Final trip of the year! New Zealand has been one of the places on the top of my to-go list, and so glad we finally made it happen! I prefer holidays that are about 1.5 weeks (too long and I get travel fatigue), so this time we went for 9 nights, focusing on the South Island only, arriving in Christchurch then driving down, stopping by Tekapo and Wanaka before going to Queenstown where we flew back from.
Day 1.
Sigh, Qantas. Our flight from Sg to Melbourne was delayed, then the
flight from Melbourne to Christchurch was delayed too. AND they ran
out of the chicken option on the second flight.
Anyway, landed in Christchurch late, but luckily immigration was fast. We took an Uber to Crowne Plaza Hotel to check-in to a large and comfy room!
Since it was already past 5pm and all places of interest were closed, we just headed to Riverside Market to have dinner. Tried chicken souvlaki from Dmitri, crispy fish salad from Herba Gourmet and nepalese dumplings from Momo!
Some sightseeing around Christchurch, including the Bridge of Remembrance. Unfortunately the Christchurch Cathedral is undergoing renovations currently.
Saw the iconic Christchurch tramway on the way to New Regent St which is a whole street of restaurants and cafes. We decided to have dessert at Rollickin Gelato - the dairy free ice cream was just ok but the affogatto was SO GOOD.
Day 2.
Full day of touring Christchurch! Started with breakfast at Unknown Chapter which was a 15min walk from our hotel. Everything looked super enticing, and we eventually settled on french toast, scrambled tofu toast and banana bread, plus flat white & hot chocolate. The food was delicious but the hot choc was pretty milky.
First stop of the day was the Canterbury museum, but it's currently a temporary pop-up exhibition so we were done in less than 30 minutes.
Headed over to the Arts Centre to walk and take pics with pretty historical buildings and look around the exhibits and shops.
Next stop was the Christchurch Art Gallery. We saw that there was a linocuts talk by the curator about to start so we just headed in and it was so interesting! Really lucky to have caught the linocuts exhibition which just started that day because the art pieces were amazing!
It was around noon by now and we went back to riverside market as I had unfinished business from the previous day haha. Visited She Chocolaterie to try the hot choc which was so thick and satisfying. And also bought 2 pieces of chocolates which were suuuper good. Then to Bellbird bakery to get an almond croissant that was absolutely stuffed with almond paste.
But this was just pre-lunch, because I wanted to visit C1 espresso to see their pneumatic tube system. Since only dishes are served by the pneumatic tube, I purposely ordered fries just to get it through the system haha. Plus some pulled pork nachos!
Dropped by the cardboard church but it was closed for a private event.
So we headed back to the other side of the city center to visit the Botanic garden. The Rose garden was truly amazing - never seen so many different colours of roses before! We also managed to find the NZ Peace Bell, and saw people punting on the Avon River.
We went back to our hotel to rest before our dinner at 5th street! I just searched for the best restaurant in Christchurch and this came up frequently so I decided to book it, but our reservation was only at 8pm. It's quite far from the city center so we took an Uber there. Was really surprised at how cozy the interior was. Their menu consists of small, medium and large plates all for sharing. The staff recommended 3, 2, 1; we went with 2, 2, 1 but it was still too much for us small eaters. For small plates (starters), we had the sourdough flatbread with stracciatella (AMAZING) and fried chicken. Followed by lettuce and mushrooms for mediums and fish of the day for large plate. They were super crowded so the wait between smalls and medium/large plates was wayyy too long. The lettuce was also humongous and we were overly stuffed so we couldn't order dessert, unfortunately. Food was all yummy, but the sourdough flatbread with stracciatella was the standout for me.
Day 3
It was a sad rainy morning and we braved the rain for breakfast at Little Poms which was another 15min walk from our hotel. Ordered the waffles and this grilled halloumi toast which came with soo much greens! This was one of our favourite breakfasts of the trips.
Passed by a playground on the way back and couldn't resist going on the flying fox.
