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New Zealand Days 9-10 - Christchurch

So sad that it is our last day in Wanaka and that we will have to head up to the city today, ending the nature part of our New Zealand trip. We ate a breakfast of leftovers (pasta photo from above was from the night before) and said goodbye to our comfortable accomodations, heading out on the 5.5 hour drive back to Christchurch.

Since we were retracing our steps, there was nothing new in the scenery driving back up to Christchurch. However, we were still in awe of the views of Lake Pukaki, Mount Cook National Park, and Lake Tekapo. Lake Pukaki seemed more vibrant blue today than the other day (probably due to more sun today) so we couldn't help but stop there once again. We also stopped by Pak N'Save Hornby one last time before arriving at All Stars Inn in Christchurch. Although advertised as a hostel with hostel amenities, the rooms were spacious and resembled hotel rooms more than hostel rooms, which was nice.

Christchurch itself was a little disappointing. It lacked the vibrant, lively feel of a traditional city or the charm of a suburbian town. There wasn't really a good downtown area in which to walk, although there were shopping centers scattered throughout the residential areas. Since we skipped lunch, we headed out for an early dinner.

We wanted to try New Zealand seafood, since we heard that seafood is good in New Zealand. We selected a restaurant on the other side of the city called Fisherman's Wharf. As its name suggests, it overlooks views of a fisherman wharf, which we thought was promising in terms of seafood quality. We were excited to see that the seafood platters were very affordable, and were very surprised to see the generous portion sizes that were served. We ordered a dish consisting of seared seafood with a side of coconut flavored Jasmine rice, and another dish of spiced cod served with mango salsa and a side of sweet potato fries. It was quite a good value for the money, although we left feeling a little ill due to overeating.

To walk off our full bellies, we headed out to Christchurch's botanical garden. This is probaby the city's best gem, as it was not only free but also opened to the public until 9pm. We admired the plants and watched ducks for a bit, briefly forgetting that we were in a city for a moment.

We ended off the night with some boba tea at a restaurant called Pa Tea. When we stepped into the shop, we felt like we had stepped into a little 3 year old girl's dream princess room. Gaudy pink decor was everywhere, with heart-shaped chairs, pink cushion and gold framed couches, and flowers/balloons/bears serving as additional decor. The bathroom was lighted with pink neon lights and pink lighted phrases as if we were in a girly night club. We couldn't enjoy our drinks in that decor, so we ordered and brought the drinks back to the hostel. Our drinks were a little pricey compared to in the US, but it was nice to see that Christchurch had so many asian food options like the rest of New Zealand.

The next morning, we finished our remaining leftover food for breakfast and headed out to a nearby shopping mall to spend the rest of our remaining cash. It was then time to the airport, where we are currently waiting for our flight back to Los Angeles. Even though we ended up changing itineraries and sadly cutting out over 1/3 of the things that we wanted to experience during this trip, it was still a really nice first visit to New Zealand. And Michael did an excellent job of driving us safely over 1150 miles on the left hand side of the road! See you back in the states!

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New Zealand Day 8 - Wanaka

Who is crazy enough to wake up at 2:30am to hike up a mountain in the dark and in 35 degree weather? We are...along with 20+ other cars that we encountered as we parked in the parking area of Roy's Peak Track at 3am. This 10 mile return hike is one of New Zealand's most popular hikes (and probably its most instagrammed one) and notorious for its challenging steep ascent (requiring switchbacks zigzaging up the mountain side to make it less steep), especially when the hot sun is out, so it is recommeded to start hiking early before the sun is too strong. We decided to go super early in order to catch the sunrise at the top, and it seems like everyone else had the same idea as well. As we started hiking, we could see multiple twinkles of people's flashlights at various points on the mountain as people made their way up to the peak.

The hike passed through farmlands, and is actually privatelly owned. Since the path is surrounded by a sheep farm, it took a lot of concentration in order to successfully dodge mounds and mounds of sheep poop littering the path. The poop was particularly fresh since the trail had been closed for lambing for the past few months, and had reopened to the public just yesterday. As we made our way up the steep mountainside, we frequently looked up at the lights from the hikers ahead of us on the mountain, encouraging us to keep on walking to get closer to where they are. Hiking in the middle of the night offered some fun experiences, including chances to admire the full moon, stars that appeared to grow closer as we steadily climbed up the mountain, and lights from Wanaka below.

After 2.5 hours into our climb, the black night sky started turning more and more blue. We were worried that we would not be able to make it up to Roy's Peak in time for sunrise, but thankfully ended up there on hour 3 of hiking with a little bit of time to spare. When reaching the peak, we were relieved to have completed the 1578 meter ascent and joined the handful of people who were hanging out there. At the peak, it was easy to tell why this was one of the most popular hikes in the region. We were able to see 360 degree views of the surrounding mountains capped in snow and surrounded by low laying clouds, blue waters of Lake Wanaka, valleys/farmlands, and the town of Wanaka below. Although this was the steepest hike that we had ever been on, the views that it offered was the most breathtaking as well. It was also FREEZING up there, and we had to keep moving around to keep our limbs warm as we ate our cold sandwiches and admired the views. Everyone took turns taking photos at the highest point on the summit.

After the cold was too much to handle, we started to retrace our steps to start the decent down. We reached the lower summit, which was the instagram-famous spot on Roy's Peak, as it allowed those to stood on the summit to appear as though they were on the tip of a mountain. There was already a sizeable line of people waiting there even at 7am in the morning, but we decided to get in line anyway to snap some photos. At least the weather was much more comfortable there than at the very peak of the mountain. As soon as we finished taking our photos, a very obnoxious cloud decided to cover up the entire view behind the peak, obstructing people's ability to take photos with the surrounding views below. We decided to call the cloud Eevee for its ability to be in your face. Another very long cloud decided to wrap itself around the other part of the mountain, blocking people's views of Lake Wanaka and the surrounding town. We were very lucky to have started the hike early for optimal views!

