1st entry here is on Christchurch, the garden city of New Zealand. i spent 5 days in Christchurch upon arrival into New Zealand and 1 day before I fly back to Brisbane. It was extremely cold when I 1st reached, it was only 1 degree! I was freezing and I really dun get used to tat type of coldness. when i reached, it was midnite. after check in to the centrally located Base Backpackers, is time to sleep! i need to get up early the next day to make my trip to the local visitor centre for tourists to gather information for my travel and book any tours or travel I need.
Day 2 - City Tour in Christchurch
Cathedral Church located at Cathedral Square. the prime location for major happenings in Christchurch. for tourists, this is the place to find the tourist information centre. for locals, tis is where many of them will gather and meet up as it is centrally located, providing high accessibilty...
tis is the street where many night pubs and restaurants are located at. it reminds me of Clarke Quay/Boat Quay in Singapore...
one of the heritage monuments... the Bridge of Remembrance... is to acknowledge all those soldiers who contributed in World War I...
Christchurch Arts Centre.. another old heritage building.. there r so many of this kind of old heritage buildings in Christchurch. I quite like it as I like all these old English Style buildings. lovely~
from the artistic structure located outside the building, can u guess wat tis place is for? heehee... is Christchurch Art Gallery... dun tink tat Christchurch r full of old buildings (though there r alot!), there r still signs of such modern and nice buildings along the street...
Tram running along the street.. however, tis is not a public transport running tram. is not the same in Melbourne whereby pple travel in the tram as public transport. tram in Christchurch is for touristic purpose. is the city tour tram bringing u to the various attractions around Christchurch city area. is abt $12.50 per trip for adult, hop and off the tram as many times as u like but i decided to save tis money and had a city tour with my Bus 11, so is... "Iris' City Walking Tour!"
here is my Bus 11!!! hahaha... but pls dun be mistaken! tat is not my shoes! i juz saw this pair of shoes along the stretch of heritage buildings so i slipped it on but i cannot move around with it lah...
yeahz... ur eyes r not playing a trick on u.. is really talking seats! once u sit on it, it will start to tok to u and tell u abt the history of the house tat it is located at. i forget the house or centre's name cos i was kinda freak out when i tot i could sit down on it and rest. when it start to tok, is so loud and weird ah. hahah..
tis is in the Canterbury Musuem. when is the last time i been to a musuem sia? hmmm... but in order to understand the local culture better, i need to go to this musuem. heehee... tis is a picture of the Maori's daily lifestyle. Maoris are the aborginal grp of pple who were staying in New Zealand during the early days. till date, along the streets, we can still see street name written in Maori language.
i am juz trying to be cheeky in the musuem by taking a photo with this lonely lady standing at the far side of the musuem. how i noe it will scare me by "toking" when i walked close to it! gosh! hahaha... is an auto sensor, once anyone approached it, it will start to tok and introduce some of the history stuff. :D
row, row, row ur boat... serene environment... can u imagine tis is the small river flowing in the middle of the city? as i walking along the city, i came by to this Victoria Square and saw tis lovely view... nice leh...
this is Base Backpackers... my temp home for my 4 days in Christchurch. centrally located at Cathedral Square. convenient and accessible to the airport and other places in Christchurch. walking distance to go around the city. for single FEMALE travellers, there r the Santcury Domitory where they r FEMALES only! heehee... i would recommend tis backpacker for its location. however, it can get a bit noisy as there r live band every nite at its in-house pub. but is alright, i tink cos at least there r some LIFE! :D
across the Cathedral Square, there is tis Mega Chess Set. is open and laid out for public access from 9am to 5pm daily. anyone can juz stopped by for a game of chess. of cos not for pple like me who dunno how to play lah... all i noe is stopped by and take a photo of these pple who r so engrossed in the game. heehee..
not much nite life here in Christchurch as shops close early as in Australia. however, it is still slightly better in Brisbane. I can still get food to eat after 7pm. hahaha... tis is a nite scene of the Cathedral Square..
my 1st dinner in Christchurch. i was lazy to cook... so i went out to eat! this is Singapore Noodles... quite yummy...
a walk after dinner & guess wat i found! such an unique name for a restaurant/cafe... Six Chairs Missing! heehee... y not seven or five leh? mmm... tot of asking the boss but ended up i din ah. whahaha...
