Land of Everything

For one thing, with so many places to visit and so many things to do, it's didn't feel like a 3 week long break at all.. and there's so many places that i had to skip due to a lack of time.

While planning the trip, i knew that there were several must-do things/sights. They were (not arranged in any priority):
Tongariro Alpine Crossing
White water rafting
Abel Tasman National Park
Hot air balloon over Canterbury
Wine tasting at Hawkes Bay
Climbing of glaciers
Paragliding off Cornet Peak
Shotover Jet
Zorbing
Bungy jumping

While i got to do most of the stuff on the list, i did wish that i had known about this list, 101 Must Do's for Kiwis - AA Travel New Zealand

Checking off the list against what i did in NZ

1. Mitre Peak & Milford Sound - NO (never even heard of any sounds prior to visiting south island... and as it was too far south.)
2. Doubtful Sound - NO (see above)
3. Bay of Islands - NO (too far north)
4. Fiordland National Park - NO (see no. 1)
5. Abel Tasman National Park - finally YES!!!!
6. Aoraki Mount Cook - YES (went to Mt. Cook Alpine Valley)
7. Coastal Kaikoura - YES (heard about all year whale watching from a fellow traveller and then plans were made to visit the site. Great seafood there too!)
8. Hanmer Springs - YES (Read about Hanmer Springs in the local papers while there and decided to go there)
9. Camping Country - YES (The whole trip was in a campervan and the assortment of camping stops can astound you.)
10. Tutukaka / The Poor Knights - No ( didn't hear about it)
11. Marlborough Sounds - No
12. Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers - YES (it was wonderful)
13. Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe and Tongariro - YES (Such a painful yet rewarding hike to see the volcanos)
14. Waitomo Caves - No ( wasn't interested in caves or glow worms)
15. Southern Scenic Route - NO
16. Otago Rail Experience - NO
17. White Island - NO
18. Stewart Island - NO
19. Arthur's Pass National Park - NO
20. Tongariro Alpine Crossing - YES (long and painful hike)

And the list goes on... seems that there's a whole lot of stuff that i didn't get to do (especially the top 5)... and will need a second trip there. It is definately a place worth visiting and 3 weeks is not enough.

Total milage travelled - 3500km (excluding flights there and the 2hr sea crossing of Cook Straits)

Biggest lessons learnt
Sandflys CAN CAUSE misery - it was a record breaking 2 mins picnic by the lake
Blue equals GREEN - When visiting places such as Blue Pools of Haast Pass or Blue Lakes of Mt. Cook Valley, do note that it's GREEN
Scenary and weather changes every five mintues
Hokitika is filled with quaint shops. I wanted to buy everything!
Christchurch is not Europe

Enough of talk, here are some pictures

Even when travelling..

i couldn't resist buying books..

and yes.. it's extra weight... i had a close call at the airport when the stupid check-in guy didn't want to let my check my luggage and hand luggage through cos i packed too much stuff.

Boo hoo hoo..

in the end, everything he said was a bunch of BS. I managed to repack and brought everything back.

I love the books that i bought.

Bought at Cloudy Bay Winery, Marlborough




Wine Dogs Deluxe Edition by Craig McGill & Susan Elliott (Hardcover - Oct 1, 2004)

I love the stories and portraits of the dogs in the book. Also, it's a great souvenir of the vineyards and estates that i visited in NZ.


And this one... in Queenstown



The Lord of the Rings Location Guidebook (Lord of the Rings) by Ian Brodie and Peter Jackson (Paperback - Dec 15, 2003)

It's a great book to read as it points out the exact location where the scenes of the trilogy was made. As much as i would like to visit them all, it is a bit tough to do so. Some of the sites are on private land.. and some requiring lots of travel or even via helicopter. It's nice to know that i was there where some of the scenes were shot and read about those that i was passing through. Maybe i'd get to go back to NZ again?

Land of LOTR

off to the land of LOTR to see my ppprrreeCCCCccccciiioooussssssss

Can't wait!