The descent was pretty horrendous due to how steep the path was. It was more tolerable with hiking sticks, but that meant 4 limbs to watch out for when dodging poop piles. We felt really lucky to have finished the hike before the sun was strong after passing by many miserable looking faces as they started their way up the hike. Feeling accomplished, we headed back to our lodging to eat lunch and take a little nap.

We then decided to pass the afternoon exploring Wanaka. Over our three nights in Wanaka, we realized that it was our favorite town so far. Each town that we had stayed in featured a beautiful lake, but Wanaka had the best balance between being tourist friendly but feeling peaceful and residential at the same time. It had a nice lake/mountainside resort town feel to it, and a place that we could imagine ourselves living in happily. We visited the most photographed tree in New Zealand, the #thatwanakatree, and explored some of the shops.

We went back to our lodging, where Michael cooked a carbonera pasta dish for dinner while Vy caught up with some blog posts. Did we mention that we loved the place that we were staying as much as we loved Wanaka? It was a mile from downtown, but became our favorite accomodation during the trip due to its lodge like feel. It only had 12 bedrooms but had very spacious common spaces, like the lounge and kitchen. It even had a hot tub, which was perfect to soak our tired bones from the hike. And the owners of the place were super meticulous when it came to cleaning. It was truly a great place to stay for our 3 nights in Wanaka.

Goodnight - we will need a good night's sleep before completing the long drive back to Christchurch tomorrow to bring our road trip around New Zealand to an end.

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New Zealand Day 7 - Wanaka/Mount Aspiring National Park

Today was a chill day, since we had reworked our travel plans to give us an extra day in Wanaka instead of squeezing in the segment of our road trip through the West Coast/Arthur's Pass. We decided to visit Mount Aspiring National Park, which we would have passed through had we driven to Fox Glacier. Unfortunately, the most recommended hike, Rob Roy Glacier Hike, was closed due to rock slides. (Although we doubted that we would even be able to get there had it not closed, since it required many ford crossings that would be unsafe in a compact rental car). Instead, we drove towards the Blue Pools Hike, stopping by a few scenic viewpoints along the way. We drove alongside Lake Wanaka, Lake Hawea, and even saw the point called the Neck where Lake Wanaka met Lake Hawea. At one point, we found a bunch of cars by a beach area with no one else in sight. Wondering where everyone could have gone, we crossed the street and climbed down a rocky path to get to a small waterfall, but didn't find anyone else there either. We guess we will never find out where those people went!

We reached Mount Aspiring National Park and saw warnings about sandflies, which are like mosquitos but with more painful/itchy bites and ability to breed on running water. They are attracted to blue and black colors, which unfortunely was what we were wearing that day. Vy got to take back a little bite as a souvenir from the park later that day.

We went on the Blue Pools Track which was a short 1 mile walk to see blue waters of the Makarora River. There was a lot of people there, but it honestly was not that impressive. We continued onto the Young River Mouth track, which was more fun, partially due to almost no one being there, allowing us to fully admire the greenery and towering moss covered trees. The track led us to a more secluded part of the river, where we spent some time relaxing and enjoying our lunch. We walked a little bit more along the trail and found a row of cute mini waterfalls.

We then decided to head across the street to walk to the Cameron hut, hoping to get a glimpse of one of many huts that New Zealand has for their backpackers. However, after walking for a while, we realized that we would never be able to get to the hut unless we walked all day. Time to head back to Wanaka for a quick grocery store run and to sleep early for our big adventure on the following day!

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New Zealand Day 6 - Milford Sound, cruising under the waterfall

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New Zealand Day 6 - Milford Sound

Today we woke up and heated up an early breakfast to make it out to the front of our hostel at 7:30am, where we would be picked up by the Jucy cruise tourbus to take us to Fiordland National Park. After waiting for half an hour with no signs of the bus, we started to get worried. Luckily, Lucy, an English girl who was in New Zealand on a work visa, was waiting with us and had a phone to call the company. She found out that the company had delayed the pickup time until 10am due to delays in Milford Sound road reopening. They said that they had emailed everyone, but we did not get an email from them. We passed the time by walking around Te Anau town center, playing on the playground (which also had the cool zipline that we had tried at Lake Tekapo), and eating snacks in the hostel.

Finally our bus arrived and we boarded it in relief. The bus driver said that since it was a late start, we would be encountering a lot of traffic and crowds at stop points along the way that we normally would have avoided if the bus had left at the usual time, but we didn't mind since we were happy that we were still able to go on this tour despite the many delays.

Milford Sound is a glacier carved fiord that is found in Fiordland National Park. The ride to Milford Sound was very scenic, riding along beech tree forests and mountain ranges. We also passed by a huge farm, which we learned was part of the reason why there was a road to Milford Sound, as the owner of the farm partially funded the road in order to obtain supplies more easily. We stopped by a few viewpoints, including Mirror Lakes (known for its reflections of mountains in the water, although it was too cloudy for us to see reflections that day), Gunn Lake, and some stream/waterfalls. At one of our stops, we saw a mischievious kea perched on top of a rental car. The kea is a parrot species that is native to South Island New Zealand. This kea was playing on the roof of the car, and even started pecking at the windshield wipers. The owner of the rental came back eventually and started a battle with the bird in order to get it off of his roof. We saw many amazing viewpoints that we would have stopped at had we taken our own car; however we were only able to stop at the discretion of our tour bus driver. It was sad to miss Lake Marian hike in particular, which was an extremely recommended hike in South Island, but that was the tradeoff of having a break in driving ourselves for the day.

As we approached Milford Sound and passed through the Homer tunnel (carved through a mountain), the landscape started getting more and more dramatic, almost as if we were in Jurassic Park. There were huge mountain ranges everywhere (some very lush with vegetation and some which were snowcapped), with small waterfalls flowing down the mountainsides. We continued a descent down the windy roads until we reached Milford Sound.

