New Zealand

(24th Nov 2006 - 13th Dec 2006)
I joined the Yongo tour and there were 12 of us.

Download the first few pages of the
Milford Track Independent Tramping guidbook here (pdf 3MB)

Arrive in Christchurch. Went to the Art Centre.

Shops selling jewellery made from Paua shells.

Shopping for groceries (meat) on the way to Kaikoura.

Arrive at Kaikoura motel. We rented a Van.

Going walking around the coast in Kaikoura. Saw this furry seal ...

Low tide ...

Kaikoura viewpoint ... Nice view from the top.

Evening ... Barbeque for dinner ... since this is a Yongo trip, we have to help out to prepare / wash up ...

Morning breakfast, Nasi Lemak. Lucky thing no need to worry about food here in NZ because we have Mr. Goh as our cook/tour leader ...

Sugantha and Geok Poh, two other single ladies who joined the trip ...

High tide at the coastal area where we were walking yesterday.

nice view ... we are hiking up the hill now ...

Me by the sea ...

Nice view ...

Cows ... careful of cow dung

Geok Poh ... ok we have reached the end of the hike ... have to turn back now because no time ....

Mr Goh taking some photos ...

Ok, this photo I got from the internet shows the Coastline of Kaikoura.

Lunchtime by the roadside. Its a shop recommended in the Lonely Planet guidebook.

She only had crayfish and scallops on the menu because her fish hadn't been delivered yet, but its still yummy. The clam chowder was great !

I guess this is mashed up crayfish in a batter ....

Afterlunch, the three of us (Jamie, Geok Poh and Sugantha) went for the whalewatch. The others decided to go for the Maori show.

whale ....

Whale diving ....

Sugantha and Geok Poh hanging around on the deck ...

Good thing I took the sea sick pill ...

Can you see anything ... ?

Another whale ....

Whale diving .... it will be another 40 minutes before it resurface .. so time to move on ... we also saw dolphins ....

Waited over an hour for the rest of the gang to pick us up, so we decided to walk to town. Apparently the Maori Show was longer than expected.

Mountain ...

well, here's something you don't see everyday ... snow capped mountains by the sea..

Next day, on the way to thermal springs, stop by the roadside to take photos of cows

Toilet stop ..

Flowers formerly know as Kowhai ... its actually called Scottish Brood or something like that ... an introduced species that is a weed and is growing everywhere !

Me ...

Ok, I don't feel like going for a dip in the hot springs, so we'll just wait here by the fireplace.

Pancake rocks and blowholes of Punakaiki

The water surges into caverns below the rocks and squirts out geyser-like blowholes

Blowhole ...

The rocks are limestone and give the appearance of pancakes

Pancake rocks and blowholes of Punakaiki

Arrived at out motel in Greymouth.

Nice plants.

Proceed to Fox Glacier for a guided 3.5hrs walk on the Glacier (that turned out to be 2 hours longer because of the bad weather)

Raincoat, boots ..etc. provided ...

Fox Glacier is unique because it is one of the 3 glaciers in the world that is located so close to a tropical rainforest ...

Need extra help to cross the river ...

Oh yeah !

Walking up the glacier ...

Walking up the glacier. The ice keeps melting so the guides have to chip off / dig a path for us ...

Walking up the glacier ...

Turning back now .. weather getting worse ... but it just makes it more exciting..

Strong winds and rain. Rain blowing sideways and tiny ice hitting your face.
The guide has to take us down 2 by 2 down this particular stretch where it is dangerous and theres a steep drop down below ...

Crossing the river .... getting all wet ! Woah... Fox Glacierhas got to be the best and most exciting tour I went in NZ ..

Already getting late, no time to cook. We all had our dinner at a nearby restaurant.

Next day ... snow ! We occasionally stop by the roadside to take a short walk in the forest, where they have pathways leading to a nice waterfall or stream ...

weird plants

Photo stop ...

Snow snow snow !!!

Stop by the roadside to touch the snow ...

Nice trees covered in moss.

Taking a walk ..

Nice plants

Wanaka's Puzzle World

Greek toilet ... for display only .. do not use !

Went for bungee jump. And arrive at Queenstown.

Sugantha, Geok Poh and Me share a room ... we'll be staying here for 2 nights ..
Time to dry out my socks next to the heater ..

The view outside the motel

lake with ducks ...

This has got to be the cleanest and clearest lake I've ever seen ... the people here really know how to take good care of the environment ...

Nice scenery ...

Sheep, sheep ...

and more sheep ...

Walking around Queenstown. Nice little town with zero unemployment rate.
Major industry is tourism.

Lord of the Rings tour ... nice view of Queenstown .. the hill on the left is called 'Deer Park Heights', privately owned land. Alot of scenes were shot there because it is surrounded by mountains ...

Lord of the Rings 'Misty Mountains'. The locals call it 'The Remarkables'

Funny signage to grab attention ...

Kawarau Gorge (the same river as the Bungy site) ...this is where they had the pillars of the Kings ...

Our Lord of the Rings tourguide ... she even drives a jeep !

We are taken to other scenic locations, even though nothing much to do with LOTR

The LOTR tour jeep. Only 3 of us went for the tour, Geok Poh went for white water rafting ...

Dinner at a seafood restaurant in Queenstown ...

