New Zealand: Part 3 of 3

Catch up with my New Zealand travels with Parts 1 and 2!

This is it, guys: the home stretch of New Zealand picture-heavy posts! Sorry to have been clogging your feeds with these posts. (And THANKS to those who've looked and commented and encouraged me to keep on sharing my travels with y'all.)

Day 17: TranzAlpine Train, Greymouth

Today we woke up bright and early for a train ride through the heart of the Southern Alps to get to the west coast of the South Island! The TranzAlpine is ranked among the most beautiful train rides in the world, and pictures don't do it justice, but I hope you can sort of see why:

Three hours later, we arrived at our destination, the mining town of Greymouth on the West Coast.

Me, overlooking some land just east of coastal Greymouth.

Day 18: Franz Josef Glacier

The next day, we traveled down to our next stop: Franz Josef Glacier, the most visited glacier in New Zealand. A view of the glacial valley from a high vantage point:

Sadly, global warming has reduced the size of the glacier to the smallest it's ever been:

But my favorite place at Franz Josef was Peter's Pool, a quaint little place a short walk off the main trail, where the still water perfectly reflects the glacier and surrounding mountains. We got there in the late afternoon, when the light was at its nicest:

Hah! You thought you'd finally see a picture of the boy? Sorry; there are students reading this blog. So I put a smirky face there instead. *smirks*

Day 19: Wanaka

Wanaka, Wanaka, Wanaka. The boy and I composed songs (some of which were to the tune of Adam Sandler's "Chanukah Song"...) to honor this gorgeous and relaxed up-and-coming lakeside town that was probably our favorite stop on our trip.

We decided to forego hikes in favor of playing by the lakeside for the whole afternoon, ending the day with gourmet pizza and a gorgeous sunset:

I could've spent days here, and on one of those extra days would've tried out skydiving, which in this region is considered especially beautiful. So yeah, talk about perfection.

Day 20: Queenstown

It was with reluctance that we boarded the bus the next day. But we had a schedule to keep and several more stops to make... such as the first commercial bungy site in the world--A. J. Hackett Bungy, off the historic, restored Kawarau Bridge over the Kawarau River. Is that truly the color of the river?

Yes. Yes, it is.

I didn't go bungying because it was so prohibitively expensive there, but it's definitely near the top of my bucket list, so one day... one day...

We arrived in Queenstown, the adventure capital of NZ, in the early afternoon. The hostel was situated right at the edge of Lake Wakatipu, facing the Remarkables mountain range:

Remarkables is right. A view of Queenstown from the viewing platform at the top of the cable car ride.

Day 21: Milford Sound

This day trip to Fiordland National Park and Milford Sound was loooong (13 hours total: 5 hours driving each way, a two-hour cruise in the Sound--geologically, it's technically a fiord; the early English explorers got it wrong--an hour built in for photo + bathroom stops, etc.), but so worth it. Even the very drive there was an unforgettable experience in itself:

In fact, I may have enjoyed the ride to Milford Sound more than I did Milford Sound itself--though I certainly didn't complain about getting to see them all!

This is the first view of Milford Sound I got, right as our bus turned the corner.

That's the boat we took for the two-hour boat ride. Dead center is Mitre Peak, the most photographed peak in Milford Sound, and the most distinctive.

Day 22: Lake Tekapo

There are no words to describe this place. A hike up Mt John offered these views:

Nighttime around Lake Tekapo was equally stunning, first a sunset that lit the mountains and skies in colors of fire, and then a nearly flawless view of the Milky Way and a zillion stars at night.

-

Lake Tekapo was our last new stop on our trip. We arrived back in Christchurch the next day, and spent a final day there before flying back. My whole time in New Zealand was just one of those nearly perfect trips, and exactly my kind of place. Extraordinary views, few people, cool weather, lots of nature opportunities. I would go back in a heartbeat. If you ever want to go, just call me up.

Sighhh.

New Zealand: Part 2 of 3

Catch up on my New Zealand adventures in Part 1!

Days 10-12: Lake Taupo, Waitomo Caves, National Park

A couple of whirlwind days up ahead. First stop: Lake Taupo, New Zealand's largest lake, larger than the entire country of Singapore. But what I really enjoyed about my time here was this:

A natural hot springs area: hot water bubbling out of the ground, flowing over rocks in short waterfalls, and mixing pleasantly with the cold river water!

The Waitomo Caves themselves were nothing to write home about (look, it's a cave, you can find similar in many other places in the world, for much less money), but the surrounding area?

Damnnn.

And this was the view from my National Park hostel (LOTR fans should get a kick out of this):

Why, hello there, Mt Ngauruhoe, aka the single-vent volcano that was Mt Doom in the movies.

The boy and I wanted to do the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, which some people say is the best day hike in all of NZ. Unfortunately, the one stormy day we had in NZ occurred on the day of the hike. Park Services closed off the mountain, and so we spent the day indoors, alternately watching the Super Bowl (what was up with that power outage?) and the wind dipping saplings like dance partners.