It was the start of our road trip so we took an Uber to the Go rentals place near the airport to pick up our car, and had a really nice encounter with our chatty Uber driver who shared that he worked in KL and Singapore before and also giving us some history and geography nuggets about NZ.
So we rented a Mitsubishi, and I got a shock when the lady said our car doesn't have an inbuilt GPS! Note to self to check that next time. Went back to the hotel to check out and we were on our way! Our destination was Tekapo which was a 2.5h drive , but we try to stop at least every hour...to prevent my dad from falling asleep haha. So our first stop was a small town called Geraldine which was around midway, and had lunch at a pretty garden cafe called Verde. Ordered the salmon special and this baileys cheesecake which was super popular! Yummyyyy.
Next stop was Fairlie bakehouse to get famous pies. I originally planned to have lunch here but good thing we didn't because it was sooo crowded so we just took away a butter chicken pie and a choc cake.
Finally reached tekapo and checked into our gorgeous airbnb! Super cozy and huge with 3 rooms!
Settled in, then headed out to visit the Church of Good Shepherd which is the main attraction in Tekapo. Gorgeous views, but the wind was INSANE.
Headed for an early dinner at Blue Lake Eatery. Started with the scallops which were so good. Ordered the lamb rump for main as well as a side of asparagus. Dessert was affogatto which came with extra liquor thing that added a little oomph.
It was still super early so we had time to shop around for souvenirs in the many souvenir stores there.
Day 4.
Day trip to Mt Cook! Started the day with breakfast at Greedy Cow - vegetarian eggs ben and the most humongous french toast ever! We were lucky we came early because it was sooo crowded since there's only 2 cafes in the area.
It was a 1h journey to Mt Cook, and we stopped along the way because the views were just so gorgeous.
The weather was amazing but as we neared Mt Cook, it started raining as forecasted. And the rain just wouldn't stop. Initially we were still optimistic the rain would stop so we headed to the visitor center to escape the rain and learnt a bit of history and geography.
The rain continued, so we went to Sir Edmund Hillary Cafe at the Hermitage hotel for a quick lunch.
It was almost 2pm by now and the rain lightened to a drizzle, so we decided to do the 40min Tasman Glacier Walk which was uphill. Unfortunately the views at the top were obscured by the rain and cloud :(
The main itinerary was Hooker Valley Track which is a 3h walk. The rain wasn't letting up but we eventually started around 345pm. It was not the easy flat hike I thought it would be because the weather was insane. The rain was one thing, but the wind was the killer. I never knew wind could be so strong. There were parts during the walk where I literally didn't need to walk as the wind was pushing me along. I was spending effort trying to slow myself down instead. And there were a couple of steps here and there. Since it was raining, there were puddles everywhere and some were unavoidable so my feet were completely soaked and I felt like I was walking on ice. Was also nursing an ankle injury, so yeah, I was struggling. There were 3 suspension bridges to cross and the wind was so strong that I was so scared my phone would be blown out of my hands.
So we finally reached the end (or rather midway point cos we still had to go back where we came from) which is the Hooker Valley lake. We were already struggling because it was SO COLD, my whole body was shaking and my dad was unable to take a nice photo. Then someone asked me to help him film his proposal OMG. Of course I agreed, but it was a terribly shot video because my hands were shaking, and the girl was in such distress too cos she was like so cold so cold haha. Definitely a memorable proposal!
The walk back was a lot less
painful as I was completely numb by now, plus mentally I knew I was on the way back. The rain had stopped (though I could hardly register that), and the skies also cleared so we managed to get a couple of decent shots with blue skies! Was so relieved when I returned to the starting point. Wow, this supposedly easy 3h trek would be a strong contender for
the most challenging thing i've ever done!