Day 3 - The Lord of the Ring Tour
I am not a fan of Lord of the Ring (LOTR). in fact, i din even watch any of the LOTR movie. hahaha... so y did i go for tis tour leh? i juz wanna see for myself how grand the shooting ground is and issit tat magnificent afterall? so these r my findings...
along the way to the filming location... does tis look like a postcard picture? well, i saw many many "postcard" picture in New Zealand cos the scenary r juz so so natural..
anyone still rem some years back there is tis advertisement in Spore which compared the population in Spore with the number of Sheep in NZ? oh well, there r really many many sheep in NZ!!! i had a crazy time looking at them whenever we passed by the farms. at the 1st few times, i tink is very different and refreshing. after a few times, my mind is saying "enough of Sheep! i need to see something else ah!!!" hahaha...
one of my fav photo along the trip. see how clear the water is tat it bcame a mirror image... gosh~~~ i dunno where else can i get such wonderful scene and landscape and image.
another pic of the mirror image lake...
there r suppose to be strong wind blowing... but on the day when i went, the day is so fine tat the lake juz stand still... no wind at all... how good it is ah! whahaha...
Finally we reached Mount Sunday... the filming ground for Edoras in Lord of the Ring. It was really an eye-opener for me! i saw the amazing and picturesque Canterbury Plains and the wonderful setting around the filming ground. the beauty of the nature together with some man-made features, many pple commented the scenary in the movie was great. well, for a non LOTR fan like me, i cannot comment. but there r a few LOTR fans along my tour & they r simply amazed by the splendid landscape they saw. so those comments r for REAL! let me show u 2 of the most distinct scene. the movie setting vs the nature setting...
a scene in the movie (taken from the photos shown to us)... a house for dunno who being built on the hill top... in reality how the setting actually look like leh??
here it is! we cannot get tat near... so the hill top dun seems like a hill top but use some imagination...
another scene in the movie... someone waiting for dunno who in front of the house... sorry ah... i seriously din watch LOTR at all lor... whahaha...
in reality, how to find a house in between the wild leh? the house is built for the movie and tis is how it really look like. juz in between the valley with nutting...
with the help of the 2 girls on the tour, my tour guide, Glen tried to narrate a scene in the movie when we were standing on the actual filming ground. tis is a scene where the female lead stand at the elevated platform and look ahead for something or waiting for something or watever... whahaha... (probably some LOTR fans can fill up all my gaps here for the full story ah... paiseh sia!)
here r the weapons used in the movie! let's have a fight!!! *hur... *bish... (gosh... the axe is super heavy ah!)
the sword is juz as heavy sia! but how can i miss out the chance to pose as a heroine... juz as the heros in the show. whahaha... ok, i noe i looked bloated here with my thick jacket. but is really really freezing wor...
okok... end of Day 2 with a Katsu Don & Miso Soup for dinner! tis katsu don is served with bean sprouts... how weird sia! whahaha..
Day 4 - Trip to the Hanmer Spring Thermal Pools & Spa
It will be a day to enjoy the hot pools @ Hanmer Spring. It is a place where there are abt 15 pools built in the nature, in between the mountains. in cold winter like then, it was juz great. jumping in and out of the HOT pool in the midst of the freezing surrounding... enjoying and relaxing in the HOT pool & allowing the mineral to perform some sort of magical on ur skin... well, not really 100% effective but for an experience, it is still worth while a try! can u imagine, i was soaking in the HOT pool when there r frosting scene around me... whahaha...
to start off my long day... breakfast is very impt! oh well... tis is the only luxurious breakfast i had in NZ and is the best breakfast for my trip! u will understand y as u go along with my travel entries... anyway, tis Backpackers Breakfast cost me NZD$11 which is abt AUD$10.50 which is abt SGD$14... is exp for a breakfast leh... but is very sumptous and yummy!!!
