The Kiwi Experience

(I doubt anyone wants to hear about my adventures anymore, but if you're still keen...)

Finally, here it is: my trip to the south island of New Zealand! Please excuse me if I forget a few things; it has been quite awhile.

After our layover in Wellington, three fellow study abroad friends and I landed in Christchurch. We stayed there only the night, as we had to leave bright and early for a 4 1/2-hour scenic train ride to Greymouth. The train took us through the heart of the Southern Alps, 223.9 km long.

From there, we got picked up by our travel bus (the Kiwi Experience) and drove over to the Mahinapua Hotel.  To the left of the hotel was a peaceful lake,

And to the right was a beach.

At night we had a trash bag themed party, and I got to meet some “sweet as” people.

The next day we traveled to Bushman’s Centre at Pukekura. To add to the list of duck fetus, goat rectum, and other delicacies I’ve tried so far in life, I can also say I’ve had possum pie. Evidently on of the biggest pests of New Zealand, Kiwis are encouraged to run over or hunt these turkey-tasting treats.  At least it was different than my usual diet of ramen (that was 58% of your daily intake of sodium), cookies, and EasyMac.

I don't know what this guy was doing, but it was funny.

Then the bus headed south to Franz Josef Glacier Village. Westland Tai Poutini National Park has World Heritage status, and it has two of the famous glaciers: Franz Josef and Fox.  I climbed the former, which was a privilege considering were among the last group to be able to hike a full day on there.

The Franz Josef glacier is 12 kilometers long, descending from the Southern Alps and ending right before the Tasman Sea. Legend has it that the glacier was created from the tears of Hinehukatere, who lost her love to an avalanche while they were hiking.

It was about 10 hours of time on the glacier and 8 hours of hiking using these things called crampons. What a feat. =] Then we ended the night sitting in glacier hot pools.

On the way to Wanaka, we stopped by Lake Matheson. It has a perfect mirror reflection of Mount Cook, and is one of the most stunning scenic spots I’ve ever seen. We had lunch at a place called Makarora, where the only thing that prevents me from living from near this gorgeous scenery is its population of 60 people.

This is Wanaka, one of the most breathtaking towns I’ve ever been to. Along with this intense view, you can explore award-winning vineyards or go mountain biking, kayaking, skiing, etc.

Then we headed to Puzzle World, a semi-intriguing attraction with a life-size maze, illusions, and, well, puzzles.

The next stop was Queenstown.  This town, which faces the Remarkables mountain range and is on the shores of the Lake Wakatipu, is considered the adventure capital of the world. Here I bungy jumped 134 meters, the biggest bungy jumping in all the country. It was about 8.5 seconds of falling towards a river and probably one of the best things I’ve done so far in life!

If you’re scared of bungy jumping, in kiwi language you’d be called a Tea Bag.

Our last stop was Christchurch.  Although this is the largest city in the South Island, not much was happening in this town.  It sits on a fault line, and just last year it underwent a 6.3 magnitude earthquake that turned it into a ghost-town.

The South Island of New Zealand. Definitely a must explore place!