We want to be Kiwi's!!! (Part 1)

We’ve been in New Zealand now for over a week and words really can’t describe what we’ve seen so far. It’s truly an amazing and special place. We’re having such a brilliant time we haven’t had time to post a blog update. We arrived in Christchurch, which is located on the south island on Thursday, the 11th and have been on the go since we got here. Christchurch is the 3rd largest city in New Zealand and very pretty and clean city with excellent restaurants and shops. It sits on the east coast We stayed 2 nights in the main city centre area. On Friday we took a bus over to a port town called Lyttelton and had lunch. We ordered mussels and they were probably the biggest we’ve ever seen and very fresh. Lyttelton is only about 15-20 minutes from Christchurch and on the way back stopped off to take a gondola ride up to the top of the Port Hills for for 360° views of the area. It was raining earlier in the day, but luckily it cleared up over and the water so we were able to enjoy the views of Christchurch and Lyttelton Harbor. When we got back to Christchurch we visited the Christchurch Cathedral and then had dinner at a sushi restaurant.

On Saturday we got up and visited the Botanic Gardens and then headed to the airport. See pics below of the gardens.

Rose Garden at the Botanic Gardens

Monkey in at tree

Tree Hugger

We’d decided we wanted to head south to the bottom of the island to a town called Invercargill. From Invercargill you can take an hour long ferry to another island south of the south island, called Stewart Island. On this island there are many outdoor activities such as hiking (called tramping), fishing, and boat cruises. There is another key activity on this island, which is what really attracted us to Stewart Island. At night you can go out in search of Kiwi’s - the national bird, not the people or fruit. These birds are flightless and nocturnal so that’s why you go try to find them at night. There are only a few places you can see Kiwi out in their natural habitat and you can go with a group to do this. We flew to Invercargill, grabbed some lunch then took the ferry over to the island. Unfortunately, bad weather had come in, so it was rainy and very windy when we got to Invercargill and it was worse by the time we actually got on the ferry. The ferry crosses the Strait of Foveaux. It’s known as being on of the most unpredictable passages in the world meaning you never know how rough or calm it will be. On the day we went, it was rainy, cold and the waters were extremely rough. Scott and I have been on a lot of boat rides together and this is by far beyond anything we’ve ever experienced. It was so bad that about 10-15 minutes into the ride the waves were so huge and the boat was rocking so much that Scott started vomiting! And he kept vomiting for a while. Aside from the captain, there were 2 other crew members. I think they were solely there to help people who get seasick. One of the crew came over to check on Scott before he even started vomiting because he saw that Scott’s skin had turned very pale and he was sweating profusely. The boat continued rocking and waves crashing all around. Scott started vomiting and I had the weirdest rush of emotions all at once. Part of me wanted to cry because I felt bad for Scott and the ride was scary and wasn’t getting any smoother. Another part of me wanted to laugh hysterically because it was amazing we were even allowed to go out on the boat in such conditions. So I sat there trying to help Scott by getting puke bags ready in hand so there was a smooth transition between bags. The crew member eventually took Scott out on the back deck to sit and get fresh air for the rest of the ride. In the end I think Scott filled about 8 puke bags. Pretty impressive! Since Scott was such a trooper the crew guy gave me some stickers to give to Scott. They normally give them to children, but he thought Scott did such a good job he deserved some stickers, too. Those Kiwi’s sure are nice fellas! 

We arrived on the island at the only town called Oban. Our hotel was right near the dock and is apparently the local social hub of the town because it has a restaurant and bar. We ate at the restaurant that evening and then visited the bar. They had live music by the ’Thieving Gypsy Bastards’. All the locals were there in full drunken fashion! We enjoyed getting to see the night life in Oban. On Sunday, we got up to try and do some of the island activities but the weather was crummy again and no boats were going out for tours, fishing, etc. They weren’t kiwi hunting either. The ferries weren’t even operating to go back to Invercargill. Given we only have so much time in New Zealand and we basically would have nothing to do in Oban since the weather was bad (and forecast not getting better), we decided it was time to go. Taking the boat back to Invercargill was already out of the question given the events of the previous day so we inquired about flying to Invercargill. Even though boats weren’t going out, they were still flying and there was a flight available at 1:30 that day so we booked it. The flight was only 20 minutes and though we sort of flew sideways because of the strong winds we made it and without any motion sickness. Yay! Once we got to Invercargill we hopped on a 3:30 bus headed to Te Anau. The bus stop was at the Southland Museum and Art Gallery. Inside the museum was a Tuatariom, which is home to a unique creature called the Tuatara. These creatures are prickly and reptile looking but they are actually descendants of dinosaurs. They are only found in New Zealand and are very rare. Henry is one of the Tuatara’s and he is over 100 years old.

