.Kiwi Land. Meh-Meh Land.

Look at the picture. They are not only clouds, but the peak of alps in the air.

Going to Nz wasn't expected. I've always heard Sean talking about it since last year, so when he mentioned it again in April, I thought nothing of it until we started booking the tickets.

We arrived at Christchurch, and traveled south.

The road trips were all very beautiful, from icy alps to grassy mountains. Sheeps, cows, deers were seen scattered all over the mountains and plains, and the views were never boring. Compared to my trip down through WA from Perth, this trip was really good.

Century Old Cash Register at a Maori Shop

"Steps to Heaven"

Same Sign, Different coloured Leaves

City Trams in CC

Exterior of Christchurch Cathedral

Beautiful Interiors

This is special.
Kids are found inside the tree climbing its branches!Inside of the Pine Tree

Greymouth

Huge Icy Alps along the way towards Greymouth.

Upon reaching, we had to settle quickly into a motel and dinner was KFC. The town was so quiet that we didn't bother to explore too much but to have a quick bite. One should check out the Pancake Rocks at Punakaiki. We missed it and it's a pity.

Shanty Town - Town of Old Gold
Just very near outside its town, we checked out Shanty Town - an old town which started as a gold mining town. The town has been converted into a tourist's attraction, with many old shops now defunct.

The 'sure win' gold panning was fun, but it took a lot of patience to get the gold out!

Old Chinese Town

Steam Train that took us to gold panning!


Washing out these stones and sands for that little Gold

Found Gold!

Packed as Souvenir

Boots for sale!

Banking Hall in Olden Style

Along the roads to Fox Glacier, we stopped at this little club and found several of such pretty smurf toodstools and stopped by a salmon farm for a short rest.

Cute Smurf-like toodstools along the way.

Very nice Date Scones which I want to learn to bake!
Bought it from a cafe along our way to Fox Glacier.

Before we arrive at Fox Glacier, we stopped at Hokitika Town to see their Jade jewellery. Not very impressive though, having seen the Myanmar A Grade jades. However, we did buy some nice stones as souvenirs for friends.

New Zealand Jade, picture taken at CC Museum
They say it's a lucky money stone!

Jade Factory

Stones
Those without paints are those I picked up from one of the lakes.

All else - bought from the stone painter. Quite good money aye.

Fox Glacier
We traveled further south along the west coast and passed through several small towns and Franz Josef - one with nice alps. We settled at Fox Glacier, but didn't opt for the heli-ride ( I must say I was quite disappointed, but the sacrifice was worth it when I saw how beautiful Lake Matheson was). I'd wanted a heli-ride where we can get down to walk and explore the glaciers. I'd suppose it would be a great experience sitting in a helicopter and enjoying the snowy caps on the mountains.

Fox Glacier Lodge - a nice motel with a great homely feel. Unlike most motels where amenities are inside the unit itself - this one has a common kitchen which gives you the opportunity to meet other travellers. We had a lengthy conversation with one old couple from Switzerland into the night!

Lake Matheson
I almost missed this piece of heaven if we hadn't spoken to the Swiss couple. The path to the lake is magnificent and definitely not your typical MacRitchie Reservoir.

The plants and trees were all so magical, with a fairytale feel everywhere we went. (Pardon my photography skills. I tried very hard to capture the feel but didn't do quite right. Maybe I needed a pair of wings.)

Path towards Lake Matheson

When we reached Lake Matheson, we were just so dumbfounded.

Lake Matheson

More nice scenaries along our road trips towards Queenstown.

Queenstown
A hot spot indeed! Houses are perched on the hills, facing the wonderful lake. Apparently the Japanese loves visiting Queenstown during its winter period for skiing activities. Although there was little snow when we were there but it was really cold!

Queenstown

Frozen milk

The accommodations are more expensive in Queenstown. We guess it's because it's cheaper to buy a place as a holiday home or rent, since most stay for quite a period here, than to book into a hotel or motel.

Our Motel - Full Facilities

Lots of houses are being built and for sale. And trust me, they aren't expensive!

