Part 3-New Zealand South Island Itinerary

Continued from Part 2 here
Read Part 1 here

Day 4 : Wellington - Christchurch - Lake Tekapo - Lake Pukaki - Twizel

After dropping off our rented Toyota Corolla at Wellington airport, we boarded a Jetstar flight to Christchurch at 8.20am. We booked a Jucy car online, but the pick up location is a few minutes away from the airport. We called Jucy to pick us up & take us to their office. This time we booked Hyundai I30, running on diesel. Diesel is cheaper in NZ & we were glad we picked this car since the fuel consumption is quite low. 

From the airport, we decided to drive straight to Re:Start Container Mall to find lunch. As the name suggests, the "mall" are made up of shipping containers and there are boutiques, souvenir shops and a store selling All Blacks merchandise. Food are served from food trucks and you can find Greek, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Mexican, Lebanese and all kinds of food here. We had beef/chicken kebab for brunch since it was the only halal option we found. Christchurch is still rebuilding after the devastating 2011 earthquake. It was sad to hear that recently another earthquake happened near Christchurch.. There were construction sites everywhere we turned when we were there. 

Re:START Container Mall

Re:START Container Mall seating area

Re:START Container Mall

Stores in shipping containers

Lebanese kebab for brunch

On the way to Lake Tekapo & Lake Pukaki, we stopped by an alpaca farm & talked to the lady in the gift shop. Unfortunately the farm tour was fully booked, but she was nice enough to let us take photos of the alpacas & llamas on the farm. According to her, the animals love to stay in the shade & they would stay out under the falling snow in winter. Llamas are generally bigger in size than alpacas & the former has pointy ears.

Alpaca farm & shop

White alpaca

Llama

More alpacas

We were most excited to drive further down to the alpine lakes after looking at all the gorgeous photos online. The first word we uttered when we saw Lake Tekapo when we were descending the hill was "Wowwww!.." It was a scenery like no other, we practically ran towards the shore of the lake after parking the car. Lake Tekapo is a famous site for stargazing, and you will often see photos of Church of the Good Shepherd with gorgeous stars above it on Instagram. The water is, as usual, crystal clear. When we were there, there were only a few lupines in full bloom. If you visit the lake around the end of November, lupines cover most of the shoreline by the lake.

Church of the Good Shepherd

Church of the Good Shepherd

Crystal clear water under a cloudy sky

Look at that viewww

Skipping rocks on the water

The Church of the Good Shepherd

We didn't spend too much time at Lake Tekapo, since we wanted to try the fresh salmon sashimi from Mt. Cook Alpine Salmon shop before they close at 5.00pm. We literally ran into the shop at 4.55pm & ordered half kg of fresh salmon, to be eaten with soy sauce & wasabi on the picnic tables right outside the shops. This was probably the best picnic I have ever had, since we had the magnificent view of Lake Pukaki in front of us. Lake Pukaki is an alpine lake and it has that unique blue color because of the finely ground rock particles from the glacier. 

Mt. Cook Alpine Salmon shop

Sashimi 500g NZD30

Sashimi with a view

Dig in!

The distinctive blue color of Lake Pukaki

Rain was slowly drizzling down on us & we headed towards our accommodation of the day, Mountain Chalet in Twizel. There are 1 queen bed in one room & 3 single beds when you climb up the stairs. There are also a cooking stove, microwave & fridge, perfect to cook (or warm up) a small meal. Beware though, the wi-fi here is limited, you will be blocked after you used up your quota. Twizel is usually chosen as a pitstop on the way down to Queenstown from Christchurch. Other than that, Mt. Cook National Park is only ~45 minutes drive away from Twizel.

Mountain Chalet in Twizel - our chalet & car

Mountain Chalet in Twizel

3 single beds at the top of the stairs

1 queen bed in a room downstairs

Living area

Kitchenette

We left for Lake Pukaki again, after the rain stopped. This time we stopped by a campsite where most campervans are parked. Later, at almost sunset, we drove towards Twizel city center to stock up on groceries at the local supermarket. 

