New Zealand travel blog: Day 1
Hoi y’all! I’m Ms. Wonder. Welcome to my blog!
I’d like to share my thoughts with you all here on various things I have done and would like to do.
So… Covid situations are getting much better nowadays, and me and my family decided to take a vacation unlike any other we had done before. We went to the land of the Kiwis. NZ!!!
New Zealand is a beautiful place with breath-taking views. We tried to cover as much as we could in 12 days. I personally do not think that you can cover a good many places in less than that time.
We come from SG so the flight was a nice lengthy 10 hours. We had flown Singapore Airlines. I enjoyed the flight as they attended to our every need, they had given food four times during our flight, the seats were comfortable and there was a screen to watch with lots of options.
First off, we went to Christchurch. Christchurch is a city in New Zealand with a few attractions but mainly you can chill there without the usual rush. We came into NZ from the Christchurch airport.
If you are planning to go long distances, I highly recommend you rent a car. There are many car rental companies in NZ but you will have to book in advance first. We had rented a car with a company whose office was close by but we did not know how to get there. For this reason, they had a van which came to the airport.
Those who had rented a car in that company including us had to get in the van so that they could drive us to the office. Once we got there, they verified our licenses. After that, they handed us the keys and we were ready to go.
We stayed in a hotel called Distinction. I would recommend it as the room was good quality. After reaching, we settled in and then had a walk around the neighbourhood looking for lunch. There is a tram over there which takes you all around Christchurch. If you are looking for a tour, you could try this. The vehicle is very unique.
On the other hand, you will have to buy tickets for it. We didn’t go as we were unable to get the tickets. We found a place which sells Mediterranean food. We ate there and went back to the hotel.
In the evening, we went to the botanical gardens. It was unlike any gardens we have been to. Then again, we haven’t been to that many. ;) There were many different kinds of roses. When I say many, I mean many. Each kind had a description to show what it represented.
Then, there was an interactive fountain. We had to move a lever for the water to spout. They even had the famous stairs to heaven there along with ducks trying to make their way to heaven. :)
Soon, it was night time. It looked like evening in Singapore so as you can probably tell, it was a little bright. My father fell asleep very quickly but me and my mother stayed awake. The time at Christchurch is 5 hrs ahead of Singapore so there was a lot of jet lag.
We decided to go to Akaroa the next day but we were unsure on what to do there. So, we were discussing where to go. All of a sudden, we decided to book a dolphin tour. So, due to this, we had to wake my dad up in the night to book the tickets. There was a little drama as my dad was quite sleepy but we booked the tickets anyway.
My mom also wanted to book tickets to see alpacas. They are like sheep except they have longer necks. I say they are like sheep as you can get wool from them. Although my mom does not want to have a pet, she loves petting animals. That’s why she was pestering us to book it. On the other hand, my father thought that the tour was enough as it was already taking time.
Soon, it was the next day. We were going to Akaroa. Akaroa is a little French town with many country attractions. Before starting off, we all needed to freshen up with a hot beverage.
After a little wandering around, we found a cute place called Coffee Culture. We each got our order and we were all hooked. After we were all freshened up, we hit the road to Akaroa.
After a toilet break and a quick look-around, we headed to the boat for the tour. Once all the passengers boarded the boat, we set off. Since we were used to the Singapore climate which is quite hot as it is only 1.5 degrees north of the equator, we were completely unprepared for the NZ climate which is 20 degrees on a warm day in the summer.
We found it absolutely freezing cold. Everyone seemed to be doing fine but it seemed like only my parents and I were freezing. We had left our jackets in the car so we were just trying to cope. Soon, a lady came around offering drinks. As we sipped on ours, it was the only thing distracting us from the cold. But get this: the drink was a cold one!
In order to protect us from the cold, we had to keep a bag on top of us to get some protection. Then, all of a sudden, the captain cried out, “ Look to the right!” As everyone rushed to the right to see the dolphins, we had to bear the cold as we walked over. And there they were.
There were two dolphins swimming together. As everyone oohed and aahed at the sight, we were looking over with our teeth chattering. Ok. I hear you. I’m depressing you with my ‘chilling’ tales. So soon after, we went inside the boat to find a much warmer place with comfy seats.
We saw quite a few dolphins and a cave after that. We also had a little dog companion with us. He was there to spot out the dolphins in the sea as he could recognise their frequency.
Soon that was over. We were quick to realize that it was well past lunchtime and we had to eat. After a bit of wandering around, we found a fast-food place. Once again, my mom started asking us to book the alpaca tickets. Since we didn’t have anything to do, we booked the tickets for the same day.
We did not have enough time for lunch, so we had to do takeaway. The place took its own time to give the food when we had a very simple order. Finally, the food arrived. We grabbed the food and made a run for the car. Soon, we hit the road to the alpaca place and had to take bites of lunch on the way.
Later, we reached the place. There was still some lunch left over but we had to go. The place had a room with an office and many products made from alpaca wool. We showed them our tickets. They verified them and asked us to wait as some people had not arrived.
We grabbed this opportunity and ran back to the car to finish our lunch. We quickly finished our lunch and ran back to the room. Once everyone had arrived, they took us into another room with alpaca wool. There, they told us many fun facts about alpacas.
After that, we headed to the farm where they showed us how to pet the alpacas. Then they showed us towards the place where the alpacas were. Some of them allowed us to touch them while some walked away the moment we came near them.
Once when I was petting one of them, it sneezed! It was so disgusting. I walked away when it sneezed and some people started laughing. Other than that, they were really cute and it was a good experience.
After the alpaca interaction session, we went back inside to have drinks and cookies which brought our visit to Akaroa to a close.
We hit the road back to the hotel but checked out a viewing spot on the GPS. The views were fantastic.
Soon enough, we were back at the hotel chilling.
The night passed quickly, and the next thing we knew, we were checking out of Distinction hotel and hitting the road once again. Where did we go?
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