New Zealand - South Island

Day 8 : We flew from Rotorua to Queenstown and the flight was bumpy due to heavy weather conditions , I was a tad nervous as we were flying in a 30 seater plane. To avoid getting more nervous I started to take pictures from the plane below and captured amazing images of pristine blue lakes below .The images were absolutely stunning , we passed over Fox Glacier and other snow capped mountain peaks. Once we reached Queenstown airport which is a basically a narrow air strip nestled between mountains on three sides , we straightaway went to get our rental car. South Island is one place were driving on your own is highly recommended and I was eagerly looking forward to the long winding drives over the coming few days.

Our joys knew know bounds as we entered into our rooms as we got an amazing lake Wakatipu view from our rooms.
It was day before Christmas and the whole of Queenstown was bustling with people with their red Santa caps and other festivities.We had an amazing organic lunch and then decided to explore adjoining areas.The first thing we saw from our hotel was the Gondala ride which takes you 450 m on top and one can enjoy the view over a nice lunch / dinner. So immediately we booked ourselves for a Boxing day gala buffet dinner. Next I was keen to see more of the Lake Wakatipu hence we started to drive along the lake stopping almost at every corner to enjoy and abosrb the breathtaking views.Lake Wakatipu has a bit of hisotry , its a glacier lake and almost stretches for 45 km uptil Glenorchy which we did visit on this drive.According to myth the lake is in a shape of a huge giant (Manata) in cocoon position.As this was the position in which he fell down when he was killed by the locals , the lake rises up / down in height by 12 cm every 5 mins which is very unique as its landlocked.Again according to myth the explanation is attributed to the rhythmic heartbeat of Manata who is still believed to be alive beneath the lake...wow...fascinating...our drive along the lake took us right upto Glenorchy which is basically close to source of the lake.Again our South Island trip had a great start and we came back to Queenstown for dinner at an Indian restaurant - Freija's ..would highly NOT recommend it ..

Day 9 : Merry Christmas to everyone ...the spirit of Yule was infectious especially in Queenstown ...we were lucky to be there during the Christmas period as the whole township was bustling and there was joy all around...we woke up late hence missed out on the breakfast at the hotel ...hence wifey and I ventured into the main street in search of food...I would like to confess here that allthough Iam of a cheerful disposition ...however when Iam hungry and I can be a pain..you know what I mean..:) anyways most of the eating joints/cafes were scheduled to open mid day and luckily we found a place were we had a quick bite...my sensitive buds can devour any quality of food when Iam hungry....I become like ANGRY ANGUS...

Anyways our plan was to visit Wanaka township famous for lake wanaka and so we packed our car with snacks / essentials to drive to Wanaka which is approx 100 km's from Queenstown.On the way we decided to stop at Arrowtown. Arrowtown is almost 160 years old and the town was formed during the gold rush period.Its about 400 sq m and has basically three parallel streets across the township.It is famous for its well preserved town structure , shops and buildings and also nice gold artefact's. As we went their on Christmas the town wore a deserted look and reminded us as if were in that specific time period. There are a couple of shops famous for woollen and leather and it would be recommended to shop here for the same.

From Arrowtown we drove straight upto Wanaka ..famous for Lake Wanaka. The sight was (again repeating myself) was absolutely breathtaking and we grabbed a quick bite from Turkish takeway as that was the only place open and sat in front of the lake for an hour so. I wanted to explore the township more and was wondering if there was a road which ran alongside the lake and would take me to a place like Glenorchy.What we did discover just outside Wanaka was a township which was idyllic and exhibited a happy state of lifestyle and living.Imagine houses lined up with a backyard looking into one of the most scenic lake sides in the world and for what its worth I found out that these houses didn't cost more than NZ$ 1.5 MM.Compare that with Sydney and you would get an apartment for AU$ 1.5 MM in north shore / CBD for a sneak peak of the harbour ...bullocks...

Anyways post this our day was still not over and we decided to go to Cromwell another heritage town like Arrowtown on our way back to Queenstown. We found a Masonic temple in Cromwell which made me wonder about how well the Masonic society was entrenched even at a far out place like Cromwell in the middle of nowhere way back in the 19th century.

Ohh yes before I forget before reaching Wanaka we did stop my the Leaning tower of Wanaka ,interestingly the clock on the tower moves anti clockwise and it was instated on 1st January 2000.Implying that with each passing day of this millennium we are moving a day back into the 20th century...The Curious case of Benjamin Button....

Anyways we winded up our day with early Thai dinner.... I was a bit sad as this was going to be our second last day in Queenstown.
Day 10 : Our last day in Queenstown started of with a nice brekky by the lake shore and a day spend at bowling.

We went took a Gondola ride to the mountain top and a had an excellent gala dinner with an amazing lake view to keep in our memories for ever. Lake Wakatipu would be forever be etched in my memory and I made a promise to come back to Queenstown soon.

Day 11 and 12 : Boarded the 10am flight to Christchurch and reached in 45 mins.Checked into our hotel and went for lunch.The conditions were overcast and Christchurch reminded me of Adelaide a lot.Later I did come to know that Christchurch and Adelaide have the same town architect hence the resemblance.Christchurh is pretty Victorian in its look and feel.We discovered an opportunity for punting at the Oxford Cove rivulet and got a poor man's experience of Venice.I must say that the experience was romantic with the adjoining willows and ducks adding to the beautiful scenery.

Christchurch is famous for its trams , cathedral and architecture.We discovered a nice fine dining restaurant - The Bangalore Polo Club in the city.It was established in 1859 and the restaurant has an Victorian /Royal Indian look and feel to it.

By this leg of our journey I was missing Sydney and wanted to go back as soon as possible , with no offense to Christchurch ..we just were plain tired. Hence we watched a couple of movies - Sherlock Holmes and 3 Idiots.

We needed to do some souvenir shopping and that's were the rest of our time was spend.

It was the end of an excellent holiday our first international holiday together as a couple.Hence New Zealand will always have a special place in our hearts for making our journey so memorable.

So there we ended our trip and took an early morning flight across the ditch back to Sydney.....

From KIA ORA it was back to GDAY MATE HOW R YA ...