Mother-Daughter Do South Island of New Zealand

One morning of late October 2013, I woke up with extra motivation.  Mum will be arriving that afternoon at Auckland Airport. It was the first time she visited me since I live in New Zealand. I wanted to take her to South Island, and even already made the itinerary for us few months earlier. It was going to be an active trip but not a full on one. We haven't travelled together, just both of us, for a very long time, so I was very excited when planning the whole thing. It was such a joy to see her at the airport. I think I shed a few tears. Happy tears.



On Tranz Alpine Crossing train ride

I only took two weeks of annual leave from work so I let Mum venture around Auckland on her own for a week. First of all, she only speaks few words of  English. But I think we both quite similar in terms of our passion. Mum enjoyed being anonymous in a foreign city, getting lost once or twice. Caught the wrong bus and had a stranger offered her a ride back to my place when I was at work. I was quite impressed by her bravery and she tried her best to hold a conversation with other people she met on the ferry or bus and asking direction when she was lost. All I gave her was address of my place. Oh Mum, you did make me worried a bit. But I had faith in you and getting lost was just part of the journey.

 

Message on the rocks at YHA Hostel we stayed in Franz Josef. Can you spot ours?

On Friday afternoon, the moment my annual leave started, I whisked Mum to Christchurch in the South Island where we then began our trip. The next morning, we took Tranz Alpine Crossing, which is the most scenic train ride in New Zealand and known as one of the most scenic train trips in the world. We thoroughly enjoyed gazing out the window admiring the diverse beauty that spoiled our eyes. We also went to the viewing deck for photo opportunities. From snow-capped mountain ranges, blue lakes, rivers, savannah, to hundreds of sheep that stood still on the hills just like postcards. What strike me the most was the amazing scenery of the Southern Alps. I was captivated. The train final stop was at Greymouth station. From here, we continued our journey down to Franz Josef by bus and stayed there for few days. We went for a short helicopter ride that flew over the glacier. It was one of memorable sight for both Mum and I. To see the mountain snow so close and the glacier on a clear blue sky were just surreal. This is what dreams are made of. We then did some walks around the area to see more of the glacier and few small waterfalls and ended the day by soaking ourselves in hot pools.

Flying over Glacier





 

 

After Franz Josef, we hopped back on the bus that took us further south to Lake Wanaka. I love how we were greeted by striking blue colour that look so inviting from the moment we approached Wanaka district. We were literally driving through postcard. We explore the area by foot and took a walk around the lake. We then made our way to promenade on the waterfront. It was such a nice setting with bars and restaurants but without feeling crowded. On one evening we thought to watch a movie at this unique cinema called Paradiso. We chose to watch Mr Pip. Great movie! but not just the movie we were there for, the cinema itself was an experience, it was quite retro with some couches, even a vintage car purposely parked inside the cinema so you felt like you were in a drive-in movies. There was a short interval halfway through the film. Everyone can go outside and had freshly baked warm cookies or homemade ice cream then back to their couch or chair. It was really felt like we were at home or at someone's house. The next day we went to see a place called Blue Pools in Haast. At that time I didn't have my full driving license yet so I couldn't hire a car. We ended up hiring a "taxi", and it was quite expensive. On the way there we saw a hitch hiker holding a piece of paper that says "FOX GLACIER(I missed my bus)" I quickly told the driver to pull over and offered if she wanted a ride up to Haast and take it from there. The driver said normally there are more cars passed by Haast so someone is bound to pick her up. I ended up talking to this Japanese girl the whole journey and she told me that she was going to do a 4-days walk on her own starting from the West Coast, which is where  Fox Glacier is located. I told her what a badass she was and it was truly my pleasure to come across someone like her. We wished her safe journey and bid goodbye when we arrived in Haast and she was back on the side of the road holding her paper up again.



View of Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu



We left Wanaka and made our way to Queenstown, one of the most popular places to visit in New Zealand. This was our last stop of 9 days trip in the South Island. We went on a cable car and enjoyed the awe-inspiring view of Lake Wakatipu as we getting higher and higher. Then I asked Mum if she wanted to try the Luge when we get to the top, Glad she said yes! There's always a small kid inside us after all lol. Mum was cruising the track, seemed to be focussed but still soaking up the experience. She had a blast and was asking for more lol! The view was spectacular even from luge track. The next day, we took a bus and headed to Arrowtown, a short 20 minutes ride from Queenstown. This place used to be a gold mine back in the days, many adventurous miners from China came here and established separate village by the river. When we were admiring this quirky little town, we stumbled upon old-fashioned costume photo studio. We then decided to book some photo shoots after looking at the brochures and the finished product. It was fun dressing up in Victorian dresses and other props. Such a nice way to be transported back in time where everything looked so vintage. The whole process was fuss free, from the costume fitting to the time our old-time photo were developed. We only chose the ones that got developed and not the soft copy. So I took a photo from a photo.



Vintage photo shoot in Arrowtown

Mum truly enjoyed her trip around South Island and so did I. She said she can't wait to explore some more! I couldn't choose a better partner to go with. We had such amazing time and it was memorable for both of us. Back to Auckland, we only had one day to spare before heading to the tropical island of Fiji!

Lake Wanaka