Oysters ..etc ... nope I don't eat oysters ..

Catch the 2pm boat to Glade Wharf, starting point of Milford Track

The water level of the lake was quite high, so we had to remove our shoes and socks to walk to shore in about 1 foot deep water ... icy cold !!!!

Me and Sugantha .... starting Milford Track

The first and longest suspension bridge in Milford Track

Wetlands .. fragile area.. so we had to walk on the platforms. The wetlands are like a sponge and absorb water ..

After walking for about 2 hours, we arrive at the first hut for independent walkers ... Clinton Hut

My bunk ...

Its the second day of the Milford Track, suppose to walk for about 6 hours ...

Nice view ...

You can see McKinnon Pass from here (the centre between the mountains)

Bridge ..

Taking a break by the river ...

Almost there ...

Mr Goh cooks speghetti for dinner. Mr Chong helping out ..

Mintaro Hut

Photoshoot near Lake Mintaro ... its already 9am and we are just about to start walking. Its the 3rd day and the most difficult part of Milford Track because we have to climp up McKinnon Pass and walk back down on the other side ...

Flowers

Walking and walking up to McKinnon Pass

Nice view

Ok, we arrive at the McKinnon Memorial

Geok Poh waiting for us ...

Danielle next to the memorial.

Geok Poh and me ...

Beware of the Kea, the alpine parrot. Do not feed the Kea and be careful of your belongings or the Kea will fly off with it.

A small lake on top of McKinnon Pass

Climb every mountain ... The hills are alive .. with the sound of music ...

Photoshoot ...

Me and the view from McKinnon Pass ... the U shaped valley was carved out by Glaciers long ago ...

Loo with a view ...

Start walking down the hill ...

Long way down ... :P

Chicks ..

I went to have a look at Sutherland Falls ...

Have to walk another extra 1.5 hours

Sutherland falls ... alot of water droplets splashing so have to wear a rain coat ..

Uhhh... finally reached Dumpling hut. Oh my gosh I've been walking since 9 am and now its almost 8 pm..

Next morning, me and Geok Poh start walking, its the last day of Milford Track.
Sugantha had to be flown out of the track by helicopter because she sprained her leg ..

Mrs Lim still going strong ...

Waterfall

Nice view

Nice plants

Lunch....

Another waterfall

River

Almost there ... that must be Milford Sound ...

Sandfly point ...
Yay .. arrived at around 1.30 pm ... just in time to catch the ferry ...

Bob the farmer ... thanks to him for helping us out on the third day. He came back to look for us and helped us carry some of the backpacks ... He comes to Milford Track quite often with his family.

Milford Sound ...

Ferry

Happy ending for everyone ... made it on time ...

Pheng and me

Driving back to Te Anau from Milford Sound, stop by for photoshoot ..

Snow !

Back in Te Anau ... glad to see Sugantha ..

Sugantha tells us she had a good time on the helicopter ride because they went over Sutherland Falls ...

Ahhhh... warm cosy bed and hot shower after 4 days not being able to take a bath ...

Roast lamb ... having a good meal after Milford Track ...NZ$26

Restaurant in Te Anau

Next day on the way to Invercargill .. funny looking van

Ummmm ... cheesecake, carrot cake ..... time to put back the pounds we lost on the Milford Track

Southern Scenic Route .. photo stop

Me again ..

Rose Garden

Ducks in the park ...

Somewhere in Bluff

Lobster for dinner ... poor lobster ..

Wow ...

Old Water Tower

Fossilized forest ... you can see tree stumps from millions of years ago when there was a volcanic eruption and the lava ash coverd the forest ..

Fossilized forest ...

Nugget point ... home to seals, sea lions and penguins ...

Overnight in Dunedin

Geok Poh and Sugantha preparing coffee, the three of us have a nice room to ourselves.

Helping out in the kitchen

The hotel owner allowed us to use their kitchen because the hotel rooms didn't have cooking facilities ..

Mr. Goh cooking ... only thing missing is a chef apron and hat ..

Yummy potatoes and mushrooms and brocoli ..

Danielle and Michelle with some dogs ...

The steepest street in the world in Dunedin..

Cars have to accelerate to go up ... some do it for fun and then go back down again ...

Weird looking rocks on the beach

Me again ...

Salmon farm

Salmon

Dinner at Hermitage Resort

Hermitage Resort ... alot of japanese tourists..

Chalets at Mt Cook

Went for Hooker Valley walk to view Mt Cook

Mt Cook

Shashimi

On the way back from Mt Cook to Christchurch .... Nice scenery

Flowers

Salmon assam curry laksa paste ... thanks to TEAN's Gourmet.
Mr Goh says you can buy this from Giant or Ayamas stores ...

Salmon assam curry laksa

Giant chessboard in Christchurch, New Zealand.

We have some extra money left in our food fund so its time to spend the remaining on a buffet lunch ...

Aquarium

Christchurch

Last day in NZ, we stop by at the Antartic Centre near the airport ..

Antartic storm ... simulates a storm and temperatures can go to about-26 degrees ...

Snow mobile

Penguins. They look like they are wearing socks because some of them are maimed or injured so they would not survive in the wild.

Some stuff from the exhibition at the Antartic Centre. Hmmm ... I've never seen a rock shaped by winds before ...looks like something from outer space ...

View from the plane

THE END

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