As we deboarded the bus, we received box lunches as if we were kids on a fieldtrip, along with our cruise tickets. On our way to the dock, Vy suffered an unfortunate accident as she tripped over a half step. Thankfully, we got on the ship in time even with the detour to clean off the scrapes. Even though we were not the first people to board, we had the prime spots on the front ship deck (most likely because the majority of the passengers preferred to sit inside rather than stand in the biting and powerful winds). However, the unbelievable views of Milford Sound and all of the little waterfalls flowing down the mountainside made it worth standing outside the entire time in the most crazy winds that we had ever experienced that made our entire faces hurt. Midway through the cruise, it was then Michael's turn to suffer an unfortunate accident. He had gone inside to grab a coffee, which was topped with foamy cream. When he went back out to the deck, a huge gust of wind swept over the foam and expertly distributed it all over his face (and splattered on the clothes of nearby people and another man's face...whoops)! It was such a funny and impossible to replicate moment.

The cruise continued on with the 1.5 hour cruise. At some points, it took us really close to the waterfalls. The last waterfall was really strong and got us a bit wet. We learned that there was only one permanent waterfall in Milford Sound; the others are temporary waterfalls created after heavy rains. On our return journey, we were relieved to find out that the boat was traveling in the direction of the winds now, which made the ride much more warm and pleasant (but much more crowded o the deck). A notable stop on the return journey was when the boat drove us close to a rock surface that housed a bunch of sea lions. So cute! (But so smelly according to our bus driver).

After the tour, we ran off to explore for a bit (thankfully the bus did not leave without us). We stopped by a few more scenic stops on the way back, including Eglinton Valley. Since the tour started later, we got back later than intended and had a late start to our 3 hr journey to Wanaka.

On the way to Wanaka, we made a pit stop at Queenstown since Michael was craving a Ferberger codfather and to pick up a shirt that Vy and left behind in the Queenstown hostel. Finding the shirt was a success, but as we got in the Ferberger line, one of the workers announced that the codfather was sold out. So sad! We ate the porkbelly and hashbrown sandwich instead, which was as gross as it sounds. Finally after an hour of driving through extremely windy roads (think U-turn type roads) in the dark, we arrived safe and sound at our Wanaka lodging. Good night!

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New Zealand Day 5 - Te Anau

Today was an indoors kind of day due to the projected 3 inches of rain in Te Anau and closed roads preventing access to the sights along Milford Sound road, so we spent the morning lazying around and making breakfast at the hostel. When the rain subsided for a bit, we drove out for a quick hike along Kepler's Track (one of the great walks of New Zealand). It was lush with interesting colored vegetation and alongside a river where many birds resided, and we guessed that it would be really gorgeous on a nonrainy day. We spotted a really interesting clean skeleton on the side of the path, and wondered what animal it could be. We only were able to walk a short portion of it before it started raining harder, so we headed back to Te Anau. 

We went back to the town center and explored the local library, which was tiny but a nice addition to the town. At the library, we did more itinerary tweeking since it was projected to have 8 hours of rain at Fox Glacier during the day that w had been planning to go. Not inclined to have another indoors rainy day on our short enough trip, we decided to cut out Fox Glacier/Franz Joseph/Arthurs Pass and spend an extra day in Wanaka before heading straight back to Christchurch. So disappointing, especially since the road through Arthurs Pass was supposed to be one of the most scenic routes on South Island, but at least we were glad that we had booked refundable rooms. 

After library time, we explored the town some more and then grabbed some meat pies at Miles Better Pie. Meat pie is one of New Zealand's signature foods so we wanted to try it. We had one lamb and one venison, both of which didn't taste very special but it was good to try while were in New Zealand. We also stopped by Freshchoice grocery store, where Michael offended an employee when asking if they had any plastic bags for his groceries. She replied "Plastique?! Why would we have plastic when the government has banned it?!?" We definitely noticed that the businesses in New Zealand make a lot of effort to be environmentally friendly and constantly remind travelers to do the same. 

We spent the rest of the day hiding out from the rain in the hostel, thankful that we booked accomodations throughout this trip that felt like home so that we can spend the day cooking, doing laundry, etc. 

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New Zealand Day 4 - Queenstown

We woke up pleasantly surprised, as the weather predictions changed again and granted us with another day of partial sunlight! (Partial cloudy days in New Zealand = fully sunny days in the US, as the sun here is very strong, perhaps due to the ozone hole here. Even though we lather ourseives with sunscreen, we somehow end up slightly burnt even on cloudly days, and in areas that are usually not burnt like the inside of the ears). 

Queenstown is fillled with excursions for adrenaline junkies, but we decided that we would be satisfied with enjoying the free activities of hiking and enjoying the scenery. After a delicious breakfast of our leftovers + hostel waffles, we headed out to do the Queenstown Hill trail. It turned out that the steep incline of climbing up Queenstown's steep streets to get up to the start of the hiking trail was more challenging than the trail itself. As we climbed up to the summit of the hill after a 2 mile ascent, we were rewarded with amazing views of the blue waters of Lake Wakatipu surrounded by mountains. So thankful that we were blessed with another amazing weather day to appreciate New Zealand scenery! 

After the dreaded walk back from the trailhead to the town center, we got in line Queenstown's most famous restaurant, Ferburger. We spotted it immediately based on the size of the line. Impressively, they were so efficient that we had our order taken within 5 minutes of waiting in line and received our food within 15 minutes of ordering. We headed out to the lakefront area to enjoy our burgers. We ordered a double patty burger and a cod sandwich, both of which were MASSIVE and a great value for the money. The beef burger was good, but definitely tasted like something that could be found in America. The star of the show was actually the cod burger, with its light batter and quality fish. We had fun baby duck watching and cheering on a baby duck who was too scared to go into the water to join his siblings and duck mother. The baby ducks were not afraid to walk up to us at all! After grabbing a gelato dessert, we headed out of Queenstown to drive to our next destination, Te Anau, after a quick pit stop at Pak N' Save. 

