Singapore to Christchurch and Oomaru 05/06/15
(Day 1 & 2)
I met my mum around 6pm in T3 Changi Airport. We
caught up for a bit in the airport and started our tour together to New
Zealand.
The journey to New Zealand is about 10 hours,
which is surprisingly longer than I thought.
It has
been a while since I last took full service airlines, I constantly remind
myself to drop the plastic bottle in my bag to the bin as they serve water in
the cabin. On top of that, I also have to tell myself not to fill up my own
departure card/landing card which my tour guide have filled up everything for
me while just leaving the empty space for me to sign.
We landed Christchurch around 8am in the morning;
the weather in Christchurch is absolutely freezing. Everyone started to reach
for the jumper/jacket the moment we landed Chrischurch.
We started our land tour in Christchurch, went
to see the Main Church which was almost 90% damaged by the Earth Quake in 2011.
Christchurch seems to be still in after quake recovery process. It was rather
saddening to see multiple collapsed buildings in the city, to a certain extent
frightening. After a brief city tour and lunch, we left Christchurch for Oamaru,
which is a small town on east coast line of New Zealand’s South Island. Along
the journey, we have seen Moeraki Boulders, rounded stones on the shore,
naturally formed and also Blue Penguin, which is the smallest penguin in the
world.
Day 3 ( Ooamaru- Dunedin-Te Anau)
We went to the oldest known Scottish town, Dunedin.
At night, we went to Te Anau, which is a town in the Southland region of the South Island of New Zealand, Lake Te Anau is also known as the largest lake in South Island.
Day 4 (Te Aanau-Milford Sound-Queenstown)
Milford Sound is basically one of the major
highlights of the entire tour, we went to the national park of Milford sound,
took a cruise around Milford Sound. Very scenic place, basically you got snow
mountain, gigantic waterfalls and crystal clear lake. The weather is freezing, especially
when the chilly wind
After our cruise in Milford sound, we then head
towards Queenstown, a resort town famous for its first bungee jump invented,
skiing during winter and all the extreme sports you can think of.
However, by the time we reached Queenstown that
day is about 7pm, we took cable car up the hill and dined in one of the most
luxurious restaurants in Queenstown, Strastosfare which is overlooking the
entire Queesntown.
We also toured around the city area at night and went to the mini casino in Queenstown. Typical Chinese.
Day 5 (Queenstown-Mount Cook)
In the morning, after our hotel breakfast, we toured around Queenstown and took a few photos of the beautiful mountains, lake and some wildlife. The whole town is just simple, quiet and very slow pace. I somehow felt that the people here take longer breath than other places.
We then continued our journey towards North to Mountain Cook. I guess about half way, we stopped by at a King Salmon Farm. (Wairepor Arm). We bought a pack of fresh King Salmon and It was there that I had the best King Salmon in my life that I can remember. Without wasting any time, we continued our journey to Mount Cook. And I must say, the bus journey to Mount Cook is definitely not for the faint-hearted. The strong wind is literally pushing our 20 seater bus sideways, the bus was swaying left and right the whole time. it feels like driving on ice. We were so grateful that we are able to reach our hotel in Mt Cook. I guess this Mount Cook bus journey is also part of New Zealand's unique experience.
Day 6 (Mount Cook-Tekapo-Christchurch)
While we were having our breakfast, we were told
that our helicopter ride to fly around Mt Cook was cancelled due to bad weather.
For one instance, I felt butterflies in my stomach.
I wasn’t given too many options neither after
hearing the news. Very quickly, I am on the bus and we left Mount Cook slightly
earlier to Pukaki Lake and Tekapo Lake, both famous for its distinctive blue
Glacier Water.
We reached Lake Pukaki first, the largest
of three roughly parallel alpine lakes running north south along the northern
edge of the Mackenzie basin on New Zealand’s South Island.
After Pukaki Lake, we then move towards Lake
Tekapo, which is the 2nd largest lake in the South Island. I
remember the tour guide mentioned that this lake is not famous for its size,
but famous for its distinctive blue glacier water which is truly stunning. We
had our lunch there, shop around the town. We also went to see the Church of
the Good Shepherd.
Inside the church features an altar window that
frames stunning views of the lake and mountains. I managed to take a photo
inside the church after obtaining approval from a lady taking care of the small
little church.
From Lake Tekapo, we then continued our journey
back to Christchurch.
Day 8 (Christchurch –Singapore)
In the morning, after we checked out the hotel, we
rushed to the airport, bid farewell to our tour guide Mr Jack, checked in and
boarded our plane back to Singapore.
This concludes my New Zealand trip 2015 with my mum.