Lake Pukaki at almost sunset

Perfect spot to park a campervan

After dinner, we took our rest early since we had to wake up on time for the hike towards a glacier lake in Mt. Cook National Park. This part of the adventure is one of my favorites! Be sure to read about it in the next post ;)

Day 5 : Twizel - Aoraki/Mt. Cook National Park - Queenstown
Day 6 : Queenstown - NZONE Skydive - Te Anau
Day 7 : Te Anau - Milford Sound/Piopiotahi - Queenstown
Day 8 : Queenstown - Auckland
Day 9 : Auckland Harbour - Auckland Tower - Art Gallery 
Day 10 : Auckland International Marathon - Karangahape/"K" Road
Day 11 : Auckland Bridge Bungy Jump - Queens Street - Possonby Street

Part 2-New Zealand North Island Itinerary

Continued from Part 1 here

Day 3 : Rotorua - Huka Falls - Taupo - Wellington

We initially wanted to visit the famous Te Puia Maori Village, but due to budget constraints, we decided to skip Te Puia and head to Whakarewarewa Woods (aka Redwoods). Te Puia is the home of the Pohutu geyser, mudpools and live kiwi birds (they are an endangered species); and tickets for the day tour are priced at NZD52 for adults. Redwoods, however, is free to enter and there are many walking paths to choose from. We chose the shortest path for a light morning exercise, which took us around 30-40 minutes. There is a clear blue river in the woods, that you will cross on this (mark by red arrows) path. You can also enjoy the treetop walk here, priced at NZD20.

Enchanting Redwoods

Magnificent trees

Clear blue river in Redwoods

Gorgeous walking path

Easy walking path for beginners & families

Redwood Memorial Grove Track is the easiest/shortest walking path

Perfect spot for photos!

The entrance/exit

Treewalk

Next on the itinerary is Huka Falls in Taupo, which is one hour drive away from Rotorua. The Great Taupo website describes Huka Falls as the falls that is "located just a few minutes drive outside of Taupo town, this thundering 11-metre high waterfall is the most visited and photographed natural attraction in New Zealand. The sheer volume of water flowing over the falls amounts to 220,000 litres per second - enough to fill one Olympic sized swimming pool in 11 seconds!"

Isn't that impressive? :) There are mountain biking & hiking trails around the falls. Since we lacked the time to try these activities, we headed straight to the viewing platform. The view is simply breath taking. The water is amazingly crystal clear blue & the sound of the falls is surprisingly soothing. If you have extra dollars to spend, try the jet boat/cruise so that you can get closer to the raging waterfall ;)

Crystal clear blue water

The bridge we crossed to get to the viewing platforms

View of the cruise ship & falls from the viewing platform

Jet boat

They definitely got wet from the falls' mist!

The viewing platform

Information board

After the falls, we explore the Taupo city centre to find halal food & we were surprised when we saw the size of Lake Taupo. It is a hugeee lake, you can barely see the other shore line when you are standing on one side. We parked our rented car & walked along the lake, looking at all the restaurants facing the lake. Happiness is stumbling upon halal food! Burgerfuel is a chain restaurant serving halal meat & chicken burger. There are even vegetarian & vegan options. Not only are the burger halal, they are out-of-this-world delicious as well. We tried the gourmet chicken & beef burgers, sitting outside while enjoying the view of the lake. 

Unfortunately, we were having too much fun (and too feeling too hungry) that we didn't take any decent photos in Taupo :D There are also a few home decorating shops that sells locally made items & I had to restraint myself from buying anything. Taupo is a lovely city that we should've stopped by a little longer. After lunch, we gathered ourselves back into the car & drove straight to Wellington, since we had an early morning flight to Christchurch. 

Halal burger from Burgerfuel

In my opinion, we had the best accommodation in Wellington since our we had a complete room with kitchen, in suite bathroom, washer, dryer & the best bed. After the approximately 5 hours drive from Taupo, we were glad to arrive and check into Gilmer Serviced Apartment. Unfortunately it was cold and rainy when we arrived in Wellington and the sun had already set. We paid a short visit to the Mount Victoria Lookout to see the full view of the city from 196 meters above the city. A short walk around the Wellington city center failed to show us any halal restaurants, except for a couple of Malaysian restaurants. Soon we were back again in our rooms, having Brahim's for dinner & sleeping early. 