On our way to Te Anau, we received a disappointing email. Our cruise through Milford Sound, which we had booked for the following day, was cancelled due to weather conditions. Milford Sound area was projected to have 6-7 inches of rain the following day, and the warm rains could trigger avalanches. Therefore, the goverment planned to close the road to Milford Sound that day. So unlucky that it happened on the day that we had planned to go, so we had to quickly rearrange our itinerary so that we could reschedule the cruise for Sunday instead and shift other parts of our itinerary around. Hopefully the roads will reopen on Sunday, or else we will have to just skip this part. Unfortunately, putting the cruise off for another day would mean that we would be spending our Saturday in Te Anau doing rainy day activities instead. 

After reworking our itinerary, we relaxed on the Queenstown Walkway at Kawarau Falls Scenic Reserve. We walked passed a few neighborhoods, and could not believe how it seemed like every family in New Zealand had such gorgeous views right in their backyard. After hanging out by the clear water for a while, we headed onwards towards Te Anau. 

After checking into our hostel, we walked over to the town center to explore for a bit. Te Anau is mostly a stoppover town (also centered around a lake), but had a surprising number of restaurant options. The weather was too dreary to do much else, so we headed back for the night. 

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New Zealand Day 3 - Queenstown/Glenorchy

This morning we were hoping to go to Hookers Valley again for sunrise and to experience it without the heavy crowds, but we woke up to even more clouds today than yesterday. The clouds enveloped the mountains in an impressive haze, covering up entire mountains from view. After eating a quick breakfast consisting of leftovers from yesterday's breakfast, we headed off to Queenstown, known as the adventure capital of New Zealand.     

As we drove away from Mount Cook, to our amazement, the sun started to poke out just a little from behind the clouds. This gave us a stunning view of Lake Pukaki, so we made a pit stop by the lakeside once again. An hour into our drive, we reached an area called Lindis Valley, which was a very scenic area surrounded by brown mountains and valleys. We made a few more stops to admire the beautiful scenery, including Lake Dunstan near Cromwell. 

After the 3 hour drive, we passed through Queenstown, recognizing it immediately by the dense clusters of traveling accommodations and businesses centered around the beautiful blue waters of Lake Wakatipu. Since we didn't want to waste the beautiful day since the following day was projected to be rainy, we decided to head past Queenstown for a mini day trip to Glenorchy. 

The road to Glenorchy is known for its spectacular views. Our first stop was at Bob's Cove, which is a sheltered part of the lake with beautiful turquoise waters and surrounded by forested mountains, giving us a very tropical vibe. It was a perfect place for a picnic, so we enjoyed our sandwiches at a beachy area of the cove. That area was so peaceful and amazing that it was hard for us to believe that we were the only ones on the beach! It seemed like most of the visitors to Bob's Cove headed straight to the pier, which was also offered a picturequese Carribean vibe feel. We wished that the weather was warmer since it was a perfect place for a swim, and admired the brave people who were heading towards the cove with the intention of swimming. We could have easily stayed here all day relaxing, but unfortunately had to leave in order to continue our Glenorchy journey. 

Another noteable stop along the way was Bennetts Bluff Lookout near Mount Creighton, which offered stunning views of several mountain ranges overlooking the northern side of Lake Wakatipu. (Wakatipu is a seriously long lake - it seems neverending as we drove alongside it for the 45 minute drive from Queenstown to Glenorchy).  We then pulled over to a little secluded beach like area of the lake, which had a very peaceful and romantic vibe. We could have easily stayed there all day as well if we had all the time in the world. Finally, we reached Glenorchy and were greated by "welcome to Paradise" signs. 

Glenorchy is a little town past the northern tip of Lake Wakatipu known for its scenery, surrounded by majestic mountains and luscious green valleys and farmlands. It has been featured in several movies, including Lord of the Rings and Narnia. We first headed to the Gleonrchy Wharf, which was underwhelming but filled with tourists from the many tourbuses that were there. We then headed to the Glenorchy Lagoon Scenic Walkway, which was a leisurely 2 mile path offering great views of mountains, meadows, and the Glenorchy Lagoon. We were impressed with the walkways that were built over the lagoon, allowing us to cross it at multiple sections. There were also docks with benches thoughtfully placed throughout the walk for people to enjoy the scenery. One of the last benches that we found was so strategically placed for maximum views; we found yet another spot that we could have spent the entire day at. Following the walk, we then headed back towards the car. 

We spotted something called "the Road to Paradise" on google maps, and decided that we wanted to visit Paradise so we headed on the narrow dirt road, hoping to find something amazing on the other side. Unfortunately, after reaching the end of the road and turning into a harrowing one lane road through a forested area, we failed to find ourselves in Paradise (whatever that is). Instead, we found ourselves at Diamond Lake. On our way back towards Glenorchy, we were followed by a tour bus. We wonder what notable point of interest that tour bus had taken its passengers that we had missed. We guess we will have to try visiting Paradise again on another trip. 

We then drove back to Queenstown to spend the night at our uniquely shaped hostel. It was a very cozy hostel in the heart of Queenstown, with many comfortable places to lounge and perks like soup for dinner and waffles for breakfast. Walkable from the hostel were many restaurants and shops geared towards the tourist filled town. 

Overwhelmed with endless dining options, we settled on Blue Kanu for dinner. Blue Kanu is a gourmet restaurant featuring "Polyasian" cuisine, which they explained was Asian cuisine combined with elements of Pacific foods. We had seen it recommended on a blog, and decided to splurge on its set menu course ("Trust the Wok")since the restaurant seemed very unique. As the waitress brought out course after course, we definitely agreed with the reviews saying that the restaurant offered a one of a kind dining experience. The dishes were very unique and incorporated many different ingredients that seem random, but ended up pairing together very nicely. For example, the appetizer was a fancy salmon poke dish that had sprinkles of popcorn and served with crispy rice crackers. Our second dish was char siu pork ribs served with a side of cucumber pickles and horseradish. We then were surprised with a dish comprising of roast duck nachos served with goat cheese, mango jam and avocado (basically an asian version of loaded nachos but with duck on very fresh thick nachos).  The main course was lamb curry with crispy kumara and coconut yogurt. Dessert was a sponge cake with hokey pokey ice cream (a flavor unique to New Zealand). This was our first semi fine dining experience, and we were pleasantly surprised that the portions were big enough that we were stuffed and able to take home some leftovers. Overall it was very fun to be surprised by the menu (but also sad when we realized that the sum of everything that we ate costed more than if we had ordered each dish individually). 

After walking around the bustling town filled with young travelers, we headed back to our hostel for the night. 

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Playground swing at Lake Tekapo

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New Zealand Day 2 - Mount Cook National Park

November in New Zealand is considered spring and a shoulder season for tourism. Although the weather can be nice on some days, spring weather can still be unpredictable and prone to rain. We found ourselves slightly regretting scheduling our trip during this time when we woke up today and saw that it would be yet another rainy and cloudy day. There goes the plans to watch the sunrise over Lake Tekapo! Instead, we waited out the rain while making a delicious breakfast featuring a delicious venison sausage that was recommended to us by one of the Pak N' Save. It was packed of flavor and not greasy at all. We had a fun time observing what our hostelmates were preparing for breakfast; usually people in hostels cook very simple meals but this group of people were more like gourmet chefs. One guy was making a yummy soup with beef, enoki, and many vegetables. Another guy was cooking rice and making a delicious smelling ground beef dish cooked in peanut oil and sliced ginger. Such a motivated group of travelers!

By the time we packed up our bags, there was partial sunlight so we excitedly loaded the car and headed out to the lake. There was a cool looking swing activity at the playground by Foursquare grocery store that we had spotted the night before that we wanted to try. It required pulling the swing up to a platform, and then jumping on the swing and then enjoying the ride with views of the lake on our left. (Kind of like ziplining but with a rope with an attached seat). Wheeeeee! It was a lot of fun and such a cool addition to the playground. We then wandered to the lake edge, where we saw some pretty lupins (a beautiful weed that can be found throughout New Zealand, and what this lake is known for). We were lucky to see a few in bloom, since peak bloom doesn't start until end of November/December. We saw a ton of tourists at the Church of the Good Shepphard across from the pedestrian bridge at the lake. This church is the most photographed chuch in New Zealand, but we decided to skip it. Satisied that we got to see the lake in partial sunlight, we hopped into the car and made our way to the next destination, Mount Cook National Park. 

The drive to Mount Cook consists of driving alongside another beautiful blue lake, Lake Pukaki. This lake is even bigger than Lake Tekapo and probaby would have been really breathtaking in the sunlight. We stopped by the Lake Pukaki viewing point, which had a little tiny visitor center where we purchased some sashimi, which was enjoyed as a car picnic with rainy lake views. The salmon was very fresh and also at a great price too!

Our drive took us past the lake and into the mountain ranges, where we saw mountain peaks enclosed by clouds and fog, giving us a very mysterious vibe. We tried to imagine what it would look like on a clear day, with sunlight glistening on the snow covered mountain peaks, although it was still beautiful in a forebodding way. We made a quick pit stop at our hostel, and then headed out to do the Hooker Valley Hike. 

Hooker Valley Hike is the most popular hike in the area, and it was easy to see why. It offered incredible views of mountain ranges, the surrounding valley, and included river crossings on beautifully built suspension bridges. "Hike" was a misnomer, as we quickly discovered. It was more like an easy stroll through the 6.8 miles of very paved pathways. The views were very magical even on a cloudy and rainy day, and we were rewarded with a beautiful view of Hooker Lake surrounded by snow capped mountains at the end of the hike. Although extremely windy and rainy at the lake, we still enjoyed our customary sandwich picnic before headed back on the return journey. It was definitely one of the most pretty hikes that we had ever been on, and we cannot even imagine what it would look like on a beautiful sunny day. 

Soaked from the rain, we warmed up and dried off for a bit at the hostel before heading out to see the Tasman Glacier and Tasman Lake. We climbed the steps up to the Tasman Glacier Viewpoint, which allowed us to glimpse the Blue Lakes, which is not blue but rather green. It used to be fed by glacial waters, giving it a blue appearance. As the glaciers melted and became less plentiful, it allowed algae to populate the lake, giving it a green color instead. We reached the viewpoint, and coud hardly see any glaciers since they have mostly all melted away. It was quite sad to see. However, we did enjoy the view of the lake from the viewpoint. We then headed back down the steps and took another path to go up to the lake front, where we saw a view boat rentals carryinig crowds of tourists on tours of the lake. 

Cold and wet once again, we decided to retire to the hostel for the night. The hostel was a very crowded but cozy, and we were very lucky to have a place to stay for the night considering how limited accomodations were in Mount Cook (especially affordable ones with kitchens).  We had a fancy dinner consisting of soy glazed steak, potatoes, and asparagus with a glass of peach and passionfruit cider on the side. It felt so good to be warm and dry and enjoying the food that we cooked ourselves. We didn't win for the most impressive dinner though, as there was a family next to us eating a very mouth watering chinese feast. We went to bed, satisfied that we were able to check off everything on our itinerary despite the weather (apart from stargazing, which would have been amazing as well in Mount Cook National Park, which was also part of the dark sky reserve). 

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New Zealand Day 1 - Christchurch/Lake Tekapo

After a long but uneventful plane ride (minus the tragic water bottle incident), we finally landed in Christchurch, the largest city on South Island. Customs was uneventful, besides the part where our hiking boots were scrutinized and we were given a mini lesson on the threat of stink bugs to New Zealand. (They are a huge threat to the country's agriculture and New Zealand has several online documents outlining the plan of attack if a stink bug infestation ever occurs in the country.) Already one hour late than originally planned due to our plane arriving an hour late, we were hoping to be off on the road by 2pm. However, we ran into some issues with the car rental (including struggles with figuring out how to release the parking brake), which caused us to hit the road much later than intended. We took some time to orient ourselves to left side driving/car layout and headed off to start our road trip.

