Finally, the photos are done. From approximately 1400 photos, I had narrow it down to 63 of them. I am certain there are more photos which can be processed and then displayed, but I guess I would usually limit it to around 60 - 70 which in this case it falls into. Of course I still need to do some but that's more for private viewing, like for the Lauries.
I know I had done a snapshot of the entire route, but I also realised that it has those dots in there which makes it pretty ugly to look at. So, below is a modified version (and it's larger than before) which has only the routes, and the legend is on the right hand side.
Day 1 route and Day 2 route are the only routes that I had to "trace back", as it pretty much the same, other than some bits. So, it seems to be missing a track in this map.
Well, get yourself settled, and the long 15 days of travel (and photos of it) starts now...
Day 1 started when I landed in Christchurch at around 1 pm, but by the time I get my luggage, got the keys to the rental car and place all my luggage into the car, it was already 2 pm. Then since I had no lunch on the plane (interestingly, the flight time is 2 hours and we paid around the same price as we would to fly from Singapore to Bangkok, but no meals are given on board the flight. All we got were water/coffee/tea and biscuit!!!), I had to pack some food, and decided to eat in the car. Took the rental car with GPS, so while eating, I tried to get the direction to The Cathedrals on the GPS - nothing! So, I had to do the next best thing - set to Gore Bay, and off I went. Got there, and then move on further to Cathedral Road, and lo and behold, a small little brown sign that say "The Cathedrals". Park the car, and run across the street (as the area to park is opposite the viewing place), and there it was.
Well, get yourself settled, and the long 15 days of travel (and photos of it) starts now...
Day 1 started when I landed in Christchurch at around 1 pm, but by the time I get my luggage, got the keys to the rental car and place all my luggage into the car, it was already 2 pm. Then since I had no lunch on the plane (interestingly, the flight time is 2 hours and we paid around the same price as we would to fly from Singapore to Bangkok, but no meals are given on board the flight. All we got were water/coffee/tea and biscuit!!!), I had to pack some food, and decided to eat in the car. Took the rental car with GPS, so while eating, I tried to get the direction to The Cathedrals on the GPS - nothing! So, I had to do the next best thing - set to Gore Bay, and off I went. Got there, and then move on further to Cathedral Road, and lo and behold, a small little brown sign that say "The Cathedrals". Park the car, and run across the street (as the area to park is opposite the viewing place), and there it was.
Took a few shots, and then back into the car and headed towards Kaikoura. Once reached Kaikoura, headed toward Fyffe Quay for the seal colony. Maybe I am not very familiar with the GPS system, but once again it was a little short from the destination I an heading... But, since it's at the end of the road, stopped the GPS (if not, they will keep reminding you to do a u-turn!), and head on to the end of the road where there is a car park. Lo and behold...
Seals at Fyffe Quay in Kaikoura
Three seals were on the rock, 2 being lazy bum, never moved at all, while this fellow seems to be preening itself, and was actively moving its head, so that helps with the photo. Imagine taking a shot of 3 seals sleeping!!!
As it was, by then, almost 5pm, took a couple of shots, and then headed toward Renwick. Just after leaving the car park, there was a mobile griller, selling pretty cheap seafood, and if I had, in hind sight, a better frame of mind, would have bought something from here and bring along to Renwick. The reason was, it was Good Friday, and frankly, almost nothing opens on Public Holidays!!! So, in the end, I had my dinner on a MacDonald's meal. Sigh...
Finally, arrived at Watson Bay Lodge in Renwick for a night stay.
Day 2 started in the morning, after checking out and paid for the room. Had wanted to head out and get to Montana Brancott Winery for the 1st tour which starts at 10 am, but was late and by the time I got there it was around 10:15 am, so I had to wait for the next tour which was at 11 am. Took sometime to walk around looking at their wines, and other accessories that they have. Would you believe that they even sell jackets (with their logo on it, if I recall correctly)?!?!?