welcome to Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools and Spa!!! i tried the sauna for abt 20mins... it was good sia!
the Rock Pool.. is abt 36 degrees celsius...
the water slide... not knowing tat i need to pay for tis, i went with a jap girl to try it out. she paid for it so she can go ahead. but for me, i can't. however, the kind hearted security saw tat i was freezing so he juz allowed me to go for a try. whahaha... how nice is tat sia! anyway, the water flow was fast and with a loud splash, i am in the water pool already! wosh~~!!!
total there r abt 15 to 16 pools, small and big, ranging from 32 degrees celsius to 42 degrees celsius... sulphur pool is the hottest... and cannot stay there for too long sia... whahha...
do u wanna stay in a house tat is facing snowy mountains all the while? mmm... tat is how the surrounding of Hanmer Spring look like cos is a very cold area...
the seafood platter that cost NZD$62! served at the one of the highly recommended restaurants, Dux Lux. i din eat all these alone lah and i wun actually spend this kind of money. it was one of my roommates in the backpackers. she is leaving Christchurch the next day so tot of having a good meal before leaving. she asked me if i wanna join her so i juz go ahead. i din realised it was tat expensive and guess wat. in the end, i did not pay my share! she said she wanna give me a treat... a treat to a new fren. aiyooo... she insisted and i was so paiseh sia... she was so kind ah... she is a Taiwanese who had been staying in Perth for over 16 years. currently an intern doctor in the hospital in Perth. nice girl to chat with... really need more of such pple along the travel to make my travel more colourful... (i am not saying on having more treats lah!)
Day 5 - Departure from Christchurch.. Tranzalphine Train to Greymouth
I travelled from places to places during my NZ trip on tour coaches most of the time. however from Christchurch to Greymouth, i took this scenic tranzalphine train. it is suppose to be one of the world's famous train ride. highly recommended for its splendid view along the way. well, take a look at the photos below to see for urself then...
Me in the train... comfy seats & spacious leg space... nice and neat and tidy carriage...
Mountains! more Mountains! tis train ride bring us across the magnificient Canterbury Plains... along my trip, i saw so many this kind of scene. mountains covered with snow... the natural setting of NZ is juz beautiful... sometimes is really beyond wat i can describe in words...
there r sunny moments.. sunshine on the green pastures... huge land of grass land for farming... NZ, one of the Number 1 Agriculture country in the world & Agriculture is their main source of country's income... tink over 60% of GDP relies on Agriculture.. which is alot alot!!! (econs pple, am i correct?)
another scene tat is common. clouds gathering in the midst of mountainous areas... cos is so high above sea level, such scene is quite common along the train ride...
i saw rainbow along my way! tat means is gonna be a HAPPY day for me!! woohoo~~!!! well, when i was on my travel, everyday is a HAPPY day for me lah. new experience each day, new challenges each day & new enjoyment each day! how not to feel happy leh? whahaha...
1st time i stepped on Snow, touched the Snow and feel the snowflakes on myself!
tis is Arthurs Pass. one of the stop along the train ride. is very very cold... freezing cold @ tis stop cos of the height above sea level... and when we got down the train for a breather, it was snowing!!!! gosh... my 1st snowing scene...
try to take a photo with the train in the midst of snowing but cannot really see the snowing scene... anyway, tat's the train! & tat's me in my "banana suit" (according to Fiona) or my "fireman suit" (according to my Auntie)... >.<
wat is the difference between snow and ice? mmm... snow is not slippery while ice is very slippery ah! whahaha... crap sia... but is really true ah.. so tis is snow or ice leh?
& is tis snow man or ice man? mmmm... well, watever it is, is a cute man! whahaha... it has decayed teeth... cos is black in colour... ~oops~
with the train stopped at Greymouth, tat marks the end of my 5 days in Christchurch. follow on with more adventure to Greymouth, Franz Josef, Queenstown, Dunedin, Lake Tekapo... stay tune...
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