smile cause I did it!
What an incredible experience, view and thrill. Once in a lifetime opportunity.
After skydiving, we went back to the hotel for a short rest and then decided to walk around Queenstown and find some lunch along the waterfront.
After lunch we took the cable car ride up.
We found a marked path which said it was a 25 minute walking loop. Let's do that we say.
Well 25 minute loop turned out to be a 30 minute hike uphill (no loop). It wasn't what we expected but the hike was well worth the views.
Usually I send/post pictures of my feet at a pool or beach. This time, I figured I'd share my hiking shoes and the gorgeous view,
I could have sat there all day looking at this view. So peaceful, serene and just relaxing.
Day Twelve – Queenstown to Milford Sound
Today saw a bit of a sleep in for some and an adrenaline packed start for others before we drove the round-about horse shoe shaped journey to get to Milford Sound in the Fiordland National Park. With only one road in and out it is quite the journey but the weather gods were on our side and brought out the sunshine for us just in time to enjoy the spectacular scenery into the northern most of 14 fjords in the national park. We stopped in the town of Te Anau for lunch along the way. Photo stops included Eglington Flat/Valley, Mirror Lakes, Knobs Flat, Key Summit, Monkey Creek, the Homer Tunnel, and the Chasm.
Mirror Lake.
SHEEP!
Bessie filling her water bottle in Monkey Creek. It was delicious fresh water.
Tunnel through the mountains. It is only 1 way so you have to wait for it to clear before you can drive through.
On our overnight boat, the Milford Mariner, we were treated to delicious food, a New Zealand Fur Seal sighting, some kayaking or tender boat cruising, and a great slideshow and talk about the area from our Nature Guide, Blair. We spent the night moored in Harrisons Cove.
We learned the difference between a sound and a fjord. Early explorers declared the area as sounds but later learned they are fjords.
Sound: river carved passing to the sea. V-shaped.
Fjord: glacier carved passing to the sea. Straight up and down rocks. U-shaped.
Seals!
This is the window in my room on the boat.
Day Thirteen – Milford Sound to Twizel
Today we woke to a spectacular array of waterfalls and a trip out to the Tasman Sea before we headed back to the wharf.
Someone asked if these are black and white photos. The answer is no. It was just a very dark and gray morning.
We boarded the bus for our return trip back along the Milford Road just after 9am stopping back in Te Anau for lunch. Some nicer weather was welcomed as we wound our way around the shores of Lake Wakatipu and the Kawarau Gorge, followed by the wine regions of Gibbston Valley and Bannockburn and some giant fruit in the town of Cromwell. After climbing over the final mountain pass of our trip, the Lindis Pass, and stopping in Omarama for a quick break we finally arrived in Twizel for the night.
Day Fourteen – Twizel to Christchurch
Today we headed off nice and early for the Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park, but sadly the weather didn't play ball and we didn't quite get the views we were hoping for. The troopers that we are though, we hung around for some coffee and a 3D movie and sure enough, on our way back along the shores of Lake Pukaki we caught some magnificent views of Aoraki/Mt Cook in all its glory.
We could barely see Mt Cook so we went to museum and I took pictures to commemorate.
Mt Cook emerged after a while.
Lake Pukaki
After a couple of photo stops we hit the road to Christchurch, stopping in Tekapo for lunch and to visit the most photographed church in New Zealand, the Church of the Good Sheppard.
Managing to arrive into Christchurch a little earlier, we got out for the rare opportunity to see a city being rebuilt from rubble after the devastating 2011 earthquake that hit the Garden City.
Art installation. There is one white chair for each person killed in the 2011 earthquake.
Cool street art.
Do you see the hand?
Destruction from the earthquake is still in process of being fixed.
Good message..."everything's going to be alright."
Marie's favorite tree in gardens.
I had to try out the swinging tree.
We enjoyed a final meal together at the Speights Ale House and said our goodbyes. Bessie and I left to the airport at 3 am the next morning to fly to Brisbane. I then flew back to HK and she continued her journey in Australia.
We woke to continued wild weather but that didn’t deter us from taking a walk around Lake Matheson first thing in the morning on our way to Queenstown. We had breakfast at the beautiful café and then we tried our luck at getting some mirror views in the kettle lake with its dark brown waters caused by tannins from the surrounding vegetation.
We couldn't see the mountain ranges in the distance so we acted like the missing mountains,
We travelled further south from here, along the Tasman Sea, stopping in Haast for a comfort stop and Thunder Creek falls after following the Haast River inland. We went over the Gates of Haast, an awesome schist rock formation teaming with water from the torrential rain just a few hours earlier, and were pleasantly surprised by the sunshine as we crossed the Southern Alps at the Haast Pass and travelled into the Makarora Valley. We stopped for lunch at the Makarora Country Café and then hit the road, travelling past the stunning glacial lakes of Wanaka and Hawea. We stopped at Marie's favourite view over Lake Hawea for a family photo.
