NZ2008 - Southern Swirl: Day 1

Last year, we travelled the North Island with Connections and for a change, we decided to give Contiki a try. One of the reasons on why we chose Contiki was because of the trip time.

 

Our travel map with Contiki

It seems that Contiki could cover the South Island plus the extension to Wellington in 8 days instead of Connections’ 10 days. Obviously, we might miss something in the difference of 2 days but unfortunately, I didn’t have that many days off. So, we decided to sign up for Contiki with STA Travel and let them handle the rest for us.

Time really flies.... and soon enough, we have landed safely in Christchurch just passed midnight on Christmas Eve 2008. Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area. Tonight, we stayed at Bealey’s Hotel, which is also the departure venue for Contiki tomorrow.

Day 1

After having breakfast and checking in with the Contiki Tour Manager, we departed Bealey’s Hotel and the very first stop was Cathedral Square in the middle of Christchurch.

Arriving into Cathedral Square

 

Anglican cathedral, Christ Church

Christchurch Tram with Christmas decorations

      

A quick 30 minutes stop to gear ourselves with insect repellent and any other necessities, pretty much a last minute shopping before going into the remote areas of the South Island. In addition, each of us is required to prepare a little gift for Christmas as will be spending Christmas day on tour.

After a 2 hours drive through the MacKenzie country, home to the sheep industry, we had a quick stop at a little town called Geraldine, which is famous for the giant jersey (wool sweater), