Jamie: New Zealand

Showing posts with label New Zealand. Show all posts

Thursday, August 28, 2014

New Zealand - North Island to South Island Road Trip Itinerary

New Zealand is one of the most beautiful countries I have ever visited. It seems to have almost everything.. I would want to see and do...

Volcanoes, Mountains, Lakes, Beaches, Glaciers, Hot Springs, Mud Pools, Wineries, Cafes, Dolphins, Whales, Cable Cars, Helicopter Rides, Paragliding, Bungee Jumping (for Sherick)... and lots of delicious Steak!

...No wonder the Hobbits chose to live there! ;)

We visited during Summer in February, and it was sunny and cool, with occasional raindrops. All the accommodations we booked had free parking available.

I have already written about Wanaka and Picton (The Mailboat Cruise) in my previous posts. I will try to write about the rest of the places in my future posts. In the meantime, here is the itinerary I am very happy to share! :)

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North Island

Day 1 - Auckland

Car Rental - Collect from Auckland Airport - Apex Car Rental New Zealand

Accommodation - Sai Motels - 1 Night

Day 2 - Auckland to Rotorua - 3 Hours

Accommodation - Astray Motel and Backpackers - 1 Night

Day 3 - Rotorua to Taupo - 1 Hour

Accommodation - Blackcurrant Backpackers - 1 Night

Day 4 - Taupo to Wellington - 5 Hours

Accommodation - I would not recommend the place we stayed at - 1 Night

South Island

Day 5 - Wellington to Picton - 3.5 Hours

Ferry - Cross the Cook Strait - Together with the Car - Interislander Ferry

Accommodation - Tombstone Backpackers - 1 Night

Day 6 - Picton to Punakaiki - 4 Hours

Accommodation - Bluewaves Homestay - 1 Night

Day 7 - Punakaiki to Franz Josef - 3 Hours

Accommodation - Perivale Farm Cottage - 2 Nights

Day 8 - Franz Josef

Accommodation - Perivale Farm Cottage - 2 Nights

Day 9 - Franz Josef to Wanaka - 3.5 Hours

Accommodation - Wanaka Bakpaka - 2 Nights

Day 10 - Wanaka

Accommodation - Wanaka Bakpaka - 2 Nights

Day 11 - Wanaka to Queenstown - 1 Hour

Accommodation - No. 70 Studio Accommodation - 3 Nights

Day 12 - Queenstown

Accommodation - No. 70 Studio Accommodation - 3 Nights

Day 13 - Queenstown

Accommodation - No. 70 Studio Accommodation - 3 Nights

Day 14 - Queenstown to Christchurch - 6 Hours

Accommodation - Aalton Motel - 2 Nights

Day 15 - Christchurch

Accommodation - Aalton Motel - 2 Nights

Day 16 - Christchurch

Car Rental - Return at Christchurch Airport - Apex Car Rental New Zealand

Enjoy planning your trip guys! :)

Also check out: The Mailboat Cruise in Picton, Beautiful Wanaka and Tasmania, Australia Itinerary

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References:

Our Budget for 16 Days for 2 Persons sharing the Car and Room
Plane Fare from Singapore - NZD 1,000 x 2 = NZD 2,000
Car Rental and Gas - NZD 1,500
Accommodations - NZD 1,500
Food - NZD 800
Activities - NZD 1,400
(Doubtful Sound Tour, Lord of the Rings Tour, The Mailboat Cruise, Bungee Jump for 1 Person, Glacier Walk for 1 person, and other entrance fees, Excluding Helicopter Ride and Photo Shoot)
Total for 2 Persons = NZD 7,200 / USD 6,000

Accommodations - Please click on the Hotel Names to visit the website
Ferry - www.interislander.co.nz

Car Rental - www.apexrentals.co.nz

Thursday, August 21, 2014

Wanaka, New Zealand

Let me show you this place I never knew existed, and am really glad I discovered.

Wanaka, South Island, New Zealand.

Surrounded by mountains and situated at the southern end of Lake Wanaka, this town of at least 7,000 people.. only.. almost made us decide to migrate to this paradise.

It is 1.25 hours away from Queenstown, but we drove from Franz Josef Glacier which is 3.5 hours away.

Passing by Lake Hawea.. what a beauty!

Almost there, and a rainbow says hello :)

We're here!

Let's have some fun for a short while at Stuart Landsborough's Puzzling World.

These old men could not take their eyes off me!

(It doesn't show properly in the picture though.)

At the Hall of Following Faces.

Nature calls.. Taking a dump with the guys.. haha! ;)

At the Roman-Style Toilets.

Time to get lost.. but please do not enter this labyrinth if you have limited time. The achiever in you will just get stressed ;)

At the The Great Maze.

And now.. my dream paradise awaits.

Lake Wanaka and the Southern Alps.

Yes, this is the town.

Don't you just envy those two? Lying on the sand.. Reading a book..