We then rushed back to Tekapo because I had reserved dinner at TLV and their supposed last seating was at 830pm, and we reached on the dot (though I later found out that they did accept walk-ins past that time). Teriyaki prawns for starters, duck confit + truffle mushroom fusili for mains, and pistachio tiramisu for dessert! The food was superb, but I was soo disappointed in the tiramisu cos it was all just pistachio cream with zero coffee/liquor.
Also, Tekapo is famous for
stargazing! So we'd go out onto the airbnb balcony for like a couple of minutes at night to see the stars.
Day 5
This was the day I planned to hike Roy's peak, but my ankle was still super injured and it was not gonna survive a 6-8h hike that is continuously uphill then downhill, so plans changed and it became a very chill day.
Woke up later than usual, checked out of our airbnb then went to take photos again at the church/lake tekapo since the winds were a lot calmer today.
Had breakfast at Jack Rabbit - smoked salmon bagel and yoghurt+granola bowl. Got a huge shock when the granola came because it looked like an entire bag of granola.
Went to buy more souvenirs before setting off for Wanaka! It was a 2.5h drive, so we stopped by random viewpoints to break up the drive. And because everywhere in NZ is gorgeous. One of our stops was Lindl's pass/valley and it was such an unexpected find! Super quiet but gorgeous view of the valley.
We finally reached Wanaka around 3pm, and checked in to our huge apartment at the lakeside, called Lakeside Apartments lol.
We hadn't had lunch so went to grab a quick bite at this place called Charlie Brown's creperie which was such an unexpected gem. The snickers crepe was super sinful but super good. hard to go wrong with peanut butter + chocolate. And the crepes were crispy!
Walked along Lake Wanaka, passing many pretty trees...
Until we reached #thatwanaktree, the most famous tree in NZ.
Dinner was at Big Fig which is like an angmoh caifan. Choose a plate size and choose 4/5/6 portions (1 protein + veg/salads) which is right up my alley. They also have desserts so we got a choc hazelnut bar which was super good too.
Since it was still relatively early and bright, we went to the supermarket to buy lots of chocolates and other random things that caught our fancy like strawberry tomatoes (first time I've ever heard of this) and fruits and yoghurt.
Day 6.
It was unfortunately rainy so we had to drive to our breakfast place called Federal Diner. Tried the scone and hawea flat which comes with spinach, halloumi and mushrooms on a polenta cake. So good.
Checked out and caught the most perfect rainbow on our way out of Wanaka.
And we were on our way to Kawarau bridge for my bungy jump!! Was really lucky that the the skies cleared up just in time for my jump at 10.30. There are a couple of places to bungy jump in NZ, but I chose Kawarau bridge as it's the birthplace of bungy!
The check in process was super smooth and efficient. You just have to get weighed and they'll write the weight on your left hand and another ID number on the right hand. Then you're free to go to the platform whenever ready. I took a few pics and saw a few other people jump before making my way to the platform. Put on the harness, got my numbers checked a few more times, then it was my turn already. They tied the ropes to my ankles reallyyyy tightly (and my ankle was still hurting), then I had to hop to the edge of the platform - 5, 4, 3, 2 bungy! I just jumped as I didn't wanna waste their time even though I was TERRIFIED. Felt like i was jumping to my death lol and I just screamed and screamed. After the first descend, you kinda bounce up and down which it's not too bad. Then I had to grab a pole to be brought down to the boat but I missed the first time and continued swinging and became really stressed haha but eventually managed to grab it! The climb back up after finishing the jump was the best feeling - high on adrenaline!
The whole experience was expensive but WORTH IT imo. The package comes with pics and videos and a free tee as well!
Next stop was Arrowtown, which is a historical town famous for gold mining. We went to the museum and gallery to learn some history.
Followed by lunch at Provisions Cafe. Tried the chilli scrambled eggs and the apple cinnamon roll which were both excellent!
I love touristy things, so we went to hire a gold pan to attempt to find gold at the creek hahah. Of course we couldn't find anything.
Bought souvenirs from the many cute stores around.
