I Wanna Live in Wanaka

If there’s one place I could have stayed the entire month, it would’ve been Wanaka.

Surrounded by mountains, this cozy little town was utter perfection. Maybe it was the long bus ride, but this view was exactly what I was looking for in New Zealand. Beautiful skies, rocks, and mountains (what are men?).

I considered abandoning my tour group and filing a change of address. I didn’t want to leave!

Our only night there happened to fall on St. Patrick’s Day, so like the traditionalists we were, we ate at a Mexican restaurant. (note to self: regardless of holiday, do not give in to peer pressure and drink the disgusting green drink)

My one mission that I wouldn’t leave Wanaka before completing was finding The Wanaka Tree. This thing has it’s own hashtag #thatwanakatree !! This is one of many many photos I took that day – definitely worth walking a mile in the blazing hot sun in flip flops.

On my walk back to the YHA, I noticed the path I was following was a timeline. As a millennium project, Wanaka wrote the history of the world on 2,000 tiles along the lakefront promenade. Each tile covers the important events, discoveries, and achievements of that year/period. As the timeline approaches the 18th century, facts from the local community start to appear.

 

As we departed from this lovely haven, we were off for more adventures further South! Thank goodness, our driver was a saint when it came to pit stops for photos!!

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Thunder Creek Falls

Fantail Falls

Driving in New Zealand is a true test of the stomach. You may think you’re immune to carsickness, but you haven’t zoomed around these corners on a bus…This was our longest day of driving, and most of it was in the rain. Thank goodness I brought my ipod.

(note to reader/future NZ traveler: There is an evil in the South Island called the sandfly. They are fierce and they are many. Bathe yourself in bug spray, wear long pants/skirts, high socks, and whenever possible keeps your windows closed if you want to avoid being eaten alive and scarred for the next month)

Our final stop was in the eternally wet Franz Josef. An itty-bitty town, made for backpackers, glacier climbers, and people who like to be damp.

I had planned to go sky diving over the Southern Alps here, but was warned that the weather was the ultimate decider. Sure enough, the rain proved too dangerous for any sort of high flying. So we did what everyone does when it rains, karaoke. Oh yes, I melted some faces with my Oh Darlin!  I impressed a Brit, so I consider that a win.

The two days we spent here were a wash (hehe) due to the ever-present rain clouds. But we made the most of it by trying some delicious nutella-filled donuts, carving our own jade jewelry at Te Koha Gallery, and embracing the wetness at the Glacier Hot Pools.

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We left for Greymouth the final day to catch the TranzAlpine railway back to Christchurch.

So what did I think of my week with Haka Tours?

They are extremely helpful, keeping an online messenger on their website should you ever need to ask a ‘silly question’ you can’t answer on the site. My questions ranged from what airlines to use to which boots would work best. My tour guide was super friendly and always keen for an adventure off the beaten path. He definitely made it feel like a road-trip with your mates, rather than a boring tour bus. The price is pretty reasonable, given the US exchange rate, my money definitely went further. $600 NZD was around $400USD. I always felt safe with this company, not that New Zealand is a sketchy place. Everyone I came across was uber-friendly. GO SKY DIVING. It is so much cheaper in New Zealand than the U.S. because of the exchange rate. You can’t afford not to.

I have two things that annoyed a bit, but weren’t total deal-breakers.

• If you don’t want to purchase Extra Activities, you’ll have a lot of downtime
  There is one thing I wish they would’ve been a little more upfront about. There are a zillion things to do on these tours. Skydiving, white water rafting, cliff jumping, hot air ballooning, pretty much anything fun and extreme is within your grasp. These are all add-ons to the tour, time spent away from the group and whatever the tour would be doing normally (if you were the only one who signed up for an activity). But that’s just it. There were no ‘normal tour activities’ for those who opted out of spending their life’s savings on every single activity. We spent two and a half days in Queenstown and I was bored, having done my paragliding early the first day. The tour guide basically leaves you to your own devices, taking the days off. For a 7 day tour, I thought it strange to pay for 2 days of no actual ‘touring.’ I’m not saying I needed someone to hold my hand and show me down every street, but I think there needs to be an organized/planned option/activity for those tour members that choose not to do extra activities.
• Shorter Tours are added on to longer ones
  This may be just me, but as this was my first ‘tour group’, I was looking forward to sharing this experience with a new group of people and possibly make new friendships, or at least ‘vacation friends.’ I chose to go on a 7-day tour called the South LICK tour, which is solely on the South Island. As we met up in Christchurch, I realized I was one of five people joining a group of 11 that had already been traveling together for a week in the North island. There was a clear dynamic of ‘the original group‘ and the ‘add-ons‘. It sounds so high school, but it got on my nerves. Seats on the bus were ‘claimed’ (all adults mind you), rapport was established between the tour guide and the original group, meaning pit stops, music selection, and meal locations were decided. I would have at least liked a say in the decision making. Maybe that’s the draw to tour groups, that you don’t have to make decisions, you just follow the group wherever it leads. Maybe I’m just not a tour group person!

Would I do this again?

Maybe. If I were doing a longer tour and was with a group of my own friends. Going solo, on the trip I selected, is not something I’d like to repeat.

Lake Tekapo & Queenstown

 “Far over the misty mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old
We must away ere break of day
To seek the pale enchanted gold.”

                 -J. R. R. Tolkien (The Hobbit)

I tell you, I felt like Thorin Oakenshield himself passing o’er the misty hills of the South Island. I am grateful however, that I didn’t have to go on foot.

I haven’t been a passenger on a road trip in a very long time, and it was a hard adjustment. I didn’t control the music (uf, that was a tough one), I didn’t control the stops, and I had virtually no foot room the entire week of traveling. But, complaints aside, the view from my window was pretty great.

