New Zealand (South Island)

2/15/2019 -- 3/3/2019

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New Zealand geographically comprises two main landmasses -- the North Island, and the South Island -- and around 600 smaller islands.  Because of its remoteness (2,000 kilometers from Australia and 1,000 kilometers from other Pacific island areas), it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans (New Zealand was first settled by Eastern Polynesians between 1250 and 1300 after ~80 million years of geographic isolation) . During its long period of isolation, New Zealand developed a distinct biodiversity of animal, fungal, and plant life.  The South Island (our main destination for this trip), with an area of 150,437 km2 (58,084 sq. mi), is the largest land mass of New Zealand and is the world's 12th-largest island.   It is divided along its length by the Southern Alps, the highest peak of which is Aoraki/Mount Cook at 3,724 meters (12,218 ft.).  The east side of the island is home to the Canterbury Plains while the West Coast is famous for its rough coastlines such as Fiordland, and Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers. The dramatic landscape of the South Island has made it a popular location for the production of several films, including The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

 

Getting there ...

We had a red-eye direct flight from San Francisco on the night of 2/15 to Auckland (13+ hours), and then a domestic flight to Christchurch in the South Island as our whole trip will focus on the South Island only.   It was a long walk from the International Terminal to the Domestic Terminal at the Auckland airport (more than 1km), and we almost had to run with our luggage when we got out of the custom since our flight was delayed when departed from San Francisco and we had less than an hour to make our connection.  Luckily the flight to Christchurch had a 30-min delay so we were allowed to re-check in our luggage at the last minute and still had a few more minutes available at the gate to go to the restroom before we boarded the airplane :-)
There is a 21-hour time difference between New Zealand and San Francisco, so it was already 2/17 (Day 3) afternoon when we arrived in our destination Christchurch.   The first challenge:  driving on the left-hand side!
 

2/17 (Day 3) ...

After checked in to the hotel in the downtown, we walked to visit Canterbury Museum and Christchurch Botanic Gardens.   The Canterbury Museum has a wide range of collections of human and natural history with a focus on Canterbury and Antarctica.  It is worth the visit and it is free!

 

 

2/18 (Day 4) ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also stopped by a few view points along the way (including the famous Peter's Lookout).  However, it was getting too cloudy that Mount Cook was not visible at all. 

 

 

 

 

2/19 (Day 5) ...

 

 

 

 

 

2/20 (Day 6) ...

   

 

 

 

Mt. Difficulty in Cromwell  

 

Peregrine Winery in Gibbston

 

Gibbston Valley Winery

 

 

 

 

 

2/21 (Day 7) ...

 

 

   


   

 

2/22 (Day 8) ...

Eglinton Valley:  One of the first highlights of a trip to Milford Sound after entering Fiordland National Park is the Eglinton Valley. It was carved out by glaciers thousands of years ago. Today, steep rocky mountains covered in native beech forest line the valley. The flat floor of the valley is covered in eye-catching golden tussock grass.

 

Mirror Lakes:  On a calm day they provide breathtaking reflections of the Earl mountain ranges opposite.  It even has a "Mirror Lakes" sign upside down for people to take pictures.

 

Lake Gunn Natural Walk:  An easy loop walk provides an introduction to tall red beech/tawhairaunui forest and birdlife of the Eglinton valley.  It's so green everywhere!

Scenic viewpoints

 

The Chasm is a series of gushing waterfalls just a short walk from the road.  It was formed by the Cleddau River being forced through a narrow rocky valley on its course down from the Darran mountains.  Over the centuries, this process sculpted the surrounding rocks into marvelous swirling patterns and smoothed-out basins.  The sheer force of the water as it pounds through the Chasm is impressive to behold – but notoriously difficult to photograph.  It’s hard to capture the depth and volume of these waterfalls from any one angle.

 

 


2/23 (Day 9) ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2/24 (Day 10) ...

 

 

 

 

 

2/25 (Day 11) ...

 

 

 
 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

2/26 (Day 12) ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2/27 (Day 13) ... 

 

 

2/28 (Day 14) ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3/1 (Day 15) ...

 

 

3/2 (Day 16) ...

 

It's time to head south to drive back to Christchurch.  Before we left the national park, we stopped at the riverbeds along the Waimakariri River to take a few more pictures.

 

 

3/3 (Day 17) ...

 

Going Home ...

New Zealand (South Island alone) is a diversified place and is a paradise for nature lovers.  It's our first time drive on the left side (it's left, right?); first time to take a Heli Hike (Woanyu's first time on a helicopter); first time to walk on a glacier (actually two glaciers); first time to catch our fish for dinner (actually we did not get any by ourselves); first time to be under a waterfall on a boat (purest water); first time to see glowworms (they do look like LED lights in the cave);  first time to be on a jetboat and on a Funyak (good combination); and first time to see, touch, and feed alpacas (cutest animals on earth).   We were so glad that we had followed our trip plans almost flawless and all the highlights we experienced were really world class highlights.  It's time to go home, and think about when we should come back again......


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