Our second flight of the trip and our first long haul flight was from Bangkok to Christchurch. The flight had a number of stopovers. We flew from Bangkok to Singapore to Melbourne to Christchurch. The nighttime leg from Singapore to Melbourne was freezing. They turn the heating right down and then charge you 7 dollars to rent a blanket. God dam budget airlines. Brrrr!
Three flights of shivers and screaming babies later, we arrived in Christchurch, tired grumpy and needing some rest. We got picked up and brought to our hostel, Kiwi Basecamp. On top of it all, Emmet picked up a bug in Thailand. He was just beginning to get over it before the flight, but ended up sick again once we got to Christchurch. We were quite worried. He had a temperature, which is not good coming from that part of the world. We knew it wasn't Dengue Fever or Malaria because he didn't have he other symptoms. He rested for two days and just as we were about to the doctor he got better. Yeay. Forty dollars extra booze money!
When we left Bangkok it was in the mid to high thirties. When we arrived in New Zealand it was ten degrees. Apparently, they got a cold snap. Thanks for that New Zealand!
We did venture out and see some of Christchurch though. While Emmet was sick, Niamh peeled off into town to a great museum with an exhibition on the earthquake, which was very sad but informative. Coming from the otherside of the world where a natural disaster is a half a foot of snow, it was sobering to see the impact on a community. They had recordings that people made on the day and videos from some of the survivors. They also had a quake metre which showed all the recent quakes, most of which are small. Once Emmet was fit enough to venture out of his bunk bed, we went to the Botanic Gardens and the pop up mall. As most of the city centre was completely destroyed and is still mainly inaccessible, a temporary mall has been set up in brightly painted metal containers. They have some lovely shops, cafes and restaurants. We got a pizza, which was delicious and spent some time window shopping.
Once we were sure Emmet was fully better, we went to rent a camper van. We had done some research and one of the staff members at Kiwi Basecamp done a ring around and some impressive bargaining to get us a good deal with Jucy.We decided to go with a space wagon rather than a camper van, as Niamh thought it was too big, and off we went on our road trip.
The first place we went to was a town called Akaroa on the Banks Peninsula. It is a really pretty French style town and was really nice to walk around it. We stayed in one of the Top Ten campsites, which we had been told are the Ritz of campsites. It was the perfect start to our camper van adventure.
We then took our first long drive down to Dunedin. We heard of a magical place that had a chocolate factory and a brewery. Sounds like heaven! Unfortunately not, it is a bit crap. There isn't much else to do and the admission charges were ridiculous. The campsite, Leith Valley, was pretty nice though.
We left early and went onto Portobello, a little village on the Otago Peninsula. The area was beautiful. Unfortunately, we have started camping a little too early. It was a little too cold to do any of the outdoor activities we planned. We wanted to see penguins, but weren't willing to pay 50 dollars each to sit outside waiting for them in the rain, wind and bitter cold. Someone had told us about a beach where the penguins come in to sleep and you can see them without having to pay a tour guide. The only catch is that you not really meant to be there, so try not to get caught. They are building a look out point, but you can climb into the construction site and have a quick look. We decided to do that. We stood for 45 minutes and the bloody penguins never showed up. We returned to the campsite disappointed and tried to avoid hypothermia.
The next stop was Queenstown, which is a really great place. It is beautiful and warmer than Portobello (although not warm enough, where are you Spring?). The whole town is surrounded by snow covered mountains and is full of lovely cafes, shops and very importantly, pubs with decently priced beer. We stayed at the Queenstown Lakeview Holiday Park. Our first day consisted off sampling some coffees and renting some dvds to watch while polished off our bottle of New Zealand wine (from a bottle, we resisted the cartons). As luck would have it, neither of the two dvds would work properly, which we only figured out after drinking the wine, which ruled out driving down the video shop and exchanging them. Early night!
