We landed in Christchurch on a sunny day, which was a great surprise---we expected it to still be pretty cold. The ride to our first hostel was exciting---maybe because it was so surreal. I had wanted to visit New Zealand before I left for Australia....and I had written it off completely half way through my stay---so I was still in shock that I actually made it! It is spring in New Zealand, and Christchurch is known for its many gardens....so you can imagine all the flowers in bloom. Little did I know it would only get better from here!
The next day we rented a car (El-cheapo is what it was classified as!), and decided to head south towards our first sought out destination--- Milford Sound. From the beginning of our journey we were amazed with the scenery---everywhere we looked was simply stunning, something that can not be described through words or pictures, but can only be felt! We stopped in a little Scottish town called Dunedin, (pronounced DO-NEED-IN) and loved it. We stayed over night and wandered around before heading closer to Milford Sound. Our next destination...a small lake town by the name of Te Anau, another beautiful site. We stayed in a hotel on the lake, and enjoyed our beautiful lakeside view! After a nice rest we ventured to our first must-see destination--Milford Sound.
The drive was once again stunning, after two hours we arrived at Milford Sound and singed up for a cruise to take us an hour or so off shore to get the best views. We were able to enjoy scenery of mountains jetting out of the glistening water, see some wildlife and learn a little bit about the nature surrounding us. Once again, it is too hard to capture the beauty of the land, and the vertical nature of the mountains is far more intense than imaginable. If I had never felt complete equanimity before in my life, I definitely experienced it being at Milford Sound.
After our amazing day we headed back down the same road we came in on....but this time made the turn North toward Queenstown, the adrenalin capitol of the world! We arrived in the early evening and checked into a hostel for the night, enjoyed some delicious sushi and decided to call it an early night. The next day was quiet eventful, we met a friend--James, from England who had been living in Queenstown for a few months. He showed us around, joined us for lunch and then we were able to catch some great live music in the park. The next day started off early as Katy had booked a bungee swing. We headed to Shotover Canyon where Katy joined some bungee enthusiasts. It took some words of encouragement, but she took the plunge!
Our next adventure on the Canyon was Jet-boating, and not just any jet-boating! The company that took us for the ride is the only one able to operate on the canyon. The boats operate in high speeds through the narrow canyon, nearly skimming the edges of the canyon, and doing some intense 360's....it was awesome and we both loved every second of it.
After another night in Queenstown we hit the road again, heading back toward Christchurch so that we could fly out the next morning at 6:30 am. Once we arrived we decided to head out for some Mexican food (which is my favorite, and exceptionally hard to find here in OZ). Although the food was nothing to write home about, the drinks were!!! I had the best margarita of my life, and Katy enjoyed some equally delicious drinks! We called it an early night so that we could relax a little and get some sleep before our early departure.
So on the morning of our departure Katy and I subconsciously decided to sleep three extra hours, resulting in a missed flight and a slight upset stomach! Luckily we managed to catch a flight later that day and everything ended up working out.
I couldn't thank Katy enough for talking me in to taking the trip to New Zealand...it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life and the scenery could not be compared to anything I have ever witnessed in my entire life. New Zealand to me was what I would imagine Heaven to be like.
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