South To North tour: Day 2: Queenstown to Christchurch

By the numbers

5.37kms

7,788 steps

1 bus

1 mountain

I woke early so that I could get something to eat and a coffee before I caught the bus that would take me over a fair chunk of the South Island. I tried to be quiet as I could for being in a room with three others and sharing the one loo. I left without a fuss and found I was still too early for the office to be open, bt I knew the convenience store had coffee and coffee they had. I wandered to the bus stop, although I ended up taking a detour once I arrived as I wanted pictures from the lake of the sunrise hitting the mountains. I wandered back to find a Great sights tour had arrived, but it wasn’t mine as it was for the Milford Sound another great place. My bus soon arrived and I was able to check in and get my ticket for lunch. I was happy as I could now eat and soon found they could drop me off at where I was staying, which was way better than the bus station. The Japanese people behind me in line were getting pushy to be honest and the interpreter told them to calm down. They were trying to push me while the interpreter was looking after me.

The bus went through Queenstown picking other people up on the way and then we headed to Frankton and towards Mount Cook. I was looking around for somewhere to charge my phone as i had thought there was one near me, but I could not see one. I shrugged and hoped my phone would not die until I arrived in Christchurch. On the way we stopped at the Kawarau Suspension Bridge where you could either walk to Queenstown or bungy jump off the bridge. No way was I going to and it was closed for the morning as we were too early. The local gold mining was discussed along with the hydro dams that produced the electricity. Cromwell was on our way through and we stopped at a fruit shop for a loo break and I found a nice apple that was a snack and a big bottle of water as all I had was a coffee. On the way we had seen the frost fans that apparently helped the frost to stay off the grapes. The next break we had was at Omarama known for its Merino sheep and this was where I nearly missed the bus. I thought I had 5 mins left, but that was not the case and was lucky I jumped on when I did as it had started, although there was a guy when I first hopped off who asked if I had a spare $10 and I responded with No. I spent that on magnets. The town that had once gotten my interest was Twizel and I soon found it wasn’t even really a town. Blink and you miss it as it was built for the hydro scheme and now a ski resort town

There was a dam on the way to Mount Cook that was a man made lake called Pukaki and we stopped at a lookout by the name of Peters lookout. It was here I found the USB charger and was around four hours after leaving Queenstown. Luckily I had my charger on me as it was needed. I had been down to 60% as i was taking pics and using the WiFI on the bus. We soon headed into Mount Cook Village and i realised there was not much here either. The area had been a tourist area since the 1880s, although a tough area to get to like around 3 days if you were lucky by horse and then came cars and the road, but the government ran The Hermitage hotel, which was extended by other owners. Sir Ed Hillary was a frequent visitor to the area and the hotel, where he has a monument and a museum to him. I ended up with my buffet lunch, which I had 3 serves, although not fussed on venison snags. We had around an hour and half to kill here and I couldn’t really go far, although it was interesting to see the DOCS office for some history to the area. I don’t know if I want to stay in a summer to do some of the walks. Some people stayed, while others went back on another bus to Queenstown, but we kept the same driver.

Once we left and kept going through various districts like Timaru, we were looking for the Church of the Good Shepherd, which is a popular picture place in Lake Tekapo. You couldn’t take pictures of the inside, but it had a huge glass window that looked out on the lake. We only had a 10 min stop here before we headed back on the road to Christchurch. It was reasonable that we couldn’t stay long as we had to be back in Christchurch by 8pm. We had dropped people off here. We made out way to Geraldine an Irish town full of retired farmers where they have a big jersey on the wall in the info centre. I decided since it was late that I would have my dinner then and not hunt something down in the city after I stopped. It was interesting watching the countryside change as we headed into Salmon towns and grazing grounds like Ashburton. It was a nice ride around the outskirts of Christchurch and then I was at the front door to the hostel. I was impressed by the driver and I had to look for my bag. The driver had to get it from the other side.

