The Land of New Zeals - 1
Last week was truly exciting thanks to our much awaited trip to New Zealand. The place was like a mini visit to paradise where there is not only serenity and peace but also adventure and adrenaline pumping activities to do. We went to the most beautiful part of the country which was South Island. The North Island is pretty in its own way, but people (my hubby being one of them) who have seen both claim that South Island is where the natural beauty exists, whereas North Island is more of industries and volcanoes.
We began our trip from Adelaide at 5:30 in the morning, when we got dropped at the Airport. We were to fly to Melbourne in a Qantas flight and then catch an Air New Zealand flight to Christchurch. The timing was perfect and the weather could not have been better. We had a pleasant journey all the way, and although we forgot to order Veggie meals for the die-hard vegetarian in me, the air crew was nice enough to provide me with one. God bless them, or else I would have entered New Zealand starving!
We got to watch the movie "Pacifier" starring Vin Diesel in a comic role, in the flight. I am not sure why Diesel agreed to do that role. After seeing him in the first XXX I was very disappointed by the Pacifier. Anyway, all that disappointment vanished once we were flying over Fiordland (another name for New Zealand because it has lots of Fiords, I'll get to that later). Thanks to clear skies, we could see the snow-capped mountains clearly and what a sight it was!!! My words cannot express the beauty as much as it truly is partly because I was unable to digest the complete picture, for it was totally out of my imagination. I was ecstatic and was very much looking forward to the following 8 days in such a beautiful place.
The flight landed at the Christchurch Airport at 3:30 pm, and luckily we didn't have any problems with the luggage. We were picked up by a shuttle that took us to the Apollo Campervan Agency. Our bold campervan was waiting for us outside the office to be explored and to drive us all over the Island. I have never been in one before and hence was amazed by what all could be fitten into a van sortof vehicle. It had a shower cum toilet, a wardrobe, a microwave oven, a fridge, a 3-burner stove, a grill and a sink, resembling a mini kitchen. Apart from these things, there was also a dining table and 2 couches that could transform into a double bed, and also some cupboards for keeping the quilt and the pillows. If you are wondering how they could fit in all this into such a small vehicle, here is the picture to show you how -
This is how they accomodated it all
Courtesy Apollo Motorhome website.
After admiring our home for the next 8 days, we went to a nearby supermarket to purchase grocery and vegetables that would feed us through our holiday. After that we drove to a place called Hanmer Springs, which was about 100 kms north of Christchurch. This place is known for its natural thermal reserves. While it is freezing outside, the natural spas in Hanmer Springs generate water at a temperature of 30 degrees celsius and above. There were about 10 such pools and a private pool and a private spa. There was also a pool for the kids to play. It was a much needed relaxation after the journey of the day. After enjoying the warm water, we parked our campervan at a powersite and had self-made tacos for the night. Yummy!
The next day we decided to drive to Greymouth which is on the west coast. We heard about a place called Punakaiki close to Greymouth famous for rocks in the shape of layered pancakes and blowholes. It was hard for me to imagine what this actually meant until I saw it with my own eyes. Nature had taken 35 million years to erode the sea side rocks to form something of that shape. It really resembled pancakes that could be a demon's feast! Not only that, there were these sea weeds in the sea down below which looked to me like a demon's hair. The blowholes apparently are formed by the sea hitting the rocks with such fierce force that the rocks have to give way.
That afternoon we had lunch at a nice cafe at Greymouth called the "Cafe 124 @ McKees". We ordered a Moroccan platter, which had some falafels, bread, various dips, fetta cheese and Kalamata Olives. My mouth still waters when I think of that platter. That night we cooked some South Indian Sambar, rice and Carrot curry for dinner and had it in the Campervan. For a few moments it felt like we were transported back to our homeland :-)
That was the end of Day 2 of our great New Zealand trip!
...Contd
We began our trip from Adelaide at 5:30 in the morning, when we got dropped at the Airport. We were to fly to Melbourne in a Qantas flight and then catch an Air New Zealand flight to Christchurch. The timing was perfect and the weather could not have been better. We had a pleasant journey all the way, and although we forgot to order Veggie meals for the die-hard vegetarian in me, the air crew was nice enough to provide me with one. God bless them, or else I would have entered New Zealand starving!
We got to watch the movie "Pacifier" starring Vin Diesel in a comic role, in the flight. I am not sure why Diesel agreed to do that role. After seeing him in the first XXX I was very disappointed by the Pacifier. Anyway, all that disappointment vanished once we were flying over Fiordland (another name for New Zealand because it has lots of Fiords, I'll get to that later). Thanks to clear skies, we could see the snow-capped mountains clearly and what a sight it was!!! My words cannot express the beauty as much as it truly is partly because I was unable to digest the complete picture, for it was totally out of my imagination. I was ecstatic and was very much looking forward to the following 8 days in such a beautiful place.
The flight landed at the Christchurch Airport at 3:30 pm, and luckily we didn't have any problems with the luggage. We were picked up by a shuttle that took us to the Apollo Campervan Agency. Our bold campervan was waiting for us outside the office to be explored and to drive us all over the Island. I have never been in one before and hence was amazed by what all could be fitten into a van sortof vehicle. It had a shower cum toilet, a wardrobe, a microwave oven, a fridge, a 3-burner stove, a grill and a sink, resembling a mini kitchen. Apart from these things, there was also a dining table and 2 couches that could transform into a double bed, and also some cupboards for keeping the quilt and the pillows. If you are wondering how they could fit in all this into such a small vehicle, here is the picture to show you how -
This is how they accomodated it all
Courtesy Apollo Motorhome website.
After admiring our home for the next 8 days, we went to a nearby supermarket to purchase grocery and vegetables that would feed us through our holiday. After that we drove to a place called Hanmer Springs, which was about 100 kms north of Christchurch. This place is known for its natural thermal reserves. While it is freezing outside, the natural spas in Hanmer Springs generate water at a temperature of 30 degrees celsius and above. There were about 10 such pools and a private pool and a private spa. There was also a pool for the kids to play. It was a much needed relaxation after the journey of the day. After enjoying the warm water, we parked our campervan at a powersite and had self-made tacos for the night. Yummy!
The next day we decided to drive to Greymouth which is on the west coast. We heard about a place called Punakaiki close to Greymouth famous for rocks in the shape of layered pancakes and blowholes. It was hard for me to imagine what this actually meant until I saw it with my own eyes. Nature had taken 35 million years to erode the sea side rocks to form something of that shape. It really resembled pancakes that could be a demon's feast! Not only that, there were these sea weeds in the sea down below which looked to me like a demon's hair. The blowholes apparently are formed by the sea hitting the rocks with such fierce force that the rocks have to give way.
That afternoon we had lunch at a nice cafe at Greymouth called the "Cafe 124 @ McKees". We ordered a Moroccan platter, which had some falafels, bread, various dips, fetta cheese and Kalamata Olives. My mouth still waters when I think of that platter. That night we cooked some South Indian Sambar, rice and Carrot curry for dinner and had it in the Campervan. For a few moments it felt like we were transported back to our homeland :-)
That was the end of Day 2 of our great New Zealand trip!
...Contd
posted by Ace of Space at
8/11/2005 03:49:00 PM
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