Christchurch
2 nights
My flight to Christchurch was another late flight departing at 11:45pm from Melbourne and scheduled to arrive at 5:05am. I had gotten up early that day because I needed to get organized and check out of my hostel. I then spent the rest of the day wandering around with Brandon so was doing things nonstop. My hostel in Christchurch had limited reception hours so I slept for a couple of hours at the airport before heading to New Brighton where I would spend two nights. When I arrived at the hostel reception was open but I was still too early to check into my room so I went to the library where I slept some more.
Finally awake and able to check into my room, I took a shower and went grocery shopping. For the rest of the evening I relaxed in the hostel. The next day I went into the city where I went to a museum that had a combination of historic artifacts and contemporary street art.
I also walked around looking at the damage from the 6.3 magnitude earthquake in 2001. There was still a lot of damage and a lot of work to be done. The city came up with a Restart program where large shipping crates were used as a main construction component for the main city mall and surrounding buildings.
The next morning I took the Naked Bus to Queenstown.
Queenstown
3 nights
From the moment I stepped off the bus in Queenstown I got a good vibe from the city. It was fresh, youthful and full of positive energy.
On Monday the 3rd I made my way to Xtreme, a sports bar, where I watched the Super Bowl. Normally, the Super Bowl is a fun event to get together with friends and hang out and there happens to be football in the background but this year was different. I was invested because the Seattle Seahawks were playing against the Denver Broncos. Within the first minute it started to look good for Seattle when they received a touchdown for a safety. They dominated the game and won their first Super Bowl with a score of 43 to 8. When they returned to Seattle there was a celebration parade with 700,000 people there! That's more people than actually live in Seattle.
The following day I did a hike with Gigi and a German guy to the top of the skyline mountain where the gondola goes. From the top we started what we thought was a 30min loop walk but turned out to be a saddle walk that took a bit longer but gave us an outstanding view of the city and surrounding mountains.
We met a few other people and watched the sunset on the beach before going out for drinks.
Wanaka
1 night
After a big night out in Queenstown Gigi and I arrived at our hostel in Wanaka sleep deprived and hungover. We were too early to check into our dorm so we both ended up falling asleep on the couch in the common area. We didn't do much in Wanaka just went out for Mexican food, played pool with some Israeli guys we met and walked around the town a bit.
Franz Joseph
2 nights
We arrived in Franz Joseph in the early afternoon so had quite a bit of the day left especially since the sun doesn't set until 9pm. Gigi and I decided to do the track to the Franz Joseph glacier that afternoon. It was a nice walk across a glacial river, through lush vegetation and over a glacial valley. The glacier looks a lot different now than the postcards show in souvenir shops. The glacier has melted and receded so you don't get to see a whole lot of ice but it is still a pretty cool area.
The next day we did three walks:
The Tartare Tunnels Walk
Callery Gorge Walk
The Terrace Walk
This was a night hike that we did where we were able to see glow worms which look like tiny green glowing dots. When there are a lot in one area it appears surreal and magical. This picture is not a good representation of what I could see but just a small glance.
Hokitika
-stop through-
On the way to Greymouth we stopped in Hokitika for lunch. I got a pie and a muffin and we ate by a river that connected to the sea.
Greymouth
2 nights
Upon arriving at Noah's Arc Hostel I immediately noticed a sign that said there is a dog and can ask at reception for the leach to walk her. After settling in we did Lions Walk which looked out over the city and surrounding hills.
The next day Gigi, Anna from Australia and I used bikes provided by the hostel to bike to Runanga where we did the Coal Creek walk to a waterfall where we went for a refreshing dip before biking back to the hostel.
That evening we went to the brewery where we got locals discount on a beer because we were the only ones in the bar.
Punakiki
-stop through-
On our way to Nelson we had a brief 30 minute stop in Punakiki which was enough time to do the Pancake Rock Walk. They are limestone structures formed by erosion of alternating hard and soft layers. They are best to see at high tide because the water will splash up through blow holes in the rocks. Unfortunately it was not high tide when we were there but still incredible!
Nelson
3 nights
In Nelson Jenny from the UK (who I met in Franz Joseph), Gigi and I:
Biked to Tahunanui Beach
Walked to the center of New Zealand
It is thought to be the center because of surveys taken upon early European Settlement but not the true center because curvature of the earth was not accounted for in the early surveys. The true center is in Golden Downs Forest along the Spooners Range.
Did a day trip to Able Tasman with two German guys Fabian and nick where we:
Went cliff jumping & rope swinging
Did a lookout hike
Relaxed on the beach in Golden Bay
Hiked to a waterfall
Nick and I also decided to climb up to the top of the waterfall after the path had ended. It was truly amazing getting to the top because it was such a challenge and untouched and unseen by most tourists.
From Nelson I booked a ticket to Kaikoura but happened to be on the same bus as Jenny who was heading to Christchurch. We met two kiwis when the trip started at 9am who had already started drinking for the day. We all decided to do a power hour at 11:30am (slippery slope) in Blenhime where we had a 2 hour break before a bus transfer. We found a nice spot by the river where we swam and drank.
Christchurch
3 nights
Whoops...how did I end up in Christchurch?!?
I slept through my stop in Kaikoura because I drank so early in the day. Jenny was picked up by her friend that she was staying with and they offered me a ride to find a hostel. We went to two hostels and called about a half dozen but everything was full and the people we talked to didn't think there would be availability anywhere. Jenny's friend said she would offer a couch at her place but there were other people staying there and it was full. Jenny contacted her friend Luke who she met in Asia and lived in Christchurch who let me crash at his place. I ended up staying there for three nights. The first full day I was there he invited me to a park with his friends where I learned the New Zealand drinking game Pukana, the next day I went to a family dinner and the next morning I took a bus to Kaikoura.
Kiakoura
2 nights
This time I made it to Kaikoura! Although, I think I was lucky to get there because the bus broke down in Kaikoura and the people going further had a long delay in their travels.
While in Kaikoura I did a walk around the entire peninsula. It took all day and allowed me to see the main town center, beaches, seals, fields, sheep, rolling hills and mountains. It was a great walk.
Both nights there I watched the sunset on the beach, played in the sand and wrote in my journal.
Nelson
3 nights
I returned to Nelson with the intention of going to a bush festival with nick but we were unable to find a ride and had too many people and too much stuff to hitch with. I relaxed in a pool at my hostel and doing a bone carving class in the days I was there before heading north.