I guess I had expected a different kind of tour - like going to the field where the plants were, and all that... But what I got was a tour of the facility they have to facilitate the making of the wine, so, I got to see how the grapes (already picked and dumped into trucks) were dumped into a special machine which separates the grapes from the branches. Then the grapes is pumped into another location, while the branches were dump out to be decomposed. Then it was to the other areas where the juice and stuff are then "process/pressed", stored and mixed to give it the taste. Moving on to other areas, like some place which is more special where it's stored in huge barrel of wood. Finally, a chance to sample some wines. Bought a bottle of late harvest Risling from them.
If you like to see the different type of grapes, you are welcome to wander in their small plot of vine plants which was set up to be a educational area. So, they have the different type of grapes and a board with information pin to the start of the row. You can even pluck a grape and taste the raw grapes (I did on Risling, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay ones).
I had planned to go over to Cloudy Bay winery, but due to the timing, decided to skip that and head toward Highfield Estate for lunch. Just in case this sounds familiar - if you have read the 25 ultimate experience for NZ by Rough Guide, the itinerary is found in there (Experience 10). It was a good lunch, with a good view. One note if you are using the rental car's GPS - the address in the GPS is not the correct location!!! Yes, I had to do a little u-turn and guess work to get to the right location! Sigh...
Anyway, once lunch is done, time to head back to Christchurch. Since, Day 1 was not very fruitful in terms of the number of seals seen at the colony, yes, I headed back to that location again. Just to try my luck. Well, it's a good thing I had taken some shots on Day 1, because when I got there, there were no seals there!!! But on the bright side, I decided to buy my dinner from the mobile griller - grill scallops on bread. I believe it would have been a great meal, if I had eaten it earlier, but since it was still slightly earlier than dinner time, decided to drive on, just to try to reach Christchurch as early as possible.
By the time I get to Christchurch and to the motel where I will be staying... It was 8 pm! It was a good thing that the motel has a microwave oven in the room, so the dinner was not a cold one! Had stayed a night at Gothic Heights Motel.
Day 3 was one of the most anticipated day as it was the day where I would drive from Christchurch to Franz Joseph Glacier, via Arthur's Pass. It was The 2nd longest drive in this trip - 500.6 km!
First stop was Kura Tawhiti which is at Castle Hill.
As it was, by then, almost 5pm, took a couple of shots, and then headed toward Renwick. Just after leaving the car park, there was a mobile griller, selling pretty cheap seafood, and if I had, in hind sight, a better frame of mind, would have bought something from here and bring along to Renwick. The reason was, it was Good Friday, and frankly, almost nothing opens on Public Holidays!!! So, in the end, I had my dinner on a MacDonald's meal. Sigh...
Finally, arrived at Watson Bay Lodge in Renwick for a night stay.
Day 2 started in the morning, after checking out and paid for the room. Had wanted to head out and get to Montana Brancott Winery for the 1st tour which starts at 10 am, but was late and by the time I got there it was around 10:15 am, so I had to wait for the next tour which was at 11 am. Took sometime to walk around looking at their wines, and other accessories that they have. Would you believe that they even sell jackets (with their logo on it, if I recall correctly)?!?!?
I guess I had expected a different kind of tour - like going to the field where the plants were, and all that... But what I got was a tour of the facility they have to facilitate the making of the wine, so, I got to see how the grapes (already picked and dumped into trucks) were dumped into a special machine which separates the grapes from the branches. Then the grapes is pumped into another location, while the branches were dump out to be decomposed. Then it was to the other areas where the juice and stuff are then "process/pressed", stored and mixed to give it the taste. Moving on to other areas, like some place which is more special where it's stored in huge barrel of wood. Finally, a chance to sample some wines. Bought a bottle of late harvest Risling from them.
If you like to see the different type of grapes, you are welcome to wander in their small plot of vine plants which was set up to be a educational area. So, they have the different type of grapes and a board with information pin to the start of the row. You can even pluck a grape and taste the raw grapes (I did on Risling, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay ones).