Days 13-14: Wellington

Kiwi cities are astonishingly lovely, laid-back, and walkable places to be. "Windy Welly" deserves its reputation--the afternoon we arrived in the city, the wind was so typically strong that our backpacker bus was rocking all over the place--but on the second day, the wind died down, revealing crystal-clear skies and water, and a whole city full of people ready to relax in the summer weather.

An art sculpture I really loved, positioned on the edge of the walk around the harbor.

The view of Wellington and Wellington Harbor from the top of Welly's well-known cable car ride.

Day 15: Interislander Ferry, Coastal Pacific Train

Goodbye, North Island! Early this morning we boarded the Interislander Ferry to go between NZ's two islands. The ferry is like a stripped-down cruise ship that makes numerous three-hour trips across the Cook Strait and takes you through the Marlborough Sounds so that you can see sights like this:

After a quick break in Picton, it was all aboard the Coastal Pacific Train, a scenic five-hour ride down the spectacular east coast of the South Island. If you thought the North Island was rural, the South Island is a whole other story. There are more people living on in the Auckland region (on the North Island) than in the entirety of the South Island. It makes for lots of scenic vistas, where one can imagine the place untouched by human hand:

Look at them sheep running away from the train!

Day 16: Christchurch

The train dropped us off in Christchurch, traditionally the most English of NZ cities--until the 2010-2011 earthquakes, of course. You may have heard of the particularly devastating one that occurred in February 2011. The succession of earthquakes had a permanent impact on the city's appearance: approximately a quarter of the city's buildings were damaged or condemned as a result. Now, the CBD is still cordoned off, with familiar structures like the Christ Church Cathedral possibly never to return to their former glory. Even out in the suburbs, you see empty lots on every street, the final bit of evidence that a house used to stand there until it was deemed not earthquake-worthy.

The once-bustling Arts Centre is now entirely cordoned off as they try to save what's left of the beautiful architecture.

However, this rebuilding also gives Christchurch the chance to redefine itself and put itself at the forefront of 21st-century urban design. The Re:START Mall, for instance, is the most happening place in the city center, and consists of shops and cafes made entirely of old shipping containers:

Nevertheless, some parts of Christchurch are still as stunning as ever, notably the Christchurch Botanic Gardens, where the classic Christchurch activity of "punting on the Avon" still occurs amid green beauty:

And Part 2 wraps up here for now. Deep breath as we remember to breathe and I work on the final part about my NZ trip!

New Zealand: Part 1 of 3

Well, I tried putting off writing these posts for several weeks because once I write these I'll feel like there's nothing left of my New Zealand trip... and it was heavenly. I'd take nature over people any day, and NZ is basically paradise for that: with a population of about 4 million and plenty of land where there's not a soul in sight.

Days 1-3: Auckland

The trip started in Auckland, NZ's largest city--so, like, a million people. Highlights here were a boat trip in Auckland Harbor and a 16km walk that took us from the CBD into the outermost outskirts of Auckland:

Auckland city line, featuring the Sky Tower

Traditionally, Kiwis bought quarter-acre lots to build their own home. This resulted in Auckland's spread-out appearance.

One Tree Hill... and sheep.

The North Island lies atop a volcanic field, and traces of ancient volcanic activity are everywhere in Auckland, such as in this perfectly circular crater on Mt Eden:

Days 4-6: Northland

Next stop: Northland, the peninsula north of Auckland, where we rolled past gloriously pastoral scenery:

Hi, cow!

Most people come to the Northland for a handful of sights: Cape Reinga, the northernmost accessible tip of New Zealand and a place of great spiritual importance for the Maori people--

And the Bay of Islands--

We got so lucky on our Bay of Islands boat ride: it just so happened that a family of orca whales (aka killer whales!) was feeding there that day--they only come about once every 7-8 weeks--and we saw them breaching up close, right by the side of our boat! We also thought we wouldn't be able to see any dolphins on our trip, since they tend to hide when the killer whales are around, but right at the end of the ride, a school of dolphins came swimming and jumping and leaping our way, dancing right in front of the boat for all to see. I was giddy with child-like joy!

Days 7-8: Coromandel Peninsula

Next stop after Northland: Coromandel Peninsula, on the northeastern side of the North Island, for a few days of the relaxing beach life.

Random pic taken from a stop along the road. I just... no words...

This is Cathedral Cove, a giant, naturally-carved passage with brilliant acoustics and a beach on either end.

Day 9: Rotorua

I already feel like I've posted too many pictures in one blog post, but in an effort to keep my NZ blog post series to three (the limit I set for myself), here are just a couple more, from our next stop, Rotorua, where the two biggest features are 1) geothermal activity and 2) an extremely polished and professional Maori performance and dinner. In lieu of not-very-exciting pictures of geothermal activity (really, they're nothing to write home about), I give you two videos.

The first is the performance right at the beginning of the evening, as we (the visitors) are asking for permission to enter the Maori village, and the Maori warriors are doing their best to intimidate us:

The second is of one of the lovely Maori song-and-dances that the performers put on:


That's all for now! Tune back in soon for posts on the rest of my trip in New Zealand.