Then went to the historical Chinese settlement, where the Chinese who came for the gold rush lived, a distance away from everyone else.
Decided to go on the Arrow River Trail which was an hour walk. I wasn't sure where was the end so we just aimed to reached the waterfall before turning back.
Time for dinner at Slow Cuts! It's famous for burgers so we tried the pork katsu sliders (which was more of normal sized burger than a slider lol), as well as the quarter chicken with greens. I'm not a huge fan of burgers, but this was reallyyyy good.
Finally, another short 20 min drive to Queenstown to check in to our last hotel!
My dad initially missed the turn into our hotel so we inadvertently ended up at some gorgeous viewpoint while making a detour and had to stop for pics because it was just breathtaking.
Decided to head for ice cream at Patagonia! Also bought chocs because everything looked so enticing. Patagonia is located next to the wharf and it was around 9pm so we managed to catch the amazing sunset!
Day 7
Started the day with breakfast at odd saint - mediterranean eggs and tiramisu brioche!
Itinerary of the day was to drive along Lake Wakatipu to Glenorchy. I planned to stop at certain view points like Sunshine Bay and Wilson Bay, but it was rainy and cloudy so the views weren't the best.
Did a short walk at Ben's Cove and managed to catch some blue skies.
Since it was still raining, we decided to head onwards from Glenorchy to Paradise first, driving through gravel and mud just to reach that Paradise sign heh.
It was around noon by now so we made our way back to Glenorchy for lunch at Mrs Woolly's General Store. There had a really cozy area for dine-in and the food looked super good! We ended up with a salad bowl, frittata, carrot cake and blueberry oat slice which were all super yummy.
Headed to visit the little red shed which is the iconic historical building of Glenorchy. Also tried to take photos at the jetty but it was SO COLD.
We braved the rain to do the southern circuit around the Glenorchy Lagoon, though the views were again marred by the clouds.
Headed back to Queenstown, and the skies cleared up so we stopped at some of the same viewpoints to get better pics haha.
It was time to return our car as well, so we stopped by iSite to buy a bus card (called Bee card) so that we could take the bus back after returning the car.
Dinner plan was to join the queue for Fergburgers, which is an INSTITUTION in qt. There's always a queue but thankfully they're super organised and efficient. We tried the grilled chicken burger and the beef+bacon+avo burger. They were humongous but indeed, super nice. And then of course, had to have gelato from Mrs Ferg for dessert!
Day 8
Day trip to Milford sound! I booked the coach-cruise-fly with Glenorchy Air, with the first part (coach-cruise) being operated by Southern Discoveries. Pick up time was at 650am so we woke up at an ungodly time to have the hotel breakfast buffet which starts at 6am.
The bus arrived at 705am, and we were on our way. It was a super long journey from Queenstown to Milford Sound, though we did have numerous stops for toilet breaks/views. Our bus driver/guide was also very entertaining with many stories, though I think I was asleep for about half of it.
The weather was pretty cloudy especially as we neared Milford Sound, and the guide kept saying it was unlikely the planes would take off. We were given the option to go for the heli flight in the event the scenic flight back wouldn't proceed. Was super bummed because honestly the scenic flight was the main reason we booked this tour, and the heli flight would be even more expensive. But we decided to just have the heli flight as the backup plan since we were really not keen to spend another 4.5h on the bus back.
Reached Milford Sound and boarded our cruise, which came with a buffet lunch! Went up to the deck to capture views though it was super cloudy and windy and COLD. There was one part we went super close to a waterfall and were all drenched! The 1h 45min cruise passed pretty quickly and we were back at the terminal.
Upon arriving back, we realised that our flights would be proceeding to much relief. We took the shuttle to the airport, boarded our tiny plane and we were on our way! The pilot was trying to explain stuff but it was so noisy that I could hardly hear him. It was still cloudy at milford sound but skies were clearer nearer to Queenstown so the views were amazingggg. Definitely worth the expense!
