New Zealand

Devin Beliveau
Aug 28, 2017 · 3 min read

While in Australia we had a school vacation. I decided to plan a trip to New Zealand and Fiji and anyone who wanted to come with me could. In the end I convinced a few girl friends to come and we had an amazing “spring” break (spring for Americans, fall for Australians). We landed in Christchurch and spent the day and night in a hostel. Side note: hostels have changed. Maybe it’s the places I’ve visited, but the somewhat-seedy $10 a night shared rooms I was used to traveling around the South Pacific seem to have been replaced with $150 a night hipster rooms — most of which are more expensive than the nice hotel next door. The next morning we jumped on a shuttle to Akaroa, population: a few hundred. This tiny coastal town was one of my favorite trips of my whole South Pacific semester long adventure. There was one bed and breakfast and one hostel, which was just someone’s house with bunkbeds. We shared a room with two older guys who were on a motorcycle trip around the southern island and some younger British guys on holiday.

The town had one bar which we went to every night we were there. We mostly spent our time walking around and chilling out, taking in the cooler, salty air and the smaller, coastal mountains. We went on a whale watching tour of the bay and saw some Humpbacks. The guy who ran (and owned) the tour company was straight out of New York. I recognized his accent and asked how he came to own this business. He told me he came down on a vacation and just decided he didn’t want to leave. He bought a boat and the rest is history.

A beach in Akaroa. 2007.

After a relaxing few days in Akaroa, we headed back to Christchurch. The other girls spent the next day there exploring the city, but I chose to jump on a bus and head down to Mount Cook to fulfill my longing for Lord of the Rings landscapes (we were there for such a short time, we didn’t have time to travel to Queensland). Despite New Zealand being an English speaking country, I was the only English speaker on the tour. My foreign speaking friends and I took photos of each other in front of the Church of the Good Shepherd at Lake Tekapo and with herds of sheep along the road. Mount Cook was spectacular to see. It was a long day trip to and from the area from Christchurch, so we didn’t have a lot of time at the base of the mountain, but it was beautiful. I got to see the sharp peaks of the Southern Alps and take in the mountain air, which felt nice in contrast to the humid air of my home away from home, Brisbane.

I did spend one full day in Christchurch. The city is super cool. The culture and vibe is very similar to many outdoorsy and mountain towns in the US. It was quirky and fun. In 2011 Christchurch was devastated by an earthquake. After I found out I went through and looked at my photos just to remember my trip. Below is a photo of the famous ChristChurch Cathedral Spire that was mostly ruined by the quake. A controversial decision was made to destroy the church and rebuild new rather than try and repair.

ChristChurch Cathedral, a few years before it was devastaed by an earthquake. 2007.

While my time in New Zealand was short, I feel like I got a lot out of it and had time to really understand the people and culture. New Zealanders are some of the nicest people I’ve ever met. Our flight attendant asked if we wanted a ride to our hostel after our flight! I’d love to go back and explore Queenstown, the real landscape of Lord of the Rings. Just like Australia, I feel like one day I’ll return to New Zealand. It’s a tiny place with a lot to see.

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I code. I travel.

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