I had planned to go over to Cloudy Bay winery, but due to the timing, decided to skip that and head toward Highfield Estate for lunch. Just in case this sounds familiar - if you have read the 25 ultimate experience for NZ by Rough Guide, the itinerary is found in there (Experience 10). It was a good lunch, with a good view. One note if you are using the rental car's GPS - the address in the GPS is not the correct location!!! Yes, I had to do a little u-turn and guess work to get to the right location! Sigh...
Anyway, once lunch is done, time to head back to Christchurch. Since, Day 1 was not very fruitful in terms of the number of seals seen at the colony, yes, I headed back to that location again. Just to try my luck. Well, it's a good thing I had taken some shots on Day 1, because when I got there, there were no seals there!!! But on the bright side, I decided to buy my dinner from the mobile griller - grill scallops on bread. I believe it would have been a great meal, if I had eaten it earlier, but since it was still slightly earlier than dinner time, decided to drive on, just to try to reach Christchurch as early as possible.
By the time I get to Christchurch and to the motel where I will be staying... It was 8 pm! It was a good thing that the motel has a microwave oven in the room, so the dinner was not a cold one! Had stayed a night at Gothic Heights Motel.
Day 3 was one of the most anticipated day as it was the day where I would drive from Christchurch to Franz Joseph Glacier, via Arthur's Pass. It was The 2nd longest drive in this trip - 500.6 km!
First stop was Kura Tawhiti which is at Castle Hill.
Castle Hill along Great Alpine Highway
It's a conservation area, which you can find a lot of limestone rocks, and it's near Flock Hill Station where, if you are a follower of Chronicles of Narnia, this is where they film the part for Aslan Camp Great Battle.
Then head onwards, and reach Arthur's Pass village, where I bought pie for lunch. Had my lunch and continued the journey. There was a gorge along this route, Otira Gorge, and till now I am not certain why I did not stopped there, as it was a pretty sight for photo actually. Oh well, next time!
Then head onwards, and reach Arthur's Pass village, where I bought pie for lunch. Had my lunch and continued the journey. There was a gorge along this route, Otira Gorge, and till now I am not certain why I did not stopped there, as it was a pretty sight for photo actually. Oh well, next time!
As with most places between mountain and valleys, the radio can be patchy at time. So there were certain area which you will not get any radio signal at all, and the radio control were scanning the entire range for some signal for a while. I should have brought along some CDs to play in the car, as there were no aux port for iPod. So I had to drive without any music for those times, pretty boring, especially if you are driving alone.
Finally, went pass Greymouth, and arrive at Punakaiki. This is where the famous pancake rocks are found.
Finally, went pass Greymouth, and arrive at Punakaiki. This is where the famous pancake rocks are found.
Punakaiki - Pancake Rock in IR
It was a popular place as there were not many car park lots available by the time I got there, and there a lot of people around, sitting outside the cafe, enjoying their coffee. I did not have that luxury, as I was pressing for time. Yes, time factor again. So, did the walking trail, and then back to the car, and headed toward Hokitika.
I had actually wanted to stay in Hokitika, but because I don't know the distance between them, and wanted to go for the Heli-Hike the next day, decided to stay in FJ Glacier instead. Since by the time I got there it was 5 pm, and from TehPeng and Miz Snooze trip in 2004, TehPeng had the best fish and chip meal there, decided to have my dinner there instead. Saw this signboard that says "The best fish and chips in town", so followed it to the store. I don't know where he had is fish and chips (and he cannot even remember where he bought it), but maybe it's not the correct fish or something, the meal was ok, not really the best I had. It could also be that it was wrapped while it was hot, and had to head to the beach area to have my dinner.
As with most beaches, seagulls are found everywhere! They were eyeing my fish & chips as they were waiting patiently in large groups while I was munching on my dinner...
I had actually wanted to stay in Hokitika, but because I don't know the distance between them, and wanted to go for the Heli-Hike the next day, decided to stay in FJ Glacier instead. Since by the time I got there it was 5 pm, and from TehPeng and Miz Snooze trip in 2004, TehPeng had the best fish and chip meal there, decided to have my dinner there instead. Saw this signboard that says "The best fish and chips in town", so followed it to the store. I don't know where he had is fish and chips (and he cannot even remember where he bought it), but maybe it's not the correct fish or something, the meal was ok, not really the best I had. It could also be that it was wrapped while it was hot, and had to head to the beach area to have my dinner.