The gorgeous Gilmer Apartment/Hotels lobby

The gorgeous Gilmer Apartment/Hotels lobby

Our small kitchen/laundry area

Our room in Gilmer

Our journey continued when we touched down in Christchurch in Day 4, to be continued in the next post ;) The next itinerary is as follows:

Day 4 : Wellington - Christchurch - Lake Tekapo - Lake Pukaki - Twizel
Day 5 : Twizel - Aoraki/Mt. Cook National Park - Queenstown
Day 6 : Queenstown - NZONE Skydive - Te Anau
Day 7 : Te Anau - Milford Sound/Piopiotahi - Queenstown
Day 8 : Queenstown - Auckland
Day 9 : Auckland Harbour - Auckland Tower - Art Gallery 
Day 10 : Auckland International Marathon - Karangahape/"K" Road
Day 11 : Auckland Bridge Bungy Jump - Queens Street - Possonby Street

Part 1-New Zealand North Island Itinerary

New Zealand is truly heaven on Earth! Although I always came across photos of NZ online & on mass media, NZ is a thousand times more beautiful than the most gorgeous panorama shot taken by the most talented photographer. This might sound exaggerated, but NZ must be included in everyone's travel bucket list, especially for the nature lovers. So, let me take you on a virtual adventure on the North & South Island of NZ ;)

Day 1 : Auckland - Hamilton

The journey began from Auckland. Air Asia X flies to Auckland with a ~1 hour transit in Gold Coast, Australia. We booked our rental car via Budget.com & received our keys at the Budget counter just to the right of the Arrivals gate of Auckland International Airport. We were pleased to get a brand new red Toyota Corolla Hatchback, with only 20,000 km clocked on the meter. We drove straight to Hamilton to check in at Eagle's Nest Backpackers Hostel, with the sun slowly setting on the 1.5 hours journey.

Since we didn't have enough time to explore Hamilton, we only walked to the nearest Pak n' Save supermarket to get groceries & had microwaved Brahim's instant rice for dinner (brought from Malaysia). 

Day 2 : Hamilton - Waitomo Glowworm Caves - Matamata/Hobbiton - Rotorua

Our day started as early as 7.00am, since we had to drive one hour straight to Waitomo. Tickets to enter Waitomo Glowworm Caves were bought online in Malaysia & we booked the earliest 9.00am boat. The guide is local Maori lady & according to her, the glowworm cave is privately owned. She brought us into the cave & explained how the stalactites & stalagmites were formed. One of the most entertaining part is when she showed us the stalactite shaped like a bungy-jumping kiwi bird :D

After walking into the Cathedral (which is a part of the cave with a high ceiling, like a church), we descended more stairs to get onto a boat. The cave was pitch black, and eeriely silent except for our voices. When we're all settled in the boat, she quietly pulled on a rope to bring the boat deeper into the cave. 

The glowworms on the cave's ceiling lit up like the brightest stars in the sky. It was simply a magical feeling, an out of this world experience. Taking photographs are prohibited, and we had to remain as silent as possible, to ensure that we don't disturb the glowworm's natural habitat & the cave's beauty can be preserved. Be careful not to touch the cave's walls as well, or any part of the cave, since the oils of our skin can damage the cave's surface.

Waitomo Glowworm Caves Visitor Centre

The boat, taken at the end of the cave tour

Cafe at the Glowworm Caves Visitor Centre

Since we don't have any photos in the cave, enjoy this 4K video to experience the glowworm cave tour yourself ;) 

Next on the schedule is the tour of real Middle Earth. We drove straight to Matamata, caught the 12.15pm tour bus to visit the home of Bilbo Baggins - Hobbiton! Be sure to book your Hobbiton Movie Set Tour tickets online a few days before your visit, since the tickets get sold out pretty fast. The bus moves every 15 minutes from Shire's Rest Cafe & each bus were full of eager tourists :D The movie set was built on the Alexander family sheep & beef farm. White, fluffy sheep ran freely around the green, grassy farm. The tour is fully guided, which means we must remain with our tour guide at all times. This time our guide was an American lady who's a big fan of LOTR. The tour is approximately 2 hours long, but I still felt a bit rushed throughout the whole journey. There were always another group behind us & we cannot stay in one place too long.

Here is the Hobbiton Movie Set Tour itinerary: The tour will take you from Gandalf's Crossing, through a garden, then a frog pond. The pond was man-made & frogs were initially transported into the pond. After a while, the population grew too big & too noisy, the movie crew had to transfer most of the frogs to another pond. LOL. You will then walk through Sackville, until you reach Bag End - home of Bilbo & Frodo Baggins. Watch out for the huge fake tree! You will only notice that the leaves are fake when you're close to it. One spoiler though, the Hobbiton holes/homes are empty. All of the indoor movie scenes were shot in a studio in Wellington. Only the outdoor shots were taken in Matamata. Later you will descend down Bagshot Row until the Party Field. The guide will also take you to the home of Samwise Gamgee, his wife & children. The tour ends after you cross the bridge & enter The Green Dragon Tavern, where you can enjoy a free cup of non-alcoholic ginger beer. The tour bus will then pick you up & send you back to Shire's Rest Cafe.

Welcome to Hobbiton Movie Set!

Tour begins here - The Shire's Rest

Inside The Shire's Rest Cafe

  

Gandalf's Crossing

Hobbit hole

Hobbit hole

Home of a fisherman, or fisherhobbit

The frog pond

Look at the big, long crowdddd

There are even Hobbit laundry drying in the sun!

View from Bag End

Our tour guide & tour group

Hubs in front of Bilbo's home

Samwise Gamgee's home

The Watermill

The bridge & watermill

Inside The Green Dragon

Inside The Green Dragon - get you ginger beer here!

The Green Dragon

After the tour, we continued our journey south to Rotorua. Don't be alarmed when you realize Rotorua smells like rotten eggs, due to the hydrogen sulphide emissions. The attractions of this city are their hot thermal springs, bubbling mud pools & geysers. After an hour on the road, we arrived at the highly recommended Crash Palace Backpackers Hostel. This hostel is unlike most of its counterparts, they have a hot tub & pool table. They also provide free rice & pasta. The location is perfect - walking distance to the Government Gardens/Rotorua Museum, Tamaki Maori Village and also Pak n' Save. We were also warmly welcomed by the hostel staff. Since it was few hours before sunset, we dropped our bags & drove to Rotorua Lake. You can board a cruise ship or a jet boat here. Rotorua also offers a variety of outdoor activities such as zorbing, ziplining, ATV and gondola skyline rides. We wish we had more time to explore this amazing city..

Lake Rotorua Cruise

Lake Rotorua Jetboat

Zorbing on the lake

Another highlight of our day is stumbling upon Kuirau Park - a must visit in Rotorua. You can walk around the steaming/hissing geothermal activity/pool in this public park, free of charge. Be careful to stay behind the safety fences, as eruptions can spontaneously occur. Rocks were hurled 10 metres up into the air once from a new steam vent.

Kuirau Park geothermal activity

Kuirau Park geothermal activity walking path

Kuirau Park over the geothermal pool bridge

Gloomy view

Steaming hot rocks!

Journey to be continued... Read Part 2 of North Island Itinerary here

Look out for upcoming posts of our full itinerary below. I will also share the costs of the whole NZ road trip at the end ;)

Day 3 : Rotorua - Huka Falls - Taupo - Wellington
Day 4 : Wellington - Christchurch - Lake Tekapo - Lake Pukaki - Twizel
Day 5 : Twizel - Aoraki/Mt. Cook National Park - Queenstown
Day 6 : Queenstown - NZONE Skydive - Te Anau
Day 7 : Te Anau - Milford Sound/Piopiotahi - Queenstown
Day 8 : Queenstown - Auckland
Day 9 : Auckland Harbour - Auckland Tower - Art Gallery 
Day 10 : Auckland International Marathon - Karangahape/"K" Road
Day 11 : Auckland Bridge Bungy Jump - Queens Street - Possonby Street