We were dropped off at our hotel and had some time to chill so we went to get cookies at Cookie Time, which has 1 for 1 during happy hour (6-7pm).
I reserved dinner at Blue Kanu, which serves Polyasian food and was highly recommended on the internet.We had the fry bread, sticky pork ribs and dumplings for starters, followed by the Fijian seafood curry for mains. For me, the pork ribs and seafood curry were standouts!
Day 9
It was another rainy morning, but luckily it was a light drizzle so we could walk 15min to Bespoke Kitchen which was a highly recommended cafe. I was particularly interested in the blueberry and blackberry spelt pancakes which were sooo prettily plated. Also ordered the salmon eggs ben that was super delish and I loved the texture of the muffins.
Everything looked so enticing so we decided to takeaway a bunch of items (scone, muffin & afghan biscuit) for the next day's breakfast since we had an early morning flight.
We took bus 1 to Remarkables for the saturday market and wow, this was one of the best farmer's market we've ever been to. It's not huge but the stores were so well curated and everything sold looked like it was of high quality. We ended up buying SO many things - homemade jams/spreads, crackers, an almond croissant even though we already had a huge bfast, and a bunch of other gifts and souvenirs.
Then went to the supermarket to buy all the nuts and crackers and chocs.
Took Bus 1 to Frankton for lunch at The Boatshed Cafe! The blueberry french toast was super good. We also got a summer greens dish which was really all greens!
Spent some time walking along the Frankton beach area.
Then took bus 1 again to the hotel. But the bus missed our stop! So we had to make the hike up back to our hotel.
Afternoon itinerary was Skyline, one of the main tourist attractions in Queenstown, which is mainly just a (very expensive) gondola ride up to the top for views.
I got the ticket with 3 luge rides. It was surprisingly stressful haha because you need to control it and it can go quite fast! All these angmoh kids were going faster than me oops. Went for my 3 rides consecutively, doing the arrow route twice and dart route once. Then went to the souvenir store to buy more things before taking the gondola back down.
There's an Anita Gelato at the bottom so we decided to have our dessert before dinner lol. Got a double scoop too as there were so many flavours to try, eventually settling for peanut butter & chocolate and chocolate cookies. The
guy was suuuuper generous so there was a mountain on our cup.
Dropped by Fergbakery to get a pie for next day's bfast.
Then walked to our dinner place at The Bunker for the last dinner! It's a fancy fine dining place, but since we were pretty stuffed from dessert, we shared 3 starters, 1 main and a side of greens. Decided to be adventurous for starters so we had paua tortellini, hare loin and duck parfait. the mille feuille hare was surprisingly my favourite. main was blue cod with mussel croquette which was super good too.
 |
| Duck parfair |
 |
| Hare loin |
 |
| Paua tortellini |
 |
| Blue cod + side of greens |
Final walk around the wharf for more views.
Day 10
Last day was an early morning call at 3 plus am to check out and head to the airport by 5am for our 7am flight. The uber driver to the airport kept trying to get us to pay extra money. Initially, he said that our 3 medium sized luggage couldn't fit into the boot and there was an extra fee to put the luggage in front, but it was clearly that they would fit if arranged sideways. Then when he dropped us off he said they usually charge 5 bucks for baggage handling. Cash grab move!
The Queenstown airport is really small. And randomly caught a hot-air balloon while waiting to board!
We had a 3h flight to Sydney for a 3h layover at Sydney airport which was way too crowded and huge and messy. Went to Toby's estate to get coffee just for a place to sit since the airport was devoid of seats. Boarding was a huge mess because they blocked off the area and then refused to let people into the gate even though the plane was having its final boarding call. Its the kind of airport which requires a bus to the plane and everyone was stuck downstairs waiting for the buses. Chaos! Finally managed to board and our flight was of course delayed. It was a Qantas flight operated by Finnair and my last Finnair experience sucked so I wasn't expecting much but luckily this was a
surprisingly comfy flight with pretty decent food!