As with most beaches, seagulls are found everywhere! They were eyeing my fish & chips as they were waiting patiently in large groups while I was munching on my dinner...
Hokitika - Seagull
No, they did not succeed in getting any of my food!
Once the meal was settled, time to head to FJ Glacier for the night. Stayed at Alpine Glacier Motel Lodge which was just behind the heli-hike office.
Day 4 was the bleakest day in NZ for the entire trip. It rained and rained and rained, well, in the West Coast area. Because of that, flights to the glacier was cancelled - I was not pleased, at all. It was to be one of the highlights of the trip, and it was - for not happening!!! Sigh, this means... I have to go back to South Island again for this!!! Someone mentioned that I could try Fox Glacier, as there were less people heading that way. So, I drove over, and again, due to weather, no go.
Since there was no more chance of getting there, I headed towards Lake Matheson to get some photos of the reflections it was known for. However, since it was still raining, and it takes 20 minutes to get to the lake, I had to skipped it. So, I headed out towards Haast and Wanaka as it was getting late.
Now, if you had driven around South Island, this 1 lane bridge will become a very familiar sight, and so far, I had been pretty lucky not to encounter traffic which might become a sticky situation. Well, this was not it. Not to sure why, but that day was like anything that can go wrong, it does. Rain, so no heli-hike, no Lake Matheson, and now... Got myself into this little sticky part concerning the 1 lane bridge. Now, most places, it was easier to see across the bridge for traffic. But not in this case, and I was on the side which had to give way... Well, it happens that since it does not seem to have car on the other side, I had started to head toward the bridge, and guess what... Lo and behold, a car appeared on the other side. So it was a quick decision time, and since I was not in a good position, I just went ahead to cross it, and the guy on the other side was giving me the "no no" you bad kind of finger shaking... Well, too bad, I really could not see his car, and I was already at the head of the bridge when his car appeared into view... Oh well, he can chalk it up to the ills of tourist who don't know the road signs!!!
TehPeng had talked about Thunder Creek Fall, but when I got to the place, it was still raining, and there were no signs (well, I could not find it) that tells me how long do I need to be walking to get there... I had to skip it.
Thank goodness that by the time I got to Fantail Falls, the rain has gone down to a slight drizzle. The sign says it's a 5 min return, so I grabbed the camera, and walk towards it.
Once the meal was settled, time to head to FJ Glacier for the night. Stayed at Alpine Glacier Motel Lodge which was just behind the heli-hike office.
Day 4 was the bleakest day in NZ for the entire trip. It rained and rained and rained, well, in the West Coast area. Because of that, flights to the glacier was cancelled - I was not pleased, at all. It was to be one of the highlights of the trip, and it was - for not happening!!! Sigh, this means... I have to go back to South Island again for this!!! Someone mentioned that I could try Fox Glacier, as there were less people heading that way. So, I drove over, and again, due to weather, no go.
Since there was no more chance of getting there, I headed towards Lake Matheson to get some photos of the reflections it was known for. However, since it was still raining, and it takes 20 minutes to get to the lake, I had to skipped it. So, I headed out towards Haast and Wanaka as it was getting late.
Now, if you had driven around South Island, this 1 lane bridge will become a very familiar sight, and so far, I had been pretty lucky not to encounter traffic which might become a sticky situation. Well, this was not it. Not to sure why, but that day was like anything that can go wrong, it does. Rain, so no heli-hike, no Lake Matheson, and now... Got myself into this little sticky part concerning the 1 lane bridge. Now, most places, it was easier to see across the bridge for traffic. But not in this case, and I was on the side which had to give way... Well, it happens that since it does not seem to have car on the other side, I had started to head toward the bridge, and guess what... Lo and behold, a car appeared on the other side. So it was a quick decision time, and since I was not in a good position, I just went ahead to cross it, and the guy on the other side was giving me the "no no" you bad kind of finger shaking... Well, too bad, I really could not see his car, and I was already at the head of the bridge when his car appeared into view... Oh well, he can chalk it up to the ills of tourist who don't know the road signs!!!
