New Zealand South Island

Christchurch - Te Anau (30.1. - 10.2.18)

After checking out in Singapore, we went to a market to buy fresh fruits for our long journey to New Zealand. Everything went well until our flight, which was supposed to depart at 7:50 p.m., suddenly disappeared from the display board! Technical defect, plane broken, we need to switch to another flight. Luckily, they noticed it before we were in the air 😉. So we had to go through the whole procedure again with checks, etc. and get on a new flight. With almost 2 hours delay, we finally took off from Singapore!

In Christchurch, the checks started. We knew that New Zealanders take security very seriously, but it was surprising to us that our luggage was checked 4 times and at the end, even a dog sniffed it. But of course, everything was fine (we had disposed of our food in advance) and even our hiking shoes were clean enough 😊. We took a bus to the hotel where we checked in. In the evening, we went on a city tour and had a typical Kiwi BBQ at Fabio's place. We were invited by good friends from Switzerland. And so, our New Zealand adventure began.

On February 1st, we picked up our camper. After some final instructions and a visit to the supermarket, we headed towards Akaroa - a town about 1.5 hours away from Christchurch - where the French first settled. They thought it was Christchurch, but it turned out to be different. It was quite windy, but the weather was great and we were able to enjoy the panoramic trail and the beautiful views. When we arrived at the campsite, Ilse plunged into cooking...oh, how we missed that, being able to cook whatever we wanted! During this time, I set up our camper. Unfortunately, it started raining in the evening and it continued the next day as well! We were glad that we were on the East Coast, as the West Coast had heavy rain, floods, and road closures.

During the rain, we checked the weather forecast and decided to go back to Christchurch and then head to Geraldine. It's a charming little village with a lot of charm! For anyone stopping there, a visit to the famous cheese shop is a must. So we filled our fridge with wonderful cheese 😊.

We already knew that blue is beautiful, but the blue here is even bluer, fantastic. Lake Tekapo captivated us! The landscape is beautiful even before reaching the lake. After a few stops, we continued to the famous Mt. John, which also has a large observatory. From there, we had a magnificent view of the entire Lake Tekapo and we couldn't believe our eyes with its stunning color. Our camera also took a few more photos 😉. Our destination for the night was Lake Pukaki, which was equally stunning with its color! The sky cooperated as well, showing off its most beautiful cloudless side. So we parked our camper at a free camping spot, with a direct view of Mt. Cook - the highest mountain in New Zealand! It's hard to put into words how beautiful it was!

The road to Mt. Cook Village was also worth it. From there, you can do some hiking to viewpoints of the glaciers. Since we were not sure whether to go back to the East Coast towards Dunedin or continue to the West Coast towards Wanaka, we decided to stay in Omarama for the night. On the way there, we passed by the Clay Cliffs. We didn't know what to expect and were quite surprised by the cliffs after driving on a gravel road for about 14 km 😊. Due to the weather, we then decided to go to Wanaka. Just before the town, Mt. Iron rises, which we climbed. At the top, a magnificent view of Wanaka, Lake Wanaka, and the surrounding villages awaited us. Wanaka immediately captivated us. We just love it! Luckily, we booked two nights there. Unfortunately, in our first night, we had an unwelcome visit from mice. They kept us busy all night and the next morning, we saw that they had enjoyed our bread and pasta. After dismantling and cleaning the whole camper, they left and fortunately, didn't return (touch wood 😊). We took our mountain bikes for a leisurely ride along the lake, but it turned out to be an absolute paradise. The path was amazing, we enjoyed it to the fullest. Along the waterfront, sometimes on a gravel path, then a singletrack through the forest, passing by the beach, etc. After a few hours, we were tired but completely satisfied and overwhelmed when we arrived at the Tourist Info. Free Wi-Fi is almost nonexistent in New Zealand, which is sometimes good, but the service at the Tourist Info is great. We inquired about the weather in the next few days and if it was possible to take a helicopter flight over the fjords. There are about 200 rainy days, but it looks like the next 3-4 days will have great weather. After enjoying a hot chocolate, we made a plan and booked the helicopter flight for the next day in Te Anau.

Today is the day...my dream comes true. A helicopter flight! I can hardly wait. When booking, they said no news is good news. But 2 hours before we had to be there, we received a phone call! If we would consider doing something different after the flight...umm no...another couple had just booked a longer flight (1 hour 45 instead of our 1 hour 10) that included the Dusky Sound in addition to the Doubtful Sound. We were given a free upgrade to the longer flight if we agreed...umm...yes, of course 😉. And the anticipation and nervousness jumped up on the scale again.
How cool (sorry, couldn't find a better word 😉), just up, nose facing forward, and off into the air! What a feeling!! Charlotte flew us smoothly while telling us interesting facts about the breathtaking nature from above! And there were the fjords...green mountains, blue water winding through the landscape, and the Tasman Sea...awesome! And our luck as well, blue sky, no clouds! We made two landings where we could get out and enjoy the peace and nature! Amazing! The 1 hour 45 minutes went by too quickly, but the feeling cannot be described and I will cherish it for a long time!

Because we had a nice day, we decided to visit Milford Sound the next day. We woke up early on the 7th and left at 6 a.m. to be there before the big tour buses arrive, as it's a 120 km drive! The drive was beautiful and almost without any cars. We then boarded a relatively small boat at 9:45 a.m. for a 2-hour cruise on Milford Sound, blue sky, no clouds! A guide provided valuable information about the flora and fauna, and we saw posing seals and waterfalls. Suddenly, out of nowhere, we saw 10-15 small fountains shooting out of the water and the speaker could hardly believe it himself...dolphins! Apparently, you see them every 4 weeks or so, and it was today when they crossed our path! They came close to the boat, said hi, and continued on their way! Amazing!! Afterwards, they brought glasses filled with glacier water from the biggest waterfall. He filled the glasses by driving the boat so close to the waterfall that they were filled with water! Cool! On the way back, we took it easy and stopped a few times to walk around and take photos of this beautiful natural landscape! Back at the campsite, we met a couple from America again, whom we had seen several nights before and then they were gone as they headed to the East Coast. It's so nice and interesting to meet people and exchange tips and information with them. We had a cheese platter and a beer with the Americans! We booked two more nights at the campsite to do laundry, go hiking, and just relax for two more days! Tomorrow, we will continue to Queenstown and then head to the West Coast!!

(I hope the photos will come, the internet is bad!)