The following day we went for a hike nearby the town. It was really nice and we had great views of Queenstown down below us. We didn't get to the top, as Emmets age started to tell. We came to a clearing where there were picnic tables. Emmet made a beeline for one and collapsed onto the bench, which is where him and his knobly knees stayed until Niamh realised he would go no further this time. So back down the mountain we went.
That night we decided to go and do a pub crawl. It was an organised one, which we paid 25 NZ dollars for at The World Bar. And off we went, shots at the door at every bar and discounts on certain drinks in different bars. The main reason we went was to get access to the ice bar. We were given massive coats and gloves and went into a bar which was minus seven degrees. There were loads of ice sculptures, even the glasses were made of ice!It was a good enough night overall but a small crowd. By the end of it, we broke away from the group and went back to our favourite bar of the night, the Boiler Room. They had a live band and that night there was a bunch of people in fancy dress, dressed up as old people. One guy got up on the table and had hanging from his shorts a pair of tights with two balls in it. Basically an old mans scrotum, which ended up in Emmets mouth, along with an English bloke who was on the crawl with us. Alcohol, one minute your sober, next minute your....well.....lets move on.
The following day was right off. Niamh stayed in the car until four, at which point I had to wake her. The town is a five minute walk, we drove to the video store. Ruined! So we arrived back, all ready for a quite night in, when two of the Welsh girls, Kate and Claire, that we met in Thailand and live in Queenstown, arrived outside our car, smiles from ear to ear. We knew immediately our quiet night was now over and it had instantly changed to party night. They are two crazy Welsh girls who love to party. And we love them for it. Couldn't ask to meet two nicer people! So that was that, a time and a pub was instantly arranged after we swapped stories about what we'd all been up to for the last few weeks. Another great night out was had.
Myself and Emmet wanted to visit some wineries but had a dilemma, one of us would have to be a designated driver. This was until Kate offered to be our driver and tour guide. We woke up feeling sprightly considering the late night and headed off with Kate on what we thought was our tour, until there was a short detour...to the bungee bridge. Next thing we knew we were being strapped to a rope and standing over a forty foot drop into Kawarau River! It was the single most terrifying and fun thing we have ever done. We were well up for some wine afterwards.
We drove out to four wineries just outside Queenstown. Some of Lord of the Rings was filmed in the area. It is pretty spectacular. The wine was great too. One of them had a little area for boules set up so we had a few games. Kate won, Emmet was crap. We treated ourselves to a bottle in the last place, Chard Farm, which we will save for a barbecue on a sunny day. After a hard days sightseeing we went back to Kate's where we met Claire and they made us delicious spaghetti bolognese.
The next day, we drove out to a pretty little town called Arrowtown. We walked around, had a coffee in a really cute cafe and visited the Chinese settlement, which is where Chinese gold miners lived during the gold rush in the late 1800s. They were treated pretty badly, completely ostracised, and lived in tiny huts. The houses were restored as a memorial.
Afterwards, we went back to Queenstown, went for a walk by the lake and watched people playing golf frisbee. It has the same rules as golf but you use a frisbee! As it was a Saturday, there was a small market on in the town with loads of handicrafts and food. It made Niamh hyperventilate a little.
After staying a few days longer than planned, it was time to say goodbye to Queenstown. We drove to Wanaka over the crown mountain range and enjoyed some beautiful views. We checked into Aspiring Campervan Park, which we cannot recommend enough. They had a hot tub, internet, a car wash and hot chocolate in the morning, with a marshmallow, all of which was free, our favourite price. After exploring the town, we bought fish and chips and ate them by the lake. We fed the leftovers to the seagulls. We would throw the food in the air and they flew up and caught it in their mouths. Kept us entertained for at least a half an hour! We went for a walk along the lake and then went back to the campsite to use the hot tub. It was everything we hoped for and more!