Today we went through 3 national parks on the west coast. Two of them were Aoraki national park and Westland national park. There are a total of 13 national parks in NZ.
We took a break in the township of Wanaka. The break in Wanaka was due to a gas refuel but then ended up longer since we had a flat tire on the van.
After Wanaka, we traveled over the Crown Range, New Zealand’s highest mountain pass, and into Queenstown.
Day Eleven – Queenstown
Today was a free day in Queenstown and our sun dances obviously worked! The sun shone all day.
This was the day I decided to skydive. Yep, just out of a perfectly good airplane. Thankfully another woman on the tour, Bessie, also signed up for skydiving. We had to meet at the place at 8 am in time for safety, rules and transport to the drop zone. Embrace the fear!
Blue skies made for a gorgeous day.
Getting ready...
The before shot...
Here I am in the plane on the way up!
Big smile cause I did it!
What an incredible experience, view and thrill. Once in a lifetime opportunity.
After skydiving, we went back to the hotel for a short rest and then decided to walk around Queenstown and find some lunch along the waterfront.
After lunch we took the cable car ride up.
We found a marked path which said it was a 25 minute walking loop. Let's do that we say.
Well 25 minute loop turned out to be a 30 minute hike uphill (no loop). It wasn't what we expected but the hike was well worth the views.
Usually I send/post pictures of my feet at a pool or beach. This time, I figured I'd share my hiking shoes and the gorgeous view,
I could have sat there all day looking at this view. So peaceful, serene and just relaxing.
Day Twelve – Queenstown to Milford Sound
Today saw a bit of a sleep in for some and an adrenaline packed start for others before we drove the round-about horse shoe shaped journey to get to Milford Sound in the Fiordland National Park. With only one road in and out it is quite the journey but the weather gods were on our side and brought out the sunshine for us just in time to enjoy the spectacular scenery into the northern most of 14 fjords in the national park. We stopped in the town of Te Anau for lunch along the way. Photo stops included Eglington Flat/Valley, Mirror Lakes, Knobs Flat, Key Summit, Monkey Creek, the Homer Tunnel, and the Chasm.
Mirror Lake.
SHEEP!
Bessie filling her water bottle in Monkey Creek. It was delicious fresh water.
Tunnel through the mountains. It is only 1 way so you have to wait for it to clear before you can drive through.
On our overnight boat, the Milford Mariner, we were treated to delicious food, a New Zealand Fur Seal sighting, some kayaking or tender boat cruising, and a great slideshow and talk about the area from our Nature Guide, Blair. We spent the night moored in Harrisons Cove.
We learned the difference between a sound and a fjord. Early explorers declared the area as sounds but later learned they are fjords.
Sound: river carved passing to the sea. V-shaped.
Fjord: glacier carved passing to the sea. Straight up and down rocks. U-shaped.
Seals!
This is the window in my room on the boat.
Day Thirteen – Milford Sound to Twizel
Today we woke to a spectacular array of waterfalls and a trip out to the Tasman Sea before we headed back to the wharf.
Someone asked if these are black and white photos. The answer is no. It was just a very dark and gray morning.
We boarded the bus for our return trip back along the Milford Road just after 9am stopping back in Te Anau for lunch. Some nicer weather was welcomed as we wound our way around the shores of Lake Wakatipu and the Kawarau Gorge, followed by the wine regions of Gibbston Valley and Bannockburn and some giant fruit in the town of Cromwell. After climbing over the final mountain pass of our trip, the Lindis Pass, and stopping in Omarama for a quick break we finally arrived in Twizel for the night.
Day Fourteen – Twizel to Christchurch
Today we headed off nice and early for the Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park, but sadly the weather didn't play ball and we didn't quite get the views we were hoping for. The troopers that we are though, we hung around for some coffee and a 3D movie and sure enough, on our way back along the shores of Lake Pukaki we caught some magnificent views of Aoraki/Mt Cook in all its glory.
We could barely see Mt Cook so we went to museum and I took pictures to commemorate.
Mt Cook emerged after a while.
Lake Pukaki
After a couple of photo stops we hit the road to Christchurch, stopping in Tekapo for lunch and to visit the most photographed church in New Zealand, the Church of the Good Sheppard.
Managing to arrive into Christchurch a little earlier, we got out for the rare opportunity to see a city being rebuilt from rubble after the devastating 2011 earthquake that hit the Garden City.
Art installation. There is one white chair for each person killed in the 2011 earthquake.
Cool street art.
Do you see the hand?
Destruction from the earthquake is still in process of being fixed.
Good message..."everything's going to be alright."
Marie's favorite tree in gardens.
I had to try out the swinging tree.
We enjoyed a final meal together at the Speights Ale House and said our goodbyes. Bessie and I left to the airport at 3 am the next morning to fly to Brisbane. I then flew back to HK and she continued her journey in Australia.