We took the gondola up the top of the mountain for a good view of Queenstown. The top is a common spot for para-gliders. We had the chance to witness how they prepare for one. At that moment, I very much wanted to experience the feeling of gliding through the air and landing in the city centre. But my guts took the better of me.

View taken from Gondola - Queenstown

Para Gliding!

This brings people up to take sort of cart to go down part of the mountain

Shows the direction towards the relevant country and its distance!

Shopping was good in comparison, where we bought leather jackets and Merino cardigans. We also booked the Milford Sound Tour for Day 3 in Queenstown, for a fly-and-cruise experience into the valleys.

The cap is hand knitted by a Jap lady. All else Merinos.

Day 3 was disappointing! We called up the tour agency and was told weather was bad in Milford Sound and so the tour was cancelled. We had woke up early to get ready, only to be disappointed. And so we cancelled for the 3rd night's stay, went back for a refund, and was on our way to Arrow Town.

Way to Arrow Town, we stopped by a winery. Sean bought wine, I surveyed the lovely place.

Pine Tree used for fire place

Arrow Town
Arrow Town is very near to Queenstown. Like Shanty Town, it is an old touristy town, and boomed because of its gold mining activities.

Arrowtown

Arrow River - Where Gold was (is) found.

We tried our luck again.

It is the place I fell in love with a nice leather jacket (which I didn't buy because everything was so rush, unfortunately!), saw Ugg Boots and bought a pair of Golden Nugget earrings. Golden nuggets are their genuine original condition gold panned directly from the Arrow River!

Golden Nuggets Earrings
The Japanese Maple Leave Brooch in 24K Gold
was bought from Queenstown earlier.

Trip to Mount Cook was equally pleasant. We stopped at an Orchard, bought crunchy sweet apples and fresh homemade jam. We even had the chance to see herds of sheep crossing the road with the shepherd dogs chasing. I tell you, THEY ARE CUTE!

More scenic views

Sheeps Crossing

Mount Cook
There's so much hype about Mount Cook! Visitors usually stay 6 days in a row for hiking at Mt Cook. It's a small village by itself, no other amenities around except for the motels and hotel situated at the foot of the Mountain.

We almost couldn't get accommodation as the hotel was fully booked (note there is only ONE hotel - The Hermitage). We were lucky and got a Fox Glacier Lodge lookalike at Mount Cook Lodge. Shared kitchen, and TV Lounge with a real fire place. It was really cosy. Other guests were also busy preparing their meals there and the general atmosphere was really cosy and homely.

Frankly, I can't differentiate which Mount is whichFire Place at Mt Cook Lodge

Sean brought me out star gazing and it's my first time in my life seeing the milky way and the shiny stars and was so impressed! Too bad I didn't bring my camera, and I doubt my 7.3mpxl Sony Cybershot would do justice to the stars, or any at all!

The following morning was a quick breakfast and back to Christchurch.

Back to Christchurch
We were back after our road trip to Christchurch. We stayed in Metropolitan Motel as our original motel was full. Mind you! It's so nice and new that we changed our mind returning to Athena the next day. The Motel owner was really aggressive! He came to us and offered to bring our luggage back to Athena and we were sort of 'forced' to return one-grade down.

(Ed: No more Athena please! If you are in CC, motel is a good alternative. There are lots of motels along Riccarton, where there are lots of shops and restaurants. Go for Metropolitan Motel!).

Mobile German Sausages

And so the next day had us rushing down, leaving our luggage to the Athena owner, and followed the rest of the guests to visit 2 wineries and had our lunch there.

Largest winery in New Zealand (I think)

Afternoon was when Sean met up another Aussie friend, while I shopped at Frogmore (it's just next to their Casino) and bought all things beautiful.

Don't ask me why I bought this.

I just felt that it was the right thing for my new home.

All others beautiful

The next day in Christchurch was a lazy day, where we woke up late and shopped in town centre. I bought this pair of lovely boots on sale after an overnight deliberation.


And so, bye bye, Kiwi Land. Till the next trip I return, I'd want to shed the meh-meh sheeps and pluck those crunchy apples direct at the orchard farms!

Manuka Honey and More Honey!