The Rest of New Zealand: I Did It!

A week ago I was in New Zealand; how crazy is that! Here is my last update on the final days of my New Zealand adventure.

Sunday:

Once again, another long and beautiful bus ride through New Zealand. The highlight of this leg of traveling was Lake Hawae-look how blue that water is! Upon arrival, Bekah, Katie and I immediately went to Fergburger, the local hamburger joint. Everyone recommended us trying out these kilo (2.2 pounds!) burgers. I was really craving bacon so I went for the Southern Swine burger with bacon and avocado. Yum Yum. All three of us ate our whole burger. Definitely passing on this recommendation. So if you are ever in Queenstown, New Zealand go there!

{Lake Hawae: Current desktop background}

Monday:

We actually got to sleep in on this day a.k.a. 7:30 a.m. Our excursion today was road tripping to Milford Sound, the main part of the Fiordland National Park, part of the Te Wahipounama World Heritage Area. The park is on the other side of the mountains surrounding Queenstown but in order to get there it's a five hour drive or 45 minute helicopter ride. The bus ride was quite lovely. We took a quick lunch break in the town of Te Anau. Monday was Anzac Day which is the equivalent to Veteran's Day for Australia and New Zealand. There was a parade through the streets with tanks and army jeeps, followed by veteran soldiers. It was really cool to take part in such a patriotic day.

{Anzac Day Parade in New Zealand}

As we continued on to Milford Sound, I passed a significant landmark. This wasn't something that I could take a picture of, though the bus did drive by a sign. I'm talking about the 45 degree latitude mark; I was exactly halfway between the Equator and the South Pole. Crazy to think that New Zealand which is in the middle of nowhere and pretty much at the bottom of the globe is only halfway mark.

The cruise through the Sound was gorgeous. The cliffs were so tall and steep. The sound stretches 16 km before it opens in to the Tasman Sea. One of the mountains on its shore is Mt. Kimberley, rising to a height of 1302 meters. This rock formation is also known as Lion Mountain because it resembles a crouching lion.

 

{Kim & Mt. Kimberley}

Tuesday:

Today I willingly jumped off a bridge with only a rope tied to my feet. The Kawarau Bridge jump was the first commercial bungy jump in the whole entire world. It's 43 m above a beautiful river; some people even get dunked in the water if they want. Maybe in the summer when it's not 15 degrees.


Note to any future bungy jumpers: Don't jump feet first like I did. #whipslash

I jumped with AJ Hackett, the #1 bungy company in the world. They have a saying afterwards that is 'I did it!' I was so nervous and the last of Katie and Bekah to go. It was so freezing. They weight you before you jump to make sure the ropes are adjusted properly. I took my coat off because I didn't want to chance getting it wet. When I was getting strapped in, the guy told me to spit out my gum. I wasn't chewing gum; my teeth were chattering so hard from the cold. As I neared the edge I said they weren't going to have any problem with me heistating. I wanted to get the jump over with so I could get warmed up inside.

{Ahhhh I did it!}

To reward ourselves for our bravery, Katie, Bekah and I made a stop at Cookietime for some fresh-out-of-the-oven chocolate chip cookies and milk. Yummmm.

The day ended with a gandala ride to the lookout mountain.  We did a little luge ride while we were up there. We had to do the beginner hill since it was our first time but it was really steep. Plus I got passed up by parents and their small kids on their laps. Umm how safe is that?!

{Mountains & Friends}

The views of the city were amazing. We stayed till dusk so we could get the city of Queenstown all lit up. Such a lovely way to end an amazing stay in the adventure capital of New Zealand.

{Queenstown at twilight}

Wednesday:

The mist hangs above the water as the bus drives past Lake Wakatipu. The first rays of daylight filter through the peaks of the Remarkables, the mountain range that frames the city. These are my last views as we leave Queenstown behind us and head north to Tekapo.

The town of Tekapo (pronounced TECH-ah-poh) sits on a beautiful lake outlined with mountains. We arrived around noon and had a nice Thai lunch overlooking the milky blue lake. A major point of interest for staying the night in this town was that Tekapo has one of the darkest skies in the world. The stars at night are at their brightest due to the lack of sky pollution and city lighting.

{Panoramic of Lake Techapo}

On a nearby mountaintop is an observatory that we hiked up to during the day. The hike was super steep but the beautiful panoramic view of the city and lake was well worth it. That night, we ventured out into the cold night to stargaze. The sky was littered with millions of brilliant dots; the Milky Way was clearly visible. Makes you think about how small Earth really is.

{Via Google Images}

Christchurch:

This is the city we flew in and out of. Unfortunately due to the earthquake, New Zealand's largest South Island city was basically out of commission. On the way to NZ, I sat next to a girl who had to go to uni in Adelaide because her school had been destroyed by the earthquake. She showed me a picture of her standing in one of the cracks by her house; she was up to her waist. That just brings how lucky I am into perceptive.

{Sitting, Waiting, Wishing}

Want to see more pictures from my time in New Zealand? Visit my Picasa Web Album for all things Sweet As.

Cheers for now,

Kim

{Hostel Review: The place to stay in Queenstown is hands down Nomads. Located right in the city and basically brand new, this hostel is as five star as they get. Due to a booking error on hostelworld.com, we got upgraded to a private suite which was so nice since we were staying there for three night. There was an activity every night and they make you dinner. If you book through their travel desk make sure to ask for your free jug of beer coupon from World Bar. Overall I could stay there forever. Haha.}