Our first stop was Pak N' Save Hornby, a grocery store just outside of Christchurch. We stocked up on groceries for the next couple of days there. The selection was very standard compared to the US, but there was shelves upon shelves upon more shelves of sausages. We then visited Big T Asian Supermarket, and to our dismay, it was neither big nor super. Finally we were on our way to Lake Tekapo area where we would be spending our first night in New Zealand. 

We were surprised ot see that the drive from Christchurch to Lake Tekapo resembled that of rural Maryland, complete with flocks of sheep, cows, chicken, and alpacas. The only difference were the interesting way that farmers pruned trees to create privacy feces and scores of a yellow-bush like invasive plant that was as pervasive as the eye could see. 

Since we arrived at Lake Tekapo a few hours later than intended and the weather was very cloudy and gloomy, we decided to skip exploring for the day and headed out to dinner instead. We were pleasantly surprised to see that half of the restaurants in the small "town center"featured asian food (which makes sense considering that nearly all of the tourists that we saw and even tourism workers were asian). We decided on Ramen Tekapo, which was very affordable and decent. We walked back to our hostel, which resembled a cross between a farmstay and summer camp. We were really looking forward to stargazing and viewing the Milky Way here, since Lake Tekapo is part of a dark sky reserve, which is a section that is protected from light pollution for optimal sky viewing. Mackenzie county in New Zealand is supposed to be the only dark sky reserve in the southern hemisphere. However, it was so cloudy that star gazing would have been impossible. With no sightseeing done today, we resolved to wake up early to make the most of the next day.

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Cali Day 2 - Los Angeles

Knowing that this was the last no-plans day of our trip for a while, we resolved to have a leisurely day of strolling around the city doing nothing in particular.

Still craving Mexican food, we went to a food truck called Tacos De Birria De Res for breakfast. It turned out to be a food truck with a lively atmosphere, with many people eating nearby on picnic tables with fun music blasting from speakers. The spider and queso tacos were tasty, but very far from a light and healthy breakfast so we were glad that we were only splitting two of them.

We then headed out to LA's art district, a neighborhood known for murals, graffiti, and art galleries housed in old warehouses. We enjoyed people watching, including seeing long lines of people waiting for food at an organic coffee shop and a mysteriously super long line outside of an unmarked warehouse. To our surprise, we found out that the long line of 70+ people, some of whom traveled long distances, were all waiting for a chance to visit a pop up clothing)/shoe boutique (Fear of God) for an interactive shopping experience and for a chance to buy very expensive street clothes.

We then found ourselves at Little Tokyo, where we passed the time doing some of our favorite vacation activites of grocery shop browsing and shopping at Daiso located in the Japanese Village Plaza. We tried a yummy honey korean pancake from a food truck for breakfast part 2.

For lunch, we went to the popular Shin-Sen-Gumi Hakata Ramen restaurant. Although the build-your-own ramen shop was more pricey than what we were used to, we really enjoyed dining in an atmosphere that resembled the typical ramen shops in Japan. Then for dessert, we headed off to Uji, a taiyaki dessert place in the mall that we had been eyeing all morning. It was worth the wait - so satisfying with its deep matcha flavors, perfectly complimented by a taiyaki full of nutella. Wish we had room to eat more of them!

We then made a quick stop at Five Below, Walmart, and La Fonda (again) before returning the car and heading out to the airport. Time for a long day of flying and the start of our long awaited New Zealand trip. See you on the other side of the world!

[vytraveldiary2]

Cali Day 1 - Los Angeles

It is finally time to head out on our Cali/New Zealand trip! Our day of travel from the east to the west coast, although long, was full airplane movies and yummy eats. The plane was surprisingly comfortable and well equipped, almost as if we were going on an international flight. We had a layover in Chicago, where we feasted on airport deep dish pizza and Chinese fast food for lunch. Before we knew it, we had exchanged the bitter cold air of Baltimore for the warm fall breeze of California. Time to pick up our car rental so that we can make the most out of our ~24 hours in LA before heading off to the other side of the world!

The Californian, Mexican food loving boy in Michael demanded to make a pit stop at La Fonda, where we hoped to order a small snack. To Vy's dismay (and Michael's delight) the waiter brought out a generous portion of fresh tortilla chips and an enormous plate of carne asada fries. Stuffed to the brim with our unintended dinner, we headed off to Jus Poke to meet Anthony & Suzan for dinner #2.

Suzanthony happened to be in town for a wedding this weekend, and we were very lucky that our schedules aligned for dinner. Like many Cali establishments, Jus Poke offered outdoor seating, which allowed us to enjoy our poke in the crisp afternoon air while counting Teslas. At this point, our stomachs felt like they were about to burst so we headed off to Redondo Beach to walk off our meals and catch the beautiful west coast sunset, which was very peaceful minus the occasional commotion from the nearby homecoming.

We wandered to Redondo Beach Pier, which was a very lively place to hang out at night. It was filled with seafood restaurants and fish markets full of fat lobsters, crabs, and more. We ended the night with a "world's best" churro ice cream in lieu of traditional birthday 🎂 - happy birthday, Suzan!!!

It was then time to part ways with Suzan and Anthony and head out to our Airbnb for the night. Today was a great start to our Cali/New Zealand adventures!

[vytraveldiary2]

Iceland Day 9 - Homebound

It is hard to believe that this is our final day in Iceland before flying back home later this afternoon. We said goodbye to Arnastapi and headed back on the road towards Reykjavík. We stopped by Iceland’s famous black church, Búðakirkja, which is located in isolation in the middle of the Buðahraun lava field with only a solitary guesthouse within proximity. This church definitely stands out amount the more common white/red roofed churches that we have frequently spotted throughout Iceland’s countryside. We continued on our drive, admiring the wispy low hanging clouds that resemble icing resting on top of mountains.  