TehPeng had talked about Thunder Creek Fall, but when I got to the place, it was still raining, and there were no signs (well, I could not find it) that tells me how long do I need to be walking to get there... I had to skip it.
Thank goodness that by the time I got to Fantail Falls, the rain has gone down to a slight drizzle. The sign says it's a 5 min return, so I grabbed the camera, and walk towards it.
Haast - Fantail Falls
If you noticed in the picture, as I had after driving pass Bruce Bay, there were pile of rocks on the wood stump. I saw a lot of this along the Bruce Bay area, where there were small rocks piling on top of each other, just like those you see in the above picture. I still do not know what it was for! Anyone has any ideas?
Anyway, by the time I got to Lake Hawea, the rain had stopped, and sun is out!
Lake Hawea
Stopped for a couple of photos and headed toward Wanaka in anticipation. It was also one of the earliest time which I arrive at the destination! Instead of staying in Wanaka centre area, I had booked for a night stay at Beacon Pt B&B, which was one of the best place I had stayed, and for a good fee of NZD90. Cheaper than motels! It was there which I tried my hand at photographing star trails, but I think I failed in that. Added to the difficulty is that the wind, when it blows, was very cold! I had my layers, as well as the jacket, and I still feel cold!!!
Day 5 was the shortest trip drive - 105.2 km from Beacon Pt, Wanaka to Queenstown. This include driving to Arrowtown and to Shotover river for the jetboat ride. The reason for the short drive, was because I was using Crown Range Road, instead of the SH6 highway. If it was nine years ago, I would most probably skip this road as the road was only sealed in 2000 - which means, before that year, it was gravel road! I don't do very well with gravel roads, well, until this trip. I still remember having to pay either Hertz or Avis AUD500 for the damage to the car in Launceston due to gravel road (puntured a tire as well as knocking the front bumper to a dead log along the road).
Crown Range Road Summit
You can find out about the Crown Range Road on the bronze plaque at the summit. It was in that plaque that I read about the actual time when the road was sealed. At one time, rental cars are not allowed on this road!
Crown Range Road in IR
Once reach the bottom of the range, I headed for Lake Hayes, which according to TehPeng, it was the most photographed lake in NZ. Don't know about that, but it was a good place for photo, especially on a clear sunny day.
Lake Hayes
Lake Hayes in IR
Then it was Shotover Jet time. Had my lunch there while waiting for my turn (arrived at around 12 or 12.30 pm, but the earliest time for the ride is 1:45 pm). Then it was photos time, taking using the Canon P&S instead of the Nikon one, as I did not know where I should keep the cam when I go for the ride, should have known they have a locker for that.. Anyway, I think the video was more enticing than the photos.
It was an interesting day, as while waiting for the time to come, there were a group of people apparently from (Ice) Hockey League, if I recall correctly, and this group were acting as referees or official for a tournament in Dunedin. They were in Queenstown for a short break and to give them a chance to see the place as they were from different parts of the world. There was this guy from China who had problems with communication with the guy who was bringing them around, and I had to become a translator for him. Weird... Especially when I did failed my Chinese language at JC level.
Anyway, once the ride was over, time to head towards Arrowtown, where I had a short walk, and bought a jacket there as well, and head towards Queenstown.
Queenstown at Dusk
This is the only time where I will be staying 2 nights at a place for once. I had problems in deciding where to stay, and finally chose to stay at Blue Peaks Lodge. The person there was pretty patient with me, as I had problems in deciding what activity I wanted to do.. Wanted to do a horse ride, which will bring to places to see some locations where LOTR had filmed in, but was not comfortable with the idea of riding, since I had not really been on a horse before. It was that, or a 4WD tour... So, the 4WD tour won the toss. Reservations where then made, and done.
To continue...
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