Coddiwomple Stardate 171216

-

Tuesday at Mount Cook was a nice wet 4 Degrees C. morning. After breakfast we went for a nice dry walk through Governors Bush. The walk has one of the last Silver Beach trees left in the area.

The Stray bus we are on is a tourist bus. They have a set itinerary and stop at popular places to quickly take a photo then move on. The only difference you can choose to stay longer at a destination then jump on the next bus through. So, you are self-reliant on how to get around to sight see once abandoned in your chosen place. I wanted to go to Tasman Glacier, but was 10km away to the car park. You can pay for organised tours but are extremely expensive. I chose to hire a bike and ride there instead. The Tasman Glacier Terminal Lake was worth the effort. It is a lot larger than Hooker Lake we saw yesterday with far more larger icebergs. You get to see the other side of Mount Cook and watch its own unique weather being created from the west side of the mountain. After 4km of walk trails and about another 1000 steps and a 20km bike ride I was back at the Lodge in 2hrs 45mins cost of the bike hire was $15.

In the afternoon went back to the Sir Edmund Hillary museum and watched more movies. On the way we passed the Visitors centre and Trip Advisor had rated it 5 stars. Curious why a visitor’s centre can get a rating this high we went in. New Zealand does visitor centres really well this one is exceptional. So, if you ever go to Mount Cook put this on top of your to do list, especially if it’s lousy weather.

On another Stray Bus to Christchurch and the driver was called Shorty. She was in her mid-20’s and from Scotland. It was pretty much a straight through run. Couple of stops for photos. One was at Lake Tekapo and the Church of the Good Shepard with one of the best views from inside the church overlooking Lake Tekapo and the Mount Cook National Park. Lunch was at Geraldine then onto Allstars Backpackers in Christchurch City. It was a very wet day so just as well it was a nothing day.

Thursday, we just walked to the Botanical Gardens along the Avon River then through the City Centre. It was February 2011 when Christchurch was devastated by a 6.3 magnitude earthquake killing 185 people. When you walk through the city there is still a lot of reconstruction still going on and plenty of buildings yet to be demolished. One small area is still using sea containers as their shop outlets.

Friday, we were on the Penguin Express to The International Antarctic Centre in Christchurch. Sharon only wanted to go there to cuddle a huskie. Which she did. The centre is located near the airport and is where four countries leave for Antarctica. Those being New Zealand, USA, Italy and South Korea. We got to travel in a Hagglund on a simulated track that represents Antarctic terrain. These vehicles are used in extreme conditions and can travel over crevices are amphibious and travel up 45-degree ice slopes. We experienced an Antarctic storm with winds reaching 42.2 km/h and wind chill of -18.4 degrees C. We watched penguin feeding and 4D movies. Recommend this hands on interpretive centre to anyone travelling to Christchurch. We spent nearly 5 hours here and was worth the $53 NZD each (discounted when booked online).

Saturday, we caught a bus out to Lyttleton about 40min trip. We went passed Castle Rock, their Gondola and entered a tunnel that is 1970m long opened in 1964. Was the longest in New Zealand up unto July this year. I decided to see what was in Lyttleton because I picked up a glossy brochure on the wharf area. Unfortunately, there wasn’t anything here to interest us then decided to catch another bus out to New Brighton which is a beach area. They have a long pier but was closed half way out for maintenance. So, it was back to the backpackers to get ready to leave for Picton tomorrow.







Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Coddiwomple Stardate 180922

-
Image
Our Uber driver dropped us near the Union Station and told us to head down a walkway which we did. After wandering around for 15mins I checked out our offline maps and realised he directed us in the opposite direction. Back on track we only had to wait 30mins before boarding. We are in economy which means 4 nights of sleeping in a seat. Amtrak seats were far more comfortable to sleep on. These trains are 60 year’s old. Amtrak were only 50. The train has two engines, 21 carriages and is 500m long. We have carried on two bags of food and planned on just buying our dinner. There is an observation deck which both of us has taken advantage of many times. They also put on entertainment by a duet. Our first stop we were able to get off for a stretch in a town called Hornepayne. Staff made the announcement we would be arriving in 10mins. The town has a population of 1000 and their train station is a two story brick building built in 1929. Something to check out. When we arrived the station w...
Read more

Coddiwomple Stardate 181203

-
Image
Our first day in London was cold and clear. I spent the morning plotting all the places to see on my offline maps for the next 8 days,  thanks to Jason's long list of things to see. Most of the places to visit don't open until 10.00am which gives us plenty of time just to lounge around in the warm hotel room. Before heading into a 2 degree morning. It is about a 10min walk to our closest tube station Kilburn on the Jubilee Line. You can use your credit card on the entrance gates to the trains so no travel card or tickets need to be purchased. We also could of payed with C/C on the buses in Thornhill, Scotland. I was thinking how far more technologically advanced the UK is compared to the US. You may have read from my previous blogs on how outdated payment options were in the US compared to other countries. I have also watched plenty of people paying for purchases and train fares on their phone by tapping. The US was fascinated when we showed them you can tap a card for purch...
Read more

Coddiwomple Stardate 180424

-
Image
After leaving New Zealand we were back in Australia for 3 weeks before heading on our 23-day voyage to Seattle. We spent 2 weeks in Melbourne catching up with family and friends before catching a train to Sydney. Then a week in Sydney once again catching up with more family and friends. We filled up our time well in Sydney by boarding several ferries that took us to Parramatta, Cockatoo Island, Manly and Toronga Zoo. Also caught a bus down to Coogee and walked back to Bondi. I had to try one of the many rock pools along the coast and chose a nice one recommended by Jade at Bronte Beach and it was a warm day for a refreshing swim. On the 22 nd April we boarded our cruise ship “Explorer of the Seas” It took us 1½ hours to get on the ship. I felt like cattle being herded to slaughter through multiple check ins and the border force. The ocean liner has 14 levels 4000 passengers and 1200 staff. This cruise ship holds 13 x the amount of people that are living on Stuart Island. The ne...
Read more