Once I had checked into the hostel in Christchurch, I wanted to take a walk to the Cathedral before dark. I found the whole area was no longer the Red Zone from last time as I could walk around the buildings and New Regent Street had opened, which is an art deco type street full of boutique alcohol places and foodie places. The cathedral you could walk all the way up to, but there was still plenty of fencing around blocking the streets like last time I was there and buildings that still had supports. I could walk right into Cathedral Square though, but the tram still couldn’t get that far. It was sad looking at the new library being built, which was where I had originally stayed and had collapsed during the big quake. By this time I decided it was getting dark and I should head back as I needed to sort out a shower and look around the hostel.

South to North tour: Day 1 Gold Coast to Queenstown

By the numbers

Forgot my fitbit

1 plane

2 bag searches

1 flying book

Today was the day that I would travel to Queenstown on my long awaited trip. I woke to my phone telling me that my flight had been delayed for an hour so I could check in later if I wanted to. I did wonder if Jetstar was being thoughtful over the storm I could still hear just before 430am. I was not too worried as I would get to the airport with heaps of time. That was because the airport opens at 0430am. I took my time and when I arrived, I found I had to print the bag tag off, which was never a problem and dump on the carousel to unknown destinations. I was asked if I wanted an exit row and that meant heaps of leg room. So in row 12 I ended up. I breezed through customs to immigration becoming a little frayed / frazzled around the edges telling people not to use trays, but trays would be picked up. I didn’t mind about the delay, although a talkative man from Kyogle told me that the delay was due to a mechanical fault. That made me feel better a touch and he told me a story of a past flight with Qantas where the baggage hander ran into the side of the cargo bay.

The chatty milatty from Kyogle was actually also in the same row and an exit row too, but luckily on the other side of the row. I could hear him chatting loudly over the obligatory safety demonstration to the poor dude next to him. I was sat behind some sozzled Vodka drinkers. The flight wasn’t really that bad, but it was like the plane was in a hurry to leave Australian shores as it hooked a sharp right over the ocean and powered towards New Zealand at a pace. I had the window seat vacant and that is where my book and drink sat free of charge. On landing I learnt why my book should be wearing a seat belt and that was because it flew off the seat on landing in Queenstown coming to rest caught in the footrest of the seat in front. It could have slid further to rest at the feet of the cabin crew or the captain would have wondered about a book entering the cabin. Once off it was a quick trip through security and a jump out of the airport when I got caught for a random search. No cavities were harmed in this process. The border security lady and I were chatting away as she searched my bag and I told her about my studies, my bike and my travel plans. She even repacked my bags way better than I could. That was when she found it. On my hat that had been in my bike for months. A seed! No problems there, but it was recorded with photos and in a book. I was asked what I would be using the cap for, no, really I was. Stumped, I said I would wear it. The little seed stayed on the hat to continue the trave; and I was rewarded with bag tags with sniffer dogs. I was earlier warned by another diligent border keeper who figured my boots were hiking boots and told me I had to declare that they could have plant material. At least I now had my bag search cherry popped by a lovely kiwi lady.

Upon being set free and chased by a security Beagle out to the exit, I wondered where I could go to catch the bus. I asked the random driver if he was eventually going to Queenstown and then he said what I thought was $4. I gave him that and his hand stayed opened with a puzzled look especially when he said he could give change. Turns out it was $12, n wonder he gave the change question and he did laugh. The hills had a small amount of snow, but not much to write home about. The bus dropped me off in Queenstown and I found my way to the hostel without any problems. I still had time to explore and went to the Ice Bar called Below Zero. It wasn’t that cold, but I got a drink. It never froze me and was just like I was at work and you could tell I wasn’t concerned about the cold other than the drink had been served in an ice glass.

I was happy to wander the town without my fitbit that was still in my bag and I knew I wanted to find the cemetery to have a browse for a short time before hunting down something to eat. I seen a nice little hostel with a stream near the RSA branch. I headed for Queenstown garden where I could see some nice flowers and some sights of the hills called The Remarkables. It was getting late and I had been up for all hours and I think I was close to being worn out. People were playing Frisbee golf and its a legit game, where you have a target to hit. I had explored and gotten lost in Queenstown. I did see a singing dog. The owner a busker was singing and the dog would belt out a few tunes. I know where I have to catch the bus in the morning for my trip to Christchurch via Mt Cook. I am happy to stay in Queenstown for an afternoon and that was the whole idea of arriving here as it meant I could work my way up north.