Archive | New Zealand- South Island

Lake Tekapo and Christchurch

24 Nov

Sadly all good things have to come to an end, it was time to leave Queenstown. However, as we have a lot of plans for the next 4 months I leave with excitement rather than sorrow. We got a rental car and headed for Christchurch, but as it is a very long drive to Christchurch from Queenstown, we decided that we wanted to have a stopover at Lake Tekapo.

We stopped off at many beautiful stops on the way, no wonder that a lot of these settings have been used in movie.

Finally arriving at Lake Tekapo, and the colour of the lake was just amazing! The lake is so blue because of some erosion from the glacier which runs into the lake. That is a very bad description but the best way of describing it in basic terms. We also climbed Mount John (which John was pretty happy with) looking over the lake surrounded by mountains, beautiful scenery.

Nest day we left for Christchurch where we spent the next 2 days. There is not much to do here really. The inner city is completely ruined as a result of the earthquake that happened here earlier this year. It is so awful to see such an nice city get ruined by a natural disaster. Next stop is Fiji, so it you do not hear anything from me in the next 2 weeks it is probably because I am in paradise.

Goodbye Queenstown it has been a pleasure.

21 Nov

It is now time to leave this beautiful place. On our last day off we decided to start the day with a little kayaking trip in the lake around Frankton (just outside Queenstown). Just an amazing way to start the day, most beautiful surroundings.

John was brave enough to do the Nevis Bungy, jumping 134 meters head first with a free-fall of 8.5 seconds. Yes crazy I know, so I sat this one out.

Afterwards, we headed for the Skyline Gondola which takes you to the top of a mountain looking over Queenstown, the lake and the mountains.

At the top we hopped on a three-wheeled cart and rode the luge. It was so much fun. We had 6 goes on it an honestly could have done more as it was so much fun.

As you can see I am in the lead, beating John at the luge, haha.

End of Season, Queenstown

4 Nov

The ski season has now ended. John has done 232 runs downhill the ski slopes at Coronet Peak and The Remarkables. That adds up to 83070 vertical metres. Wow, In contrast I have only done 42 runs (10655 vertical metres),but that was plenty for me.

We also went to visit a new ice bar in Queenstown, called Below Zero Bar.

It was pretty cool as we got the whole bar to ourselves, and had some cold cocktails. The ice bar also had a fire inside it, but was obviously not warm. Furthermore, we have been chilling in the town,going to restaurants or just sitting on the beach by the harbour on warm days, such a beautiful place to live.

We also had a go at Frisbee Golf in the Queenstown Gardens. It is kind of like a golf course, but using Frisbees instead, and the targets are chain baskets. It looks easier than what it really is.

Dunedin and Sandfly Bay

15 Oct

On the road again. Our last road trip with our beloved car ‘Lucida’ was to Dunedin. We packed the car up with camping gear and all needed equipment and headed for Otago Peninsula, which is only 20 minutes drive from Dunedin. FirstĀ  we went to Sandfly Bay as we wanted to see some Yellow-eyed penguins (one of the world rarest penguins). However, due to it being nesting season and the shy nature of these creatures, we did not manage to see any. Instead to our pleasant surprise we saw lots of sea lions!I have never been near so many sea lions ever before, they are amazing.

This crazy sea lion that you can see below just appeared out of nowhere.I think he was there to make a little trouble with the other sea lions that were just chilling on the beach.


Afterwards we headed for Dunedin, where we stayed over one night and did a little shopping. We also stopped by Baldwin Street which has been argued to be the world steepest residential street, it was pretty steep! On our way back home we saw some lovely scenery. We stopped off at Arrowtown, which must be the smallest and cutest town ever. It will be sad to say bye to our amazing camper-van, but it is about time to let ‘her’ go and start to make future exciting plans.

Coronet Peak

10 Sep

We are still skiing away up the mountains, making the most of the few weeks that are left of the ski-season. We can already smell spring outside. To be honest I am very ready for summer.

I have added a little taster of how my skiing has improved since I have lived here, those who know me know that this is a big improvement so please do not judge. Enjoy.

Living in Queenstown

21 Aug

Apologies for not writing much lately. We have spent the last month settling in to our new home. Queenstown is such a wonderful town to live in. When we are not at work we spend our time getting to know the town and planning future adventures. The last week it has been a ‘snow storm’ over here, which meant that we spent our ‘free’ days playing in the snow (all from skiing to making snowmen) and spending evenings in front of the fire with mulled wine. Thought I would share some photos.

Also, I must not forget to mention that we miss you all at home!

Minus 5 Ice Bar

20 Jul

It is cold outside, it is cold inside. On my day off we stepped into an icy world to enjoy a delicious cocktail served in a ice glass. Minus 5 Ice Bar in Queenstown is completely made up of ice, so obviously it is pretty cold, actually minus 8 degrees! We could sit on ice furniture and enjoy all the ice sculptures around us. It was a fun experience. I was a little disappointed that the room was not bigger, but I guess it can be quite difficult maintaining a bar made of ice. I know I have mentioned the word ice too many times, but it is the only way to explain it.

 

UPDATE

10 Jul

Someone must have done the snow-dance perfect because it has been snowing for days now. Some of the ski-mountains even had to close, due to ‘the snow-storm’. That did not matter too much to me thought as I have been working all week, and after work I have been so tired that I just fallen asleep anywhere! Hopefully, I will get into this routine soon, and be able to stay awake after 8 pm without taping my eyes open. Meanwhile, John has been looking for some snow chains (did not even know that they existed), but had no luck so far. So not much new to report; we have both been working all week, and we are now trying to save some money again, so that we can start planning our future travels (ohh I am looking forward to lying on a beach and snorkeling in clear blue water).

I will get some more photos when it stops snowing, if it ever will.

Working Away

5 Jul

This is where I work…

Yes, what a beautiful place! I was finally lucky enough to get a job at Mercure Resort Queenstown. I am looking forward to get into some sort of routine again. My sleep patterns have been all over the place, since all the travelling and time differences. But, it is not all work and no play, I will be hitting the ski slopes on my days off. That is the beauty about living so close to the slopes.

Fun Times

3 Jul

This week has just flown by, I have done so much so think it is about time to give you all an update. The Winterfestival is now finished, but all the different activities and entertainments will definitely not be forgotten too soon. The images above show some of these things. We went to watch Ice Hockey for the first time ever. The teams were Southern Stampede vs Dunedin Thunder, brilliant names! It was really fun, but a bit painful to watch at times as they were pushing, banging into each other and fighting.

We also watched Stars on Ice on the Ice Ring which is located outside in the middle of town. Furthermore, we watched a street parade at night, called the Mardi Gras, where people made their own masks and lanterns to enter the parade. Then afterwards there was a concert by the harbour, with lots of bands and great music. In the daytime we went to the Arts & Craft Market, seeing some great local handicrafts and artworks. My favourite is definitely Mouse Illustration , it is a bit different to what I would normally like, but that is what I love about her jewelry, it is different, pretty and so much fun!

Another day, we headed up to Coronet Peak (one of the mountains) to watch Speight’s Dog Derby. This is a race for dogs and their owners, running and sliding down the slopes. It was hilarious, but also very confusing and very loud (barking and shouting). Afterwards, we went to watch a Dog Barking Competition, extremely funny again. The dog that barked the loudest won, however, if the owner could not get their dog to bark they would have to get on all four and bark themselves, so funny! Click here to watch some of it!

Then, guess what?! Snow, snow and snow! So guess what we did…skiing of cause!

Hopefully it will snow more so that we can get more of this: