Part 2, Week 2: January 28 - February 3
- Katie & Webster
- Feb 2, 2019
- 6 min read
This week has flown by! We have been busy seeing as much of New Zealand as we can.
On Monday, we checked out of our AirBnB at 10am and headed towards Mount Aspiring for a scenic drive. We were both really tired from our hike on Sunday so we thought it would be a good way to see more of Wanaka. We took our rental car into the middle of nowhere, over fjords, past herds of sheep, glaciers, and finally into the valley between mountains. It was a beautiful drive!
After our drive we drove back into town to get lunch at the grocery store. We picked up something quick and then started to head back into Queenstown. On our drive out of town, we stopped at the Wanaka Lavender Farm. As soon as we got out of the car, all we could smell was lavender! There was purple everywhere. We spent some time exploring the farm, smelling the lavender, and testing some fresh honey! It was a beautiful spot, a great way to end our time in Wanaka.
Then, Webster drove back to Queenstown. Again, on the other side of the road! When we arrived in Queenstown, we relaxed at our AirBnB for the evening. We had some work to do for school in Sydney, so we got that taken care of.
On Tuesday we did all the touristy things in Queenstown. We started our day with a water taxi ride into the city. It was much cheaper to stay on the peninsula opposite Queenstown. The water taxi was a great alternative to the bus that had to go all the way around the lake. When we arrived in Queenstown we headed for the Skyline Gondola. We travelled 450 meters above Queenstown to the top of a mountain peak overlooking the city. It was like a city on top of the mountain! The gondola brought you up to a conference centre, restaurant, stores, and adrenaline activities (bungee jumping, paragliding and luging). We spent some time looking out over the city and then Webster went for a luge. He boarded a chair lift up even higher on the mountain, and then came all the way down on a toboggan thing - he really enjoyed it!
Then, we headed to Queenstown’s famous Fergburger for lunch. We had read about how long the lines are for a burger, but thankfully we only waited 20 minutes to order. Fergburger is a little hole in the wall burger place that serves take out to locals and tourists. We thought the burgers were delicious, but not the best we have ever had.
It was a beautiful afternoon so we spent some time wandering around the little town in and out of some shops. At 3pm, we headed to the harbour for a boat cruise. We got a really good deal, and were excited to get some time out on the water on such a beautiful day. Our cruise took us up and down the lake past some glaciers, mountains, and even to a remote farm to drop off supplies. It was great!
When we came back to our AirBnB, we found our bags full of ants. Our AirBnB hosts were nice enough to clean them out with a vacuum and bug spray for us but we didn’t feel comfortable staying somewhere that had a bug issue. We ended up moving up the road to the nearest hotel, the Hilton Queenstown. We cannot say enough good things about this hotel. When we arrived, they priced matched the deal I found online and upgraded us to a two bedroom suite with a full kitchen, two bathrooms and a walk out, lakefront patio. Even though we moved out of an AirBnB which was a much cheaper option, we really lucked out with the great service we got at the Hilton. We ended our night with a quick swim in the pool.
On Wednesday, we woke up bright and early to head to Milford Sound. Milford is the busiest tourist spot in New Zealand. On the day we went, there were more than 80 coach busses bringing people in from Queenstown. Milford Sound is only a 30 minute helicopter ride from Queenstown but because it is surrounded by mountains (some up to 1 mile tall), we had to drive 4 hours each way to get there. Our tour started at 8am, and we arrived in Milford Sound at 1pm for our lake cruise after a few picture stops. We cannot describe how beautiful it was. Sadly we had a really cloudy and rainy day but the mountains and waterfalls were still very visible. The water was clear and as smooth as glass. During our cruise, Webster went into a waterfall, not once, but two times! He was soaked for the bus ride home, but it was so worth it! The fresh water had never been touched by humans before, it had just melted off a glacier. If we ever come back to New Zealand, Milford Sound will be on our list again for sure. We got back into the city at about 7pm, just in time to make some dinner and have a quick swim before bed.
On Thursday, Webster spent the morning white water rafting. He drove about one hour outside the city through Skippers Canyon where there were very high cliff edges. At one point, the vans had to put one tire off the road to make it around a tight corner! Talk about adrenaline rush! Then they rafted 16km down the Shotover River, over rocks, and through tunnels. He had a great time but sadly didn’t get any pictures of his experience. I spent the morning at the spa in our hotel relaxing. Most of the activities in Queenstown are very adrenaline fuelled, so I was happy doing the opposite and spending the morning at the spa. I had a massage, facial and hair treatment - it was wonderful!
In the afternoon, we headed into town for lunch at the Ferg Bakery. We were missing London this week so I had a sausage roll and Webster had a steak and cheese pie. We spent our evening at the pool enjoying ourselves at the hotel. We watched the sunset for one last time in Queenstown on the waterfront.
Friday was a long travel day for us. We left Queenstown at 10am for a flight to Christchurch. Once we arrived in town, we got a rental car and headed to Akaroa, a small cruise port on the East coast about 70km from Christchurch. We checked into our AirBnB and spent the evening relaxing, catching up on our Netflix shows and getting a head start on the blog.
On Saturday morning, we woke up bright and early to head to the pier. We got suited up in wetsuits, boarded a Black Cat Cruise, and went out to the ocean in search of dolphins. We first spotted dolphins about 10 minutes into our boat ride. As soon as they found a pod of 5, they turned off the boat, and we jumped in! I was really nervous going into the water but they were really helpful with giving tips, instructions and providing help where they could. Webster went in first, and then I followed in. We didn’t even have to swim, the salt water and wetsuits made it easy to float. The air was about 15 and the water was even colder, at about 12 degrees…we were freezing! Within a few minutes, the dolphins were swimming all around us. We spread out in the water and they were swimming between the group, showing off. It was so cool to have dolphins within arms reach. We stayed out in the water for about 3 hours before heading back to the pier.
After our swim, we spent some time wandering around town. Webster had fresh fish for lunch, as we ate on the waterfront. We spent the rest of the day relaxing, having a nap, and enjoying a picnic dinner by the lighthouse.
On Sunday we woke up early to get back into Christchurch. Webster got us back safe and sound, on the left side of the road! We took the scenic route up and over a mountain on our way back into the city. We spent most of our day at the Orana Wildlife Sanctuary. It was a 1 square kilometre park with tons of animals. We spent the morning looking at NZ Kea birds, reptiles, tigers, zebra, and even feeding a giraffe!
The highlight of our trip at the Wildlife Park was our Lion Encounter. We climbed into a cage on the back of a truck and were driven into the lion enclosure. Our guides had tons of meat that they used to attract the lions. As soon as we went into the enclosure, the lions jumped up on the cages and even climbed on the roof! They were feeding within arms reach. When the food supply was getting low, the lions got a little angry and kept roaring - it was so cool! When we were ready to leave the enclosure, the guides dropped bones to bait the lions to stay away from the doors. It didn’t work too well but we managed to leave without any lions trailing behind us. It was such a unique experience, something we couldn’t do anywhere else.
After our lion encounter, we headed to our new AirBnB in Christchurch. We spent the evening enjoying our space, swimming in the pool and making dinner. It was nice to have a quiet night after our busy week.
This week we are saying goodbye to New Zealand and heading up to Australia; stay tuned!
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