Waiting for this sunset!

Ok.. the tree blocked my sun.. but it is there, you can see right?! :)

Twilight.. How darkness can be so beautiful!

Good morning!

When we were on our way to Wanaka through the Haast Pass, we passed by a sign that says

"To Blue Pools"

We did not know what it was, so we didn't stop. When we got to the hostel, we googled pictures of it, and knew we had to go back the next day.

Only a 30 minute drive away.. and here I am, trying to be one with them.. whoever piled up all these rocks :)

The glacier-fed icy cold water in these pools has a distinctive blue colour.

It is so clear that the swimming trouts look like they are suspended in the air.

The Blue Pools.

Lesson learned - If there's a sign, just stop! Check it out, and have no regrets!

Now let's go back to town.

Gosh, it's really so pretty!

Time to have a movie date at their classic Cinema Paradiso.

Where you can choose to sit on.. a car seat inside that yellow car, a lounge chair, a couch, an airplane chair... and eat freshly baked cookies and home made ice cream.

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Back to Lake Wanaka for some precious moments :)

Since we were already engaged, and we knew we would be coming to this amazing location, we hired Swedish photographer Fredrik Larsson for a 2 hour pre-wedding photo shoot.

He would just leave us to cuddle and be natural.. but we were shy.. haha! :P

It was our first time to ride a helicopter, and the reason for our now addiction to helicopters.

Aerial view of the Wanaka township.

Landed at Mt. Roy.

At the peak, overlooking Lake Wanaka.

How can you not be so happy to be here?! :)

Loving every second of this moment.

And now you understand why Wanaka has a special place in my heart :)

Also check out: The Mailboat Cruise in Picton!

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References:

Full Trip Itinerary and Budget - New Zealand - North Island to South Island Road Trip Itinerary

Attraction - www.puzzlingworld.co.nz

Cinema - www.paradiso.net.nz

Car Rental - www.apexrentals.co.nz

Helicopter Charter - www.alpineheli.co.nz

Engagement Photography - www.larsson.co.nz

Thursday, July 17, 2014

The Mail Boat Cruise

Let me take you to this little, little town called Picton, which is one of my favorite places on Earth.

It is in the Marlborough region of South Island, New Zealand.

To get there, take one of the inter-island ferries that crosses the Cook Strait from Wellington, North Island to Picton, South Island.

We, including our rented car, took the Interislander ferry while the sun was still rising.

The travel time was 3 hours.. But with the scenery of the Cook Strait, 3 hours was way too short.

That's one of the views.. no, not me. Behind me! Haha!

The beauty of New Zealand is that.. What you see in the photos, is what you will get in reality.

Or reality may even be more beautiful.

Their blue waters are just unbelievably blue.. green blue.. blue green.. just amazing!

So what did we do at Picton?

The Mail Boat Cruise! And I really loved it!!

What is the Mail Boat Cruise?

You see the map on the left? That's where Picton is.

Notice that the shape of the land is like a few jagged combs...

Lots of people live along those bays and coves!

Well, maybe not really a lot.. but let's say around 1 or 2 couples per bay or cove.

And then there are a few resorts there as well.. very very few. And of course, tourists. And hikers.

The mail boat is actually just a "postman" that delivers mails and freight by boat.

Most of these bays and coves are inaccessible by land, and so the Royal New Zealand Post reaches out to these happy dwellers by water.

Aside from delivering mails and groceries, the mail boat also collects the residents' garbage and mail packages; and pick up or drop off hikers along the nature trails, and tourists at the resorts.

Fortunately, they have made this daily delivery and collection of goods as a tourist attraction.

So, the mail captain will no longer be lonely everyday!

He goes around the most beautiful and remote bays with an entourage of tourists who are relaxing and enjoying the views, and watching life as it happens in paradise.

All the inhabited bays have a pier, and the residents usually have pets.

Dogs, Pigs and Goats.

These contented people are usually at the pier waiting, with all their stuff ready.

And then, they exchange goods with the mail captain.

The boat has a different route everyday, and these people know their scheduled mail day.

But that's not all.

The mail boat also remembers that tourists, are tourists.

And so, for a few minutes, it would drop the tourists off at the historic Ship Cove to explore the beach a little.

Captain Cook has a memorial here as this is where he used to anchor his ship The Endeavor.

Not that I'm a fan of history.. but well, it's here for people to see.

The cruise departs at 1:30 PM everyday, except on Sundays.

It takes around 4 to 5 hours, depending on the number of errands on that day.

The mail boat cruise is one of my most favorite travel experiences.

I find it really unique. Or maybe, I'm just too deprived in the city.

I loved witnessing the reality of how the local people chose to live...

As well as appreciating what made them choose to live there.

Most of them at the bays are retirees who preferred the comfort of privacy and seclusion, matched with fresh air, nature walks, beautiful beaches and hills. And they all have boats.