Our last stop before leaving Snaefellsnes was the Gerðuberg basalt columns, which is quite a marvel of nature. It consists of a long wall of hexagonal columns, and made us wonder how nature could make something so intentional like a wall of pillars. Iceland’s wonders of nature will never cease to amaze us! 

Finally it was time to head back to society. We headed back towards Reykjavík to go to Iceland’s sole Costco, a stop that we had been looking forward to all trip. At Costco, we were welcomed by an awesome breakfast sample table complete with pastries, muffins, coffee, and juice. The inside layout was pretty similar to other Costcos, but it had different selection of products (eg. excellent outdoor gear section and a focus on lamb products). Michael visited the pharmacy of course, and found out that it wad the only European Costco with a pharmacy. The pharmacy sold only unit dose meds, and filled around 2000 scripts per week. We then went to the food court, which had the customary pizza, hotdog, and chicken bake offerings. We bought a plokkfiskur (hearty fish stew) and a beytingur (mango smoothie). They also had gelato cones, with many delicious flavors to choose from (like mint chocolate chip), although we were too full to try. We visited the next door Bonus for one last Icelandic grocery store run and then filled up on awesomely cheap Costco gas (~15% savings compared to nearby gas stations!). Then it was time to return the car and check in at the airport. We are currently waiting for our flight, enjoying some chicken wing and sushi platters from Costco. Until next time, Iceland! 

[vytraveldiary2]

Iceland Day 8 - Snæfellsnes peninsula

Snæfellsnes peninsula is considered as “mini-Iceland”, known for having dramatic landscapes that are a sampler of what can be encountered throughout the rest of the country. We could already tell that this peninsula has gorgeous mountain peaks and shorelines, despite our limited visibility due to the clouds. We visited Mount Kirkjufell, the most photographed mountain in Iceland, and its surrounding waterfalls (Kirkjufellsfoss). We then drove to Svödufoss, yet another waterfall. What was special about this waterfall was that we were the only ones there (until two other couples came on our way out), and required two stream crossings in order to get closer to the waterfall. It was a fun adventure trying to follow footprints of travelers before us in order to find the right places to cross the stream. Once we reached the waterfall, we were able to observe basalt columns that had formed around the waterfall edge. We then drove close to the Rif town area, an area known for bird watching. There were many fulmar birds in the area, nesting on the basalt columns and rock formations of the edge of the peninsula.

The sky finally cleared up a little bit after our visit to the gorge, and we can finally see how beautiful the peninsula was with sunlight illuminating the landscape and visible mountain peaks. We spotted a white sand beach to the distance (a rarity in Iceland, with its many black sand beaches). We then drove along the peninsula until we reached the Snæfellsjökull National Park, which is filled with lava fields and most well known for being the home of Snæfellsjökull Glacier/active volcano (which we couldn’t see very well due to the cloudiness of the day). We stopped by a crater, Saxholl, which had built steps on the side of the crater to allow us to climb to the top. At the top of the crater, we were able to view green moss growing in the center of the black crater. The view allowed us to see an amazing view of the vast lava fields of the national park.

We then visited Djúpalónssandur beach. The walk to the beach was spectacular, with the pathway surrounded by amazing rock/lava formations. Pictures could not describe how beautiful and magical it felt, walking among those lava formations (including one with a hole it it). We reached the black sand beach, and saw remnants of a past shipwreck. We also saw two pretty freshwater lagoons flanked by lava formations. Then we walked towards the shore. We were expecting a normal beach shore, but was surprised by the dramatic lava formations that were lining part of the shore. This area was filled with so much kelp, suggesting that we were there during low tide. We were cautious to not stand too close to the water, as this beach is also known for its dangerous sneaker waves, similar to the Reynisfjara beach in the south. This beach was really incredible, and a must-see for Iceland in our opinion.

We then went to Londrangar basalt cliffs in hopes of spotting puffins. Unfortunately, we learned from the guy at the nearby visitor center that puffins are rare in this area and more likely to be seen in the north coastline of the peninsula (we had drove right by the area that he had recommended earlier this morning within checking for puffins). We then checked in at our guesthouse in the cute town of Arnastapi before heading out to Rauðfeldsgjá Gorge. As we made the short hike up to the cliff, we were struck by the beauty of the cliff side, green with moss and towering before us majestically. We noticed a rift in the cliff, creating a narrow passageway for visitors to climb through. This was similar to visiting the Gljúfrabúi waterfall, in which we had to hop over rocks in order to cross a stream to enter the ravine. Inside, we were rewarded with a small waterfall and tall, towering walls covered in moss with an opening so that we can see the sky. It was very cool, even after experiencing something similar at the Gljúfrabúi waterfall. We found out later reading online that it was possible to climb up the additional section of the waterfall to get even higher views. It seemed dangerous while we were there, however, and so we did not attempt that at the time.

We then drove back to our guesthouse area and walked around the beautiful coastline. We admired many interesting rock formations, including the Gatklettur arch and the Stone Bridge. At the viewpoint of the Gatklettur, the tourists were amused watching a couple who decided to somehow hang out by the base of the Gatklettur but were too scared to cross the water to return back to shore, and eventually fell in the water and got drenched. Poor tourists! We also saw a few holes in the cliff, leading to the sea. Within the holes we were able to see lots and lots of fulmars up close and hear their noisy chatter echoed throughout the cliff hole walls.

Finally it was dinner time. There were only 3 choices of accommodation in Arnastapi, and none of them offered kitchen access. Therefore, we went to Mönsvagninn, a popular fish and chips food truck right outside of our guesthouse. The meal was very affordable, considering the portions were generous enough for two people to share. This was very lively with tourists, compared to the nearby restaurants that didn’t have nearly enough business compared to this food truck. This was a great last full day in Iceland. We can’t believe that our trip will be over so soon!

[vytraveldiary2]

Iceland Day 7 - From North to West Iceland

Today is our longest travel day, in which we are driving for a total of 6+ hours from Laugar to the Snaefellsness peninsula. Before departing, we enjoyed one last breakfast in our cute apartment. We will definitely miss our farm life very much!