We left the next morning happy after facebooking friends, drinking our hot chocolate and with a clean car! We had a long drive up to Fox glacier on bendy roads. We had to stop once for a flock of sheep, once for a rock fall to be cleared and once in Haast, the crappest town in the world, for a sandwich.
Three flights of shivers and screaming babies later, we arrived in Christchurch, tired grumpy and needing some rest. We got picked up and brought to our hostel, Kiwi Basecamp. On top of it all, Emmet picked up a bug in Thailand. He was just beginning to get over it before the flight, but ended up sick again once we got to Christchurch. We were quite worried. He had a temperature, which is not good coming from that part of the world. We knew it wasn't Dengue Fever or Malaria because he didn't have he other symptoms. He rested for two days and just as we were about to the doctor he got better. Yeay. Forty dollars extra booze money!
When we left Bangkok it was in the mid to high thirties. When we arrived in New Zealand it was ten degrees. Apparently, they got a cold snap. Thanks for that New Zealand!
We did venture out and see some of Christchurch though. While Emmet was sick, Niamh peeled off into town to a great museum with an exhibition on the earthquake, which was very sad but informative. Coming from the otherside of the world where a natural disaster is a half a foot of snow, it was sobering to see the impact on a community. They had recordings that people made on the day and videos from some of the survivors. They also had a quake metre which showed all the recent quakes, most of which are small. Once Emmet was fit enough to venture out of his bunk bed, we went to the Botanic Gardens and the pop up mall. As most of the city centre was completely destroyed and is still mainly inaccessible, a temporary mall has been set up in brightly painted metal containers. They have some lovely shops, cafes and restaurants. We got a pizza, which was delicious and spent some time window shopping.
Once we were sure Emmet was fully better, we went to rent a camper van. We had done some research and one of the staff members at Kiwi Basecamp done a ring around and some impressive bargaining to get us a good deal with Jucy.We decided to go with a space wagon rather than a camper van, as Niamh thought it was too big, and off we went on our road trip.
The first place we went to was a town called Akaroa on the Banks Peninsula. It is a really pretty French style town and was really nice to walk around it. We stayed in one of the Top Ten campsites, which we had been told are the Ritz of campsites. It was the perfect start to our camper van adventure.
We then took our first long drive down to Dunedin. We heard of a magical place that had a chocolate factory and a brewery. Sounds like heaven! Unfortunately not, it is a bit crap. There isn't much else to do and the admission charges were ridiculous. The campsite, Leith Valley, was pretty nice though.
We left early and went onto Portobello, a little village on the Otago Peninsula. The area was beautiful. Unfortunately, we have started camping a little too early. It was a little too cold to do any of the outdoor activities we planned. We wanted to see penguins, but weren't willing to pay 50 dollars each to sit outside waiting for them in the rain, wind and bitter cold. Someone had told us about a beach where the penguins come in to sleep and you can see them without having to pay a tour guide. The only catch is that you not really meant to be there, so try not to get caught. They are building a look out point, but you can climb into the construction site and have a quick look. We decided to do that. We stood for 45 minutes and the bloody penguins never showed up. We returned to the campsite disappointed and tried to avoid hypothermia.
The next stop was Queenstown, which is a really great place. It is beautiful and warmer than Portobello (although not warm enough, where are you Spring?). The whole town is surrounded by snow covered mountains and is full of lovely cafes, shops and very importantly, pubs with decently priced beer. We stayed at the Queenstown Lakeview Holiday Park. Our first day consisted off sampling some coffees and renting some dvds to watch while polished off our bottle of New Zealand wine (from a bottle, we resisted the cartons). As luck would have it, neither of the two dvds would work properly, which we only figured out after drinking the wine, which ruled out driving down the video shop and exchanging them. Early night!
The following day we went for a hike nearby the town. It was really nice and we had great views of Queenstown down below us. We didn't get to the top, as Emmets age started to tell. We came to a clearing where there were picnic tables. Emmet made a beeline for one and collapsed onto the bench, which is where him and his knobly knees stayed until Niamh realised he would go no further this time. So back down the mountain we went.