Henry, the Tuatara or Dinosaur of New Zealand

The bus ride was about 3 hours and the weather started to clear and turn sunny as we headed north. Te Anau (pronounced Tea Ahnow) is NW of Invercargill and sits on the edge of Fiordland National Park and is between Doubtful Sound and Milford Sound. It is a quaint, small town (population 4,000) on Lake Te Anau, the second largest lake in New Zealand and is surrounded by mountains. This village is a popular spot to stay especially if you are headed to Doubtful and Milford Sounds. It’s filled with souvenir shops, great restaurants, shops, and the scenery breathtaking. We stayed in Te Anau for 3 nights. The night we arrived we found a place to stay a few blocks from the lake and main city centre. We booked a boat tour to take us to Doubtful Sound the next morning. A bus picked us up around 10:30 am to take us to the dock where we start the tour in a town called Manapouri. It was a beautiful morning and we were both excited to finally have some sunshine. Doubtful Sound is actually a fiord, as is Milford because they were both formed from glaciers. Doubtful Sound is 10 times as big as Milford Sound and much more remote and there is no way to get there on your own. We started out the trip by going through Lake Manapouri.

Lake Manapouri

Of course beautiful scenery was surrounding us and crystal clear waters. Everything so lush and green. We went for about 45 minutes on the boat then got off close to the local power plant called Manpouri Power Station. This isn’t just any Power Station. It is the largest power station in New Zealand and it is underground. In fact, rock was excavated from 200meters below the surface of Lake Manapouri. We got on a bus to drive down the 2km spiraling tunnel to the power plant to view the huge turbines.

Walkway to power station

Inside the Power Station

After that we got back on the bus and made our way to Doubtful Sound by crossing over Wilmot Pass. We stopped at various lookout points along the way. By this time though, the clouds had rolled in and it started to sprinkle. Bummer. We continued on the bus and eventually got to another dock where we boarded a larger boat to go into Doubtful Sound. Unfortunately, because of the clouds and rain we were disappointed with limited visibility. The good part about the rain was that there were more waterfalls than usual so we saw tons of waterfalls. We also saw some sea lions and dolphins. After about 2 hours on the boat we headed back to the bus, then rode to the smaller boat to go back to the dock and return to Te Anau.

Doubtful Sound

We got back around 8pm and since we had a kitchenette we cooked dinner back at the hotel. Originally our plan was going to be to visit Milford Sound the following day, but the weather was to be the same as the previous day and we really didn’t want the disappointment we’d already experienced at Doubtful Sound. We booked Milford Sound for Wednesday instead.

Tuesday was rainy and cold so we decided to take it easy in the morning. We did some trip planning/researching, laundry, ate lunch, etc. In the afternoon we went to the Te Anau Glowworm Caves. We went at 2pm and by then the rain had stopped and the sky was starting to clear. This is a very popular day trip in Te Anau. These Glowworms caves are actually very young by geological standards, 12,000 years old. The cavern of glowworms was discovered in 1948 though according to local legend they were originally discovered by the Maori people hundreds of years ago. In order to get to the cave you take a 30 minute scenic boat ride across Lake Te Anau, hop off, then go to the cave. On our way there, something went wrong with the boat and we had to only use one of the engines. It was fine, just slower to get there. They were able to fix it for our return. We arrived at the cave and they gave us an introduction about getting down in the cave, the glowworms, and history of the area. They put us in groups of 12-14 and everyone followed the guide inside the cave. They had created a walkway for tourists so it wasn’t very rustic or treacherous. It was dark and there was water flowing through. Pictures weren’t allowed. By the end I think I was about to have a panic attack because I had to go about 35 minutes without taking a picture. The walkway leads you further into the cave and in spots you can look up and see glowworms. These are unique little creatures that don’t like noise or light. They form a sort of web and so are from the arachnid family. We kept walking until we got to a platform where we got onto a small boat that was non-motorized. We were instructed to be quiet and board the boat. The guide moved us along into the cave with a pulley connected to a rope. It was completely pitch black and the glowworms we all over the cave walls, glowing brightly. Like stars. It was a very neat experience and since everyone was quiet and it was pitch black it was almost like we were there by ourselves and didn’t feel as touristy. We both really enjoyed our glowworm boat ride. Scott kept trying to make out with me. So embarrassing.