On our way out of Laugar, we stopped by Godafoss once more. Today there was no rain and partial sunlight, giving us a nicer view of the waterfall. We were lucky enough to see a rainbow at the waterfall as well! Then we headed off to the seaside city of Akureyri. Even though this drive retraced much of yesterday’s drive to Polar Hestar, today we were driving through an extremely low hanging cloud nearly the whole way. It was hard to believe that the beautiful drive with mountain and sea views from yesterday was the same drive as the obscure, cloudy one from today. Only in Iceland! Akureyri seemed like a beautiful city, from what we could observe through the clouds. Also known as the Capital of North Iceland, this port city has many city essentials that were missing from the past few towns that we had visited - a theater, university, hospital, etc. After stopping by the Hof cultural center and visitor information center, we explored the shops in Akureyri. We also stopped by the botanical garden, which is free to the public. The botanical garden, although small compared to the ones in the US, was nonetheless impressive given the harsh climates of Iceland. We then spotted the first hospital during our Iceland trip, so we headed over there to explore. We wandered the halls for a little bit, and noticed how quiet it seemed compared to the hospitals that we are used to. This hospital serves mainly North and East Iceland, and is the center for air ambulance services in Iceland. We are not sure how many beds this hospital has, but the cafeteria extremely tiny. After more walking around outside and hanging out by the lake, we headed back to the car to continue the drive out to the west.

We found out that the shorter route along the coast was an F road, so we ended up having to take a slightly longer detour than intended. We drove though a large lava field area, called Berserkjahraun. This lava field looked like a cross between the Eldhraun Lava Field and Dimmuborgir, with green moss growing over jagged lava structures. We were getting quite tired of driving as we finally reached Grundarfjörður, a tiny town on the outskirts of the peninsula. After a quick stop at the grocery store, we headed off to the guesthouse to prepare our Icelandic fishball pasta meal. We enjoyed our dinner with a window view of the back of the famous Kirkjufell mountain. We haven’t had a bad view yet for any meal in Iceland! Then it was time to rest up so that we can have energy to enjoy our adventures exploring the peninsula tomorrow.

[vytraveldiary2]

Iceland Day 6 - Northern Iceland Farm Life

Today was a continuation of farm life (almost like a vacation from our Icelandic vacation). After a nice breakfast of eggs, toast, smoked trout, and fruit, we headed out to the barn for 8am cow milking. Unfortunately we did not see anyone there at that time so we headed out for the day for our scheduled horseback riding tour at Polar Hestar farm, located near the Northern seaside town called Grenivik. On our way there, we stopped by another spectacular waterfall (Goðafoss). After a little over an hour of driving, we came across vast farmlands with fjords overlooking the beautiful ocean waters of North Iceland. The views of the sea and mountains were very picturesque, and looked like a perfect place for our horseback riding adventure.

Our guides, Julia and Alina, were 20 year olds from Germany who were both taking a few years off prior to starting university. They said that it was quite common where they came from to do so, and many of their classmates are also spending these two years traveling and working abroad. They found an opportunity to work for Polar Hestar online, and signed up to spend a few months each year in the beautiful farmlands of Iceland doing every farm job imaginable (from taking out tours to caring for the animals to baking desserts for an end-of-tour treat for the tourists). They gave us tutorials on how to mount/dismount and guide our horses, before they introduced us to our horse buddy for the day. “Hop hop to go, hooooo to stop”. Icelandic horses are beautiful with gorgeous manes and tails. Iceland has very strict horse laws, forbidding the importation of any foreign horses or allowing exported horses to return to Iceland. As a result, the Iceland horses maintain their characteristic looks and are free of many disease commonly transmitted among horses in other countries.

Our horses took us across the beautiful farmlands and up some hills, giving us great views of the farm, fjords, and the sea. We booked the 2 hour tour, but guests who are going on the 3+ hour tours were able to go closer to the ocean waters with possible whale sightings. So sad that we were unable to do that, but we had a good time nonetheless on our shorter tour. Our horses were 20 year old horses (average lifespan of ~30 years) who were very experienced with giving horseback riding tours and very obedient, always preferring to walk in a single file line and match the speed of the first horse that Julia was riding. We got to experience the Icelandic horse trot (our guides explained that most horses have only 3 gaits, but the Icelandic horse has special additional gaits. They have a special trot that is more gentle than normal trots). We tried to make the horses gallop for us, but unfortunately (or fortunately since a trot was fast and bouncy enough for us already) they refused to do so. The horses loved sneaking in bites of grass everytime our group paused. We learned more about the farm during the tour. The farm has ~170 horses, many of which are used often during their high tourist seasons. The farm also has hundreds of sheep, although a lot of them have been recently released for summer. Julia explained that Icelandic farmers usually release their sheep into the mountains during summer so that they do not need to spend time caring for them. Then during fall, there is an annual sheep roundup where people go via horseback to round up all of the sheep in time for winter. We saw a fenced enclosure partitioned into different sections, each section bearing a gate with the symbol of a different farm. This enclosure is used to sort out the sheep according to farms, and is a big cultural event (called Réttir). We also spotted the beginnings of summer, with a few vibrant green patches of grass growing among the lifeless ground and a path lined with lupins. The ride was a great experience, and after the ride, we were presented with a cute tray of hot chocolate/coffee and an assortment of freshly baked cakes. We could not have imagined a better horseback riding experience!

We then headed back the way that we had came, and made a detour to see the Aldeyjarfoss waterfall (to make up for accidentally not seeing Dettifoss/Selfoss yesterday). This turned out to be a bad idea, since we had to endure a long ride on bumpy gravel roads that our car had slight difficulty handling. The waterfall itself was interesting, draining into a beautiful long river and surrounded by land that was completely dirt and devoid of life. We decided that detour wasn’t really worth the drive, and headed back for a relaxing afternoon hanging out on the farm and eating leftovers from yesterday’s dinner.