What I did this Summer

The exams are finally over, and it's time to relax a little and smell the roses by the wayside. Of course, being the procrastinator, I've tried to avoid blogging about my travels, because I think I've done too much to put into words. And, travelling in New Zealand is not an experience that you can easily put to pen and paper.

To summarize, after Fiona's japanese exams, Fiona and I took a little trip round the South Island of New Zealand to get away from the hot Australian Sun. We booked a 'free and easy' tour with Magic, flew to Christchurch by Jetstar, and started our 12 day adventure in the adventure capital of New Zealand.

We started off in Christchurch, went to Greymouth via the Tranzalpine Railway, then boarded the Magic bus down to Franz Josef, Wanaka, Queenstown, Dunedin, Lake Tekapo, and back to Christchurch. Accommodation on all nights were in backpacker hostels, and because we like our privacy, we paid a little more to be accommodated in a twinshare room. Altogether, our budget for the whole trip came to be around A2500, including airfare.

We took many photos along the way, and all of them are posted on Facebook, on mine or Fiona's 'webpages', so I won't be replicating these photos here in Blogger. So if you get a chance, pop down to Facebook to have a peek at what New Zealand offers.

I liked New Zealand because it is an extremely hospitable place. Her people are warm, friendly and have a sense of humour that's equivalent to the Australians. You don't feel like you're a tourist or an 'outsider', because no matter where I went in the South Island, you're always treated like a person! Surprisingly, even in cities, people are willing to stop and talk to you for a bit, find out where you're from, what you're doing, and they're even willing to tell you which are the best spots to see things, and what you should not do, etc.

In addition to all these lovely people. you have in New Zealand, the most spectacular scenary, the most heart-pumping activities, the most famous cuisine and also most importantly, the most agreeable weather! It's really difficult for you to share my feelings just by reading what's written here, for you must, must experience New Zealand for yourself in order to appreciate what's recorded here.