New Zealand; Christchurch to Queenstown.

So after we met up in Auckland we immediately boarded a plane to Christchurch to pick up our camper the following day.

Needless to say it was a bit colder than Australia and straight after picking up the camper we headed to buy some warm clothes!! Our first two days were spent in the Christchurch area. We started with the botanical gardens and the Canterbury museum. From here we headed into the town centre which was an interesting site.  After the disastrous earthquake in 2011 most of the CBD is still cornered off! The Re:Start mall is a collection of boutique and main stream shops setup in shipping containers, creating a nice vibrant area. However 50 metres down the road the earthquake destruction is evident. We decided to visit the Quake City museum which details Canterbury's seismic history and its effect on the residents.

From here we headed up to the Gondola, which provided panoramic views of the greater Christchurch area. Our final day in Christchurch saw us visit a rather chilly beach and pier, then on to Willowbank Wildlife Reserve. Here we saw a range of native animals as well as getting to feed the farmyard animals! We even got a glimpse of the nocturnal flightless bird; the Kiwi!

After Christchurch we headed to Kaikoura, where we celebrated Ems birthday. We started by going on a Whale watching tour. On this we were lucky enough to see 3 sperm whales, a pod of dusky dolphins, seals and albatrosses. After indulging in some seafood for lunch, we drove up to Oahu Seal colony where we got to see hundreds of baby seal pups playing underneath a waterfall. Then we headed inland to Hanmer springs and relaxed in the thermal pools under the stars.

We started the next day as we finished the last, in the thermal pools. After drying off we headed back down south to Akaroa, a volcanic crater which is now houses a cute little French harbour town. The drive there was rather windy but provided great views of the various bays.

 After taking in the views and buying fudge and cheese we moved on to Lake Tekapo. Here we climbed to the summit of Mount John, which gave us a great view of Lake Tekapo and the surrounding area.

From here we drove on to Mount Cook National Park, past Lake Pukaki and the salmon farm, where we stopped to take some awesome photos of Mount Cook reflected in the lake!

On arrival to the national park we set up camp early in preparation for the next days walk. We started with a couple of walks around Tasman Glacier, which is the largest glacier in New Zealand. This included a trip to the glacial lake which is full of icebergs! We followed this up with a walk to Kea Point, giving us views of the Mueller Glacier valley and Mount Cook; if it hadn't been shrouded in cloud. We finished with the longest of our walks in the Hooker valley, which led us to the Hooker glacier and glacial lake. We finished the evening  by watching a couple of movies in the Sir Edmund Hillary Centre. 

The following morning we had planned on doing a tramp to a 1200m summit, but unfortunately we were greeted with clouds only 50m off the ground and some serious rain! Instead we headed back to the Sir Edmund Hillary Centre to watch a rather interesting video on his quest to conquer Everest. That afternoon we headed to Dunedin where we caught a film in the city centre. 

As it turns out there is very little to do in Dubedin. After a quick walk around the city centre and a stop at Baldwin St, the worlds steepest residential street, we headed down the Southern Scenic Route to Invercargill. Our first stops were Nugget Point and Roaring Bay, where we were lucky enough to see the yellow eyed penguin, before we managed to save one from being run over. Other stops along the way included; Purakaunui falls, Matai falls, Florence Hill lookout, Lake Wilkie, McLean Falls and Slope Point.

From Invercargill, we headed up to Te Anau, where our Fiordland adventure began! Along the highway to Milford Sound we made various stops and did a number of short walks at the following locations; Te Anau Downs, McKay Creek, Mirror Lakes, Cascade Creek, Humboldt Falls, Lake Marian, Pops View and Monkey Creek. After finally reaching Milford we decided to take a two hour boat cruise round the Fjord. This was amazing and the scenery was stunning!! After a quick dash up the mountain to pass through the tunnel before it closed for two weeks we headed on for Queenstown, where our next blog will kick off!

Take care 

X x x