That night we decided to go and do a pub crawl. It was an organised one, which we paid 25 NZ dollars for at The World Bar. And off we went, shots at the door at every bar and discounts on certain drinks in different bars. The main reason we went was to get access to the ice bar. We were given massive coats and gloves and went into a bar which was minus seven degrees. There were loads of ice sculptures, even the glasses were made of ice!It was a good enough night overall but a small crowd. By the end of it, we broke away from the group and went back to our favourite bar of the night, the Boiler Room. They had a live band and that night there was a bunch of people in fancy dress, dressed up as old people. One guy got up on the table and had hanging from his shorts a pair of tights with two balls in it. Basically an old mans scrotum, which ended up in Emmets mouth, along with an English bloke who was on the crawl with us. Alcohol, one minute your sober, next minute your....well.....lets move on.
The following day was right off. Niamh stayed in the car until four, at which point I had to wake her. The town is a five minute walk, we drove to the video store. Ruined! So we arrived back, all ready for a quite night in, when two of the Welsh girls, Kate and Claire, that we met in Thailand and live in Queenstown, arrived outside our car, smiles from ear to ear. We knew immediately our quiet night was now over and it had instantly changed to party night. They are two crazy Welsh girls who love to party. And we love them for it. Couldn't ask to meet two nicer people! So that was that, a time and a pub was instantly arranged after we swapped stories about what we'd all been up to for the last few weeks. Another great night out was had.
Myself and Emmet wanted to visit some wineries but had a dilemma, one of us would have to be a designated driver. This was until Kate offered to be our driver and tour guide. We woke up feeling sprightly considering the late night and headed off with Kate on what we thought was our tour, until there was a short detour...to the bungee bridge. Next thing we knew we were being strapped to a rope and standing over a forty foot drop into Kawarau River! It was the single most terrifying and fun thing we have ever done. We were well up for some wine afterwards.
 |
| Emmet terrified showing our bungee tickets. |
We drove out to four wineries just outside Queenstown. Some of Lord of the Rings was filmed in the area. It is pretty spectacular. The wine was great too. One of them had a little area for boules set up so we had a few games. Kate won, Emmet was crap. We treated ourselves to a bottle in the last place, Chard Farm, which we will save for a barbecue on a sunny day. After a hard days sightseeing we went back to Kate's where we met Claire and they made us delicious spaghetti bolognese.
The next day, we drove out to a pretty little town called Arrowtown. We walked around, had a coffee in a really cute cafe and visited the Chinese settlement, which is where Chinese gold miners lived during the gold rush in the late 1800s. They were treated pretty badly, completely ostracised, and lived in tiny huts. The houses were restored as a memorial.
Afterwards, we went back to Queenstown, went for a walk by the lake and watched people playing golf frisbee. It has the same rules as golf but you use a frisbee! As it was a Saturday, there was a small market on in the town with loads of handicrafts and food. It made Niamh hyperventilate a little.
After staying a few days longer than planned, it was time to say goodbye to Queenstown. We drove to Wanaka over the crown mountain range and enjoyed some beautiful views. We checked into Aspiring Campervan Park, which we cannot recommend enough. They had a hot tub, internet, a car wash and hot chocolate in the morning, with a marshmallow, all of which was free, our favourite price. After exploring the town, we bought fish and chips and ate them by the lake. We fed the leftovers to the seagulls. We would throw the food in the air and they flew up and caught it in their mouths. Kept us entertained for at least a half an hour! We went for a walk along the lake and then went back to the campsite to use the hot tub. It was everything we hoped for and more!
We left the next morning happy after facebooking friends, drinking our hot chocolate and with a clean car! We had a long drive up to Fox glacier on bendy roads. We had to stop once for a flock of sheep, once for a rock fall to be cleared and once in Haast, the crappest town in the world, for a sandwich.
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