Our next pit stop was Lake Tekapo. I could’ve stayed here all week. It doesn’t offer much for entertainment or night life, but the view was spectacular.
The world was quiet here.

We stayed in a YHA (Youth Hostel & Accommodation & Travel) that had a certain charm to it. Despite the dewy musk, I rather liked the communal living. What I did not enjoy was sharing a room with five other people. Did I mention it was co-ed? Yeah, not used to that. I honestly hate sharing my living space. (haha, why did I do this, right??)

After some greasy Chinese food, we headed for a nice soak in the hot springs . It was a great start to the trip, and we girls bonded over a long walk back in the rain.

Sadly, we were set to leave this cove of serenity the next morning, but I managed to sneak a few photos in before they left without me.

The Church of the Good Shepherd, built in 1935, was the first church built in the Mackenzie Basin.

I couldn’t get over how beautiful this place was. It’s the perfect location to disappear for a week or two and just enjoy creation at its finest.

By lunch, we pulled into Queenstown which sits right on the edge of Lake Wakatipu.

Here we stayed in one of Haka Tours‘ hostel locations (yay no dewy sheets!!). The space was much smaller, but the amenities made up for it. We had two kitchens at our disposal, free WiFi, a TV room, and it sat in a prime location just a block from the center of town.

 

We spent two and a half days here, which was a nice break from all the driving. I sampled some New Zealand brew which wasn’t bad! It was a little bitter for my taste, but definitely drinkable. Also tried out the famous Fergburger which was delicious, but the twenty minute order line was a little ridiculous.

On the drive in, I spied some para-gliders overhead and thought it looked fun.

So I did it.

Was it amazing? No, not really. I was looking forward to more….well, just more. I’ve been skydiving before and I think that was the problem. There is no real thrill to para-gliding. The best part was running off the cliff. From there on, you’re sitting in a harness for a few minutes and then you land. I asked my instructor to do as many ‘tricks’ as he wanted, so we spun and rode the wind currents as best we could, but it just wasn’t doing it for me.

This wasn’t their fault at all. In fact, I highly recommend this experience for families, even for kids! There isn’t an age limit as far as I know, just a weight restriction. So young, old, anybody can do this, trust me. It is a very mild ride.

I figured I’d enjoy the view since I was already up here. Got some crepes n’ coffee and did just that.

Queenstown was a quaint little tourist town (dubbed the adventure capital of New Zealand) that I would end up revisiting later that month! (but that’s another story)

As we drove out of town, The Remarkables looked well….remarkable! On to Wanaka!!

Charlie Chaplin in Christchurch

After a blissful wedding weekend in the North, I headed down South to Christchurch. I was to spend the evening with another friend from my time at Disney!
These two ladies were lovely and the most gracious hosts!

They are also blessed to own a majestic Persian queen named Frida. I am not a cat person, but she was real cute. She showed her love and/or curiosity all night long, tenderly pawing my face. Or she hates me.

Alas, we would only spend one night together as I was leaving for my first ever Tour Group the next morning. Thankfully, my dear friend took me for a quick drive around the city and a last-minute-supply run. I forgot to get a converter at the airport. This is safe right? Meh, it worked like a charm.

We had lunch at the cutest cafe that could’ve been plucked straight out of Portland. Local art covered the walls, re-used industrial materials were given new life and purpose, plus, a secret bookcase door lead to the bathroom. Oh, and the bathrooms?? Depending on who you choose (Luke, Leia, Han…) you are read to while you do your business. I got to listen to a bit of Harry Potter! Let me clarify: there is not a random dude sitting on a stool reading in each bathroom. It’s a speaker people, simmer down.

This place was honestly my favorite part of Christchurch. Those tubes you see on the ceiling? They deliver fries. There’s also an old sewing machine which doubles as a water fountain. You have to run the pedal and turn the wheel. It’s hipster heaven, I know.

Another perk was a doorway that led to a video shop next store. That’s right. A good old fashioned movie rental store (and also a theater). They had categories! They were so specific and fun, plus apparently they change often. I’M MOVING TO NZ TO WORK HERE. I never wanted to leave. The only downside was this heinous thing:

This statue was so unsettling!! I didn’t notice that it wasn’t a person until I stood right next to him, and his red eyes were staring me into a pit of hell fire. Real creepy. First thing to go on my list.

As a thank you to my lovely hosts, I wanted to give them something special. I noticed they had a few original artworks hung from their friends. I decided to paint their dearest feline, Frida. She was an excellent model.

So, back to my super exciting Tour Group!! It was seven days long, covering most of the South Island. A friend recommended Haka Tours to me, having just went on a two week tour with them and loved it. Her pictures looked great, and their website was super helpful and detailed, complete with online helpers who answered any question I had, no matter how stupid.

They have a road-trip-with-your-mates approach rather than a rigid schedule of long speeches over the PA. This sounded perfect to me, so I went for it. As my first day was in Christchurch, we walked the city for a bit, funnily enough, re-visiting a few places I’d already been (including the cafe!).

Some history on Christchurch –  In 2011, the city was hit with an earthquake, causing several aftershocks for months afterwards. The city was devastated, leaving an eerie skeleton behind. After five years, there is still much work to be done. Where once stood the pride of the city, Christchurch Cathedral, there are piles of rubble and unstable scaffolding.

It truly was a somber sight, but seeing how people have come together in light of what’s happened was encouraging. On many buildings were massive works of street art, making an otherwise desolated place, look beautiful.

I was joining a group of sixteen people, eleven of which had already been on tour for a week on the North island. From here we were headed to Lake Tekapo. Which is where my next post is headed!