G'day Australia

What a BEAUTIFUL country!

Tues. April 10th- Fly to New Zealand
Today was the start of my "Kiwi Experience" adventure. Pete, Ashley, Kathryn, and I left Newcastle around 12pm to take the train to Sydney and then from Sydney we flew to Christchurch, New Zealand. As part of the Kiwi Experience tour, we travelled 6 cities in the South Island throughout 12 days, as part of the "Back Paddock" option. We arrived in New Zealand around 12am Wednesday morning and took a shuttle to our hostel to go straight to bed.

11th- Christchurch to Westport (via Arthurs Pass):
After staying one night (about 8 hours) in Stonehurst Accomodation, we departed Christchurch at 8:15am to head to Westport. We met up with our friend, Alison, who was previously travelling the North Island. Driving northwest through the Canterbury Plains and the Southern Alps we were surrounded by snowcapped mountains and various rivers. My first impression was how beautiful NZ is! It is absolutely gorgeous! =) On this 6 hour drive, we were with 3 other people-- 2 girls (Sam and Tammy) from England, and Ruel from Belgium. We continued to drive through Arthurs Pass National Park, and got out of the bus a few times to take some short scenic walks. On arrival in Westport, we met up with the rest of our tour group (they were coming from Nelson Bay) to continue on to Westport. It was raining when we got to Westport (a tiny little town with very little to do), so our group of about 50 people stayed in the hostel (Bazil's) for the night, cooking dinner and watching 3 movies before bedtime.

12th- Westport to Lake Mahinapua:
Because it was raining when we arrived in Westport, we did not have a chance to jet boat along the Buller River. Therefore, we woke up early in the morning to go, and would later met up with the rest on the group on the way to Lake Mahinapua. As the rest of the group went to Cape Foulwind Seal Colony (something I was looking forward to, but had to miss out on), Kathryn, Pete, Ashley, Alison, and I had fun cruising the river. Our boat driver was really cool-- we nearly missed hitting the sides of the mountains, jumped over rocks, and did 360 degree turns in the boat. =) I had a lot of fun, even though it was really windy and quite chilly. Around 11am we met the rest of the group and headed towards the Punakaiki Pancake Rocks and Blowholes. We also took a rugged beach walk and ate our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch along the way. Once in Mahinapua, we settled in at Mahinapua Hotel. A group meal was cooked for us tonight at the legendary "Poo Pub." I ate some awesome steak, potatoes, vegetables, and bread rolls. We also met Uncle Les-- New Zealand's oldest Publican. After dinner, everyone headed to the pub dressed up as things beginning with the letter P. Kathryn and I were Pete, Pete was a paperboy, Ashley was a Princess, and Alison was a Puzzle. Other people dressed as a pool, a palm reader, prehistoric people, pussycats, etc. It was lot of fun, as I got a change to get to know my fellow travellers from all over the world better. We also headed to the lake at night and saw 100s of glow worms!

13th- Lake Mahinapua to Franz Josef:
On Friday the 13th we were off at 8am to head to the Franz Josef Glacier Township. Our first stop of the morning was at the Bushman's Centre, where we learned how people made a living on the coast with sphagnum moss growing, old timber-milling techniques, possum trapping and helicopter deer recovery. Alison tried a Possum Pie and enjoyed it. =/ (yuckkkkk).
On arrival in Franz Josef, we walked around the town and shopped in the souvinere stores.

14th- Franz Josef:
After staying at the Rainforest Hotel, today was a day to relax. Kathryn and Alison woke up early and started their 8 hour guided hike up the glacier. Ashley and I went on a run in the morning, cooked some lunch, and then headed on a hike to the glacier with Pete. As Kathryn and Alison got to climb the actual glacier, Pete, Ash, and I just hiked to it at a relaxed pace and got to touch it. We had a lot of fun, and all arrived back around the same time. As a group, we headed towards a cute little restaurant in the centre of town for some dinner. I had delcious chicken tenders! yummm.

