New Zealand

Well, as intended a friend and I did travel right around the South Island of New Zealand. 1800 photos later and with broad smiles on our faces we returned back to life as it was.

Highlights of the trip were undoubtedly the beautiful sunset upon Mt Cook, our panoramic views of the Otago Peninsula from our room at Lanarche Castle and the unfathomable beauty of the steeping mountains. Photographs cannot do justice to how beautiful this country really is!

We arrived in Christchurch and after a short deviation to the Arctic Centre where we started our photographic exploitation of New Zealand… 100 photos later… we caught a taxi into town.

After discussing our detailed itinerary with Malcolm our taxi driver, we were recommended against staying in Methven as its main attraction is as a ski resort, not so much a summertime holiday destination. Malcolm recommended instead that we take a short trip to Akaroa, a beautiful small town on the east coast.

As we pondered this decision, we again met up with another Akaroa enthusiast, the line they used to convince us was: there’s Spain, there’s Rome, there’s Melbourne, there’s Mexico and then there’s Akaroa. Their applause and accholades of the small town convinced us that it was worth a visit.

Arriving late into Akaroa, we were already taken by the beautiful sunset hovering over the still lake and our admiration for the small town was heightened when we checked into a beautiful bed and breakfast set in a beautiful colonial style heritage house on the waterfront.

We had dinner at a caravan on the side of the road which served up the most wonderful prawn & noodle curries and with the image of the setting sun, the memory of our experience was forever engraved in our minds.

There’s Italy, there’s London, there’s Sydney and then… there’s Akaroa

On 6th January, a girlfriend and I have planned a trip touring around the South Island of New Zealand. We arrive in Christchurch and after a night’s stopover, take the Trans Alpine Train to Greymouth.

A close friend has highly recommended Punakaiki as a must-see destination, so we will detour up to Punakaiki to see Pancake Rocks before returning back south to Franz Joseph.

After taking a walk on Fox Glacier we will again travel south to Queenstown, visit a few local wineries, go bungee jumping, take the gondola up to the top of the mountain and take the historic earnslaw ride across the Queenstown lake.

We have a day and a half in Queenstown before we travel to Milford Sounds for an overnight cruise. After which, we will hopefully have time to stop in Te Anau before venturing to Dunedin where we stay at the Lanarche Castle.

From Dunedin, we travel north towards Mt Cook, stay there a night and then hope over to Mt Hutt for the night. Mt Hutt is our last destination before returning to Christchurch, staying overnight and then heading back home.

We’ve pretty much got the trip all stitched up – sights we want to see, places we want to go and all accomodation, reservations and car hire are booked. So, only three weeks to go!