Christchurch-Akaroa (Day 10)

Akaroa, the much talked about tourist spot, 84 km by road from Christchurch. The name Akaroa was derived from Kai Tahu Maori for 'Long Harbour'. One could still see the French  touch and influence in this town as its history started way back in 1836 when the French arrived in Akaroa and established a settlement there. 

Wanaka-Christchurch (Day 9)

Today we were driving back to Christchurch via Canterbury plains. We made a few stops along the way, Wanaka > Lake Tekapo > Geraldine > Christchurch.

Total journey time from Wanaka to Christchurch is around 5 hours by car. So we left early that morning drove off to our first pit stop, ie Geraldine. We took the Inland Scenic Route 72 through to Geraldine and then Routes 79 and 8 to Lake Tekapo. We reached Christchurch about 3 p.m local time.

Wanaka (Day 8)

After 8 days of going around the South Island, travelling hundreds of metres, we decided to go somewhere close by. Where else, if not Wanaka itself. 

Wanaka offers some places of interes such as Transport & Toy Museum and Puzzling World. Puzzling World started out as just a single level maze in 1973, but over the years expanded to add overbridges to the maze design (thus creating the world's first 3-D maze), a large "puzzling café" where guests could try out several puzzles, five large rooms of optical illusions, the Leaning Tower of Wanaka (which has a backwards clock that was started on the eve of the new millennium) and other attractions (such as the Roman Bathrooms) that ascribe to their theme of "puzzling eccentricity". 

Transport & Toy Museum

There were a lot more toys and 'real' toys which would surprise you. See it for yourselves. Kids love them.

Wanaka-Jackson Bay-Haast(Day 7)

Today, sight seeing again....From Wanaka to Jackson Bay then to Haast.

We left for Jackson Bay early in the morning. See...whenever we do self trip drive, we usually leave our base really early to catch up the time, especially when we travel during late spring or winter. The day is shorter and it gets dark faster.

We went to Jackson Bay to enjoy the famous cray fish. We heard that the place is famous for fresh cray fish and we were like 'dying' to try it. But...we went there for nothing! NOTHING as in there was no cray fish, no shop and no one there EXCEPT us and some flies! We were just wondering why...were we too early or was it closed? Or we got to the wrong location?

No cray fish...no fish and chips. We just got some pictures....

Wanaka - Mount Cook (Day 6)

We would be travelling from our base in Wanaka to Mount Cook today.

From Wanaka to Mount Cook (205 km) took us about 2.5 hours by car. It was definitely a long drive along the winding road. Half of the journey was along the uphill road, full with pine trees- so green and fresh and cool and the other half through a deserted road to the Mount Cook itself where almost everything was brown and white. Drive, drive and drive until we saw the snow-capped mountain.

Te Anau-Queenstown-Wanaka (Day 5)

When we arrived the first day in Te Anau, it was already dark. The next day, we left Te Anau for Milford Sound very early in the morning and came back in the evening. It was a hectic day that I did not realise how beautiful Te Anau was. Actually beautiful is an understatement. Te Anau is really spectacular in autumn. Colourful trees painted the entire surrounding and it looked more like a painting than a real life.


Te Anau Lakeview Holiday Park

Milford Sound, Te Anau (Day 4)

This day was allocated exclusively for a cruise in Milford Sound. If you are wondering, Milford Sounds is a fiord; the grandeur of rocky slopes that rise dramatically out of the waters against a stunning backdrop of snowy peak. People come here to see this natural wonder and you need to take a cruise to do this. If you are lucky, you get to see creatures like dolphins, seals and penguin during the cruise. Unfortunately we did not see any during the cruise or perhaps it was too gloom to see any of them.

We booked this trip in advance with the holiday park operator when we did booking for the room. If I was not wrong we paid about NZD500 for the trip for all of us. The room comes in four beds with cooking facilities. The place was not great but nice and comfortable enough for us the entire family. The lacking of hot water was a bit of a challenge especially during cold weather. Anyway, we paid less than  NZD20 per person.

Wanaka - Glenorchy- Te Anau (Day 3)

Today we would be heading to Te Anau. Our prime purpose was to see the much talked about Milford Sounds. We were going to stay in Te Anau for 2 nights so we brought with us some of our rations like rice, canned food and the most important of all- rice cooker. We also planned for a picnic in Glenorchy.

It was going to be another long, hectic but exciting day for all of us. We had a lot to cover - Cardona, Lake County, Wilson Bay, Glenorchy and any place along the way that might capture our attention, we might stop for some picture taking. 

Christchurch - Wanaka (Day 2)

Filled with excitement, we headed to Christchurch ("CHC") airport. We chose not to drive from CHC to Wanaka as it would be too tiring having to drive for the entire trip, so we decided to take Jetstar to take us to Queenstown airport, the nearest airport to Wanaka. Queenstown is about an hour drive to Wanaka. The plan was: take the morning flight from CHC airport to Queenstown then drive to Wanaka, where the resort is located. Along the way we would make a few stops and enjoy New Zealand. The decision proved the wisest decision ever as we got to see the breathtaking view of the mountains and terrains especially when the aeroplane was flying low before it landed.

New Zealand Self Drive Trip, KL-Christchurch Day 1

We were planning our vacation in Tokyo for this year but since we did not manage to get the hotel that suited our budget, we decided to go on a road trip in South Island New Zealand when RCI proposed an excellent place for us. To be honest, New Zealand is not in my wishlist because I thought that there was nothing much to see except the natural beauties.

Yes, I am an avid nature lover but to travel thousands of miles away spending thousands of our hard earned money just to see the same thing the entire vacation, does it worth the money spent? One thing good about going to New Zealand,  I thought, I did not have to worry about shopping as I did not want to splash on shopping.