We got back to Te Anau around 4:30. We ate dinner in town that evening and got packed up for our Milford Sound trip. The trip to Milford Sound started at 9:00 the next morning. We had arranged to start the trip in Te Anau and then be dropped off in Queenstown afterwards. We got picked up, then went to get other tourists and took off at 9:30. In Te Anau, it was a gorgeous, sunny day. Milford Sound is 2 hours away from Te Anau so we were still worried that the conditions there weren’t as desirable. As soon as the tour started, our tour guide informed us that the weather in Milford Sound was just as good, if not better there! We were thrilled and so glad we’d decided to wait a day to visit. He actually said it was a ‘brochure day’ which means it’s the type of day that tour companies will send out photographers to take pictures of the amazing scenery. And it is beyond amazing. It took a little over 2 hours to get to Milford Sound by bus. Along the way we stopped at Eglington Valley for beautiful pictures, the Mirror Lakes, Knobs Flat, and the Homer Tunnel. We were also near some of the places where Lord of the Rings was filmed.

Eglington Valley

Eglington Valley

Mirror Lakes

 We arrived at Milford Sound a little after noon and headed out about 12:15. What a sight! It was absolutely breathtaking scenery. I think stunning was the word I used. Not a cloud in the sky. Mitre Peak just stands out and has a bold presence amongst the other mountains (see pic to the right). There were several waterfalls that were huge that we got to get very close to. The tour boat is the smallest of the boats that goes out on Milford Sound and it allows the boat to get closer to the waterfalls and go out in the Tasman Ocean further and pass a lighthouse. We were on the boat for about 2 hours and spent most of it outside on the front taking in all the scenery. I took 576 pictures! It was chilly outside, but we couldn’t stay away from the outside beauty. Scott even stayed on the deck when they backed up the boat to go through waterfall. He got soaked! Oveall, a spectacular visit to Milford Sound.  We really couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day.  Enjoy pics below!

The guide from the bus had informed us about plane and helicopter rides that are available to take from Milford Sound back to Queenstown. Scott inquired about it and we decided that since we were given the most beautiful and clear day at Milford Sound that we may as well see the views from a plane. We’d actually read about these plane rides and knew they were to be something special. The bus took us to the airport and we boarded the plane along with 2 other tourists going back to Queenstown. One lady was from Millington, TN (that explained her haircut…the 80’s called and said they wanted their hairstyle back) and another lady that I didn’t get a chance to ask where she was from…because she was SLEEPING for the entire plane ride. Millington and I were appalled! How could anyone sleep when surrounded by such awe-inspiring landscapes???!!! What??? The plane ride lived up to what we’d heard and was about 40 minutes long.

Views from the plane...

Then we found the city of all cities….drum roll please….Queenstown!!! It basically took us all of 5 seconds to realize that this little town was amazing and that we want to move here asap!!! It’s why we want to be Kiwi’s! Seriously, this probably is the #1 city out of all the cities we’ve been to and we arrived on St. Patrick’s Day! Shenanigans! There were tons of pub crawls and everyone was decked out in ridiculous green attire. Though it is a bit of a touristy town there is a reason for it…its soooo cool and the scenery gorgeous. But enough about Queenstown for now. We have more to update you on, but it‘ll have to wait. From Queenstown we went up the west coast to the north. We are currently in Pohara, which is a beach town in the very north of the South Island. It’s quite a bit warmer up here and the beaches are beautiful. We leave New Zealand on Friday and fly to Sydney for some fun with the Aussie’s. We hope you enjoy the pics, especially the ones from Milford Sound. Ahhh….New Zealand is simply fantastic!

Also, big birthday wishes go out to my niece Holland, who turned 4 today!  Happy, Happy Birthday Holland. Love you!

Sunset from the bay in Queenstown