15th-Franz Josef to Wanaka:
Leaving at 7:30am, we were off to the Wanaka Hotel. Our first stop was to take a walk around Lake Matheson, catching the reflection of Mount Cook, Mount Tazman, and the Southern Alps in the lake. Here we met up with Ashley and Alison who skydived over the glacier in the morning. We then headed down the last stretch of the West Coast stopping to check out Ship Cove, Haast River, Thunder Creek Falls, and the Blue Pools. We crossed the bridge at the gates of Haast and headed up the pass and into Mount Aspiring National Park. We arrived in Wanaka around 4:30pm. The town was my favorite of them all! We walked around near the lake, got some Subway for dinner, and had some delcious ice cream! It was pretty chilly so we headed in early and watched a movie before bed!

16th- Wanaka to Queenstown:
Starting at 9am, the 2 hour drive to Queenstown today was very fun! Our first stop was at Puzzling World. Here we went through a human maze and checked out 4 illusion rooms that were very unique and entertaining! After, we headed towards AJ Hackett Sky Diving. Here we learned the "Secrets of the Bungy" and those who wanted to could participate in the Kawarau Bridge Bungy. Ashley and Alison did a tandem bungy jump of the bridge, consisting of a 43m freefall. They absolutely loved it! =) I would have loved to do it if it wasn't so expensive. Maybe someday I'll do it...are you up for a tandem jump daddy?!?! =) We got to Queenstown around 5pm, and checked in at our Hostel, Bumbles Backpackers! The view from our room was gorgeous...a beautiful lake surrounded by the "Remarkables" aka the mountains that were filmed in the movies Lord of the Rings.

17th- Queenstown:
Today we headed to Milford Sound, a 10 hour round trip drive. Once we arrived, we took a 2 hour cruise of the beautiful fiord surrounded by huge mountains and multiple waterfalls! It was very very awesome-- no wonder why it is commonly referred to as New Zealand's most beautiful spot. =)

18th- Queenstown:
Today, Pete headed out early to do the Nevis Bungy Jump...the 3rd largest in the world and the largest in the Southern Hemisphere! Ashley and I went for a run to the grocery store and picked up some breakfast. We cooked scrammbled eggs and pancakes before heading out for a day of shopping! Pretty much we shopped until we dropped and then headed to the famous Fergburger for some good ol' American hambugers.

19th- Queenstown:
Yes...we shopped again! =) But...we also took a walk along the pier and explored Queenstown a little bit more! Later in the afternoon, we took a gondola ride up the mountains and saw beautiful views of the city. We then took another ski lift further up the mountain, and did some luging...kinda like go carts. We went on the 800m track 6 times...2ce on the scenic route and 4 times on the adventure course. =) It was a fun and nice relaxing day before a long drive to Christchurch in the morning.

20th- Queenstown to Christchurch:
We were picked up from Bumbles at 8:20am, ready for our 9 hour drive to Christchurch. On the way were headed over Lindis Pass into the Mackenzie Country, named after James Mackenzie who was a famous sheep rustler. We also got some fresh fruit in Twizel, and then took the road next to the amazing Lake Pukaki with great views of Mt. Cook. We then stopped at Lake Tekapo to see the Church of the Good Shepherd (a church made of all natural rock that was collected by the community) and the bronze sheep dog statue (the value the sheep dog as there are 4 times as many sheep in New Zealand as there are people.) We arrived at Base Backpackers around 5pm, just in time to head to a Rugby Union Game at Jade Stadium. The north island Hurricanes were facing the south island Crusaders (the home team). We root root rooted for the home team, and of course they won! =) Even though the game was hard to follow, I learned some of the rules and strategies and had a good time!

21st-Christchurch:
Today we walked around Christchurch, viewing the church of course in Cathedral Square. We also went to the famous Yellow Rocket cafe for some awesome bagels for lunch. We walked around two different markets, saw some crazy street performers, sampled some fudge at Fudge Cottage, and also stopped at the Harley Davidson Store. We ended our night by watching 4 movies (Miss Congeniality, Miss Congeniality 2, Derailed, and some other Australian one that I slept through) before heading to the airport at midnight to stay there for the night in order to catch our 6am flight back to Newcastle.

22nd- Fly back to Newcastle: After 6 hours of traveling on little sleep, we finally arrived safe back home! yayyy!! What an amazing trip. =) I loved meeting people from all over the world (Belgium, England, Ireland, France, Germany, Pennsylania, California, New York, etc.) and seeing the beautiful scenery of New Zealand!