A summary of my South Island Trip

NEW ZEALAND aka. AOTEAROA (maori) ~ Land of the Long White Cloud

Hey pple..
I've decided to summarise d whole of 19 days of my trip! I tell u its SO hard cos there's so much i wanna tell u guys but its SO tedious to type 19 entries n moreover its SO long that it will BORE u guys to death. So i'm cutting d story short *everyone breathes a sigh of relief*. hehe

Anyway we set out frm Auckland n travelled a gruelling 10 hrs to Wellington which is located at d tip of North Island before taking d ferry to South Island Picton. Afterthat we arrived in Nelson (which is a small town..about d size of S'pore's orchard road)..looked around some shops..nth much. The nxt day i got to go Salmon Fishing! It was really fun..learnt how to cast my rod properly but i didn't catch anything..u see one got away! =( but i helped to reel in my dad's fish all by myself. Afterthat we had smoked salmon n sashimi! haha..poor fish. Day 4 i visited Hoglund Art Glass centre..saw how glass beads were made..really cool! Next we went to the Buller George Swing Bridge, d longest swingbridge in NZ! 160 high! it was quite freaky..haha..later we went to Cape Foulwind where d waves were so strong that d foam that seemed thru d rocks looked like latte..haha. The next day we stopped at Punakaiki Pancake Rocks to see d beautifuul view of d literally flat rock n blowholes.

Day 6..it was christmas day but some how i didn't really feel d spirit of christmas..anyway we tried to walk to this Famous Glazier called Franz Josef Glazier but we didn't get to actually BE there cos it was raining..we saw it frm afar. To make it up we hiked up Lake Matheson..and could see d amazing view of the Southern Alps. We also trekked up the mountain where Fox Glazier was.. it was a really cool experience! Day 7 we went to PUZZLE WORLD! i tell u its an amazing place! Its actually this place where there's a 2 storey adult maze, illusions, holograms n puzzles to work on. I completed d maze faster den all d rest..n i actually felt smart..smth which i rarely feel..haha. N there was this illusion room there where ur a dwarf at one end of d room n a giant at d other..its cos d floor's sloping down! haha..
Day 8 to 10..we r finally in Queenstown! The MAJOR tourist attraction in NZ! The 4 days we were there was d bestest time i had in d whole holiday! Queenstown's my best place in NZ! I got to go on d FAMOUS Shotover Jetboat..flew on a Helicopter n got to drive d Luge (smth like a go-cart)..which was quite exhilarating..haha.. I also got to go to d Deer park where i fed d deer n goats! So cute ok..but d deers were v. timid..kept running away.. On Day 10 Thurs was my last day in Queenstown. We passed Arrowtown n headed to Omarama. We stopped at this small town called Twizel which literally means Town of Trees! I think d name Twizel is SO cute..haha..i'll probably name my pet if i haf one..haha
We also saw Mount Cook.. d highest mountain in NZ n d only mountain which has snow all yr round! It looked v. majestic n beautiful! Afterthat we passed Lake Pukaki which was almost crystal clear that u could see a nearly perfect mirror image of d mountains n d clouds! Oh yes..u noe i've noticed alot of REAL possum fur n skin sold in tourist shops..n i was like oh man!! so cruel! but guess wat..they're pests n r destroying NZ's kiwi birds n plant life so afterthat i was like KILL MORE POSSUMS!!! hahaaa..

Day 11.. Today we arrived in Dunedin..this BIG BIG city.. I went to see the University of Otago..where Mel's studying.. U see i'm trying to decide which uni i wanna go to.. Unfortunately it was close but Mel brought us around to see it..I tell u d buildings r SO old n d campus is scattered everywhere so its hard to get around plus its SO cold there. Went to Larnach Castle n to d Albatross n Penguin Colony too. We even went up this road in Dunedin called Baldwin Rd..its d STEEPEST road in d WORLD! hahaha..it was quite scary going down hill..haha like ur on a cliff or smth..

Day 16 Wed.. We r now in Christchurch..our Final destination before we drive all d way back to Picton to catch d ferry to North Island. We went on d tram which brought us around d whole city of Christchurch. Later we went Punting..which is actually sitting on d this small boat in d river n letting some guy peddle it for u..d water's really shallow though.. Later we went to d Art Centre which was some old sch built in d 1800s.. there were many shops but d best was d FUDGE COTTAGE SHOP! i even go to see how they make fudge..real interesting n tried so many kinds of fudges till i was positively SICK of it.. Next we went to d Cathedral Square..icon of Christchurch..its really old n stuff but v. big. Lastly we paid a visit to d Art Gallery where i saw modern day art n many paintings dated back to d 17th Century! It was really an eye opener.
Day 17 Thurs.. The last day in Christchurch was spent looking at d Uni of Canterbury. Its really nice n homely..might consider going there to study. Guess wat..today was quite an awful day! We couldn't find anywhere to stay since all d motels were shut cos it was late..so we decided to travel back to Picton but d motels there were closed too! So we ended up sleeping in d car n i had to brush my teeth in d petrol kiosk..wat an experience!

Day 18 ( 6th Jan ) Fri.. woke up at 5.30 am to catch d early ferry where we arrived in Wellington. There i went to d Uni of Victoria sch of design to take alook..somehow didn't like it v. much..now i don't know whether design is for me or not..v. confused as to wat to take..
Day 19 Sat.. This is d last day of our holiday! Frm Wellington headed to Napier. We went to NZ aquarium in Napier n d high light was seeing d Kiwi Birds! Endangered u noe! ahha..
it took us about 6 n a half hrs frm Napier back to Auckland..really long n it was d shortest route we took..u can see that i travelled alot in d car..so grateful for my mp3 player! haha..

Anyway in all i Kinda enjoyed d trip..got to know d Tans better n learnt some stuff along d way too.. i also got to reflect n think about stuff that happened to me in Singapore which i was too busy to in d past.. it was good cos i got to see things clearer..


Hope u like my account of d trip..it might be too lengthy..but i tried my best to shorten it! Sorry if i bored u guys to death. But to those who took d time to read it, thank u for ur patience n for even being bothered to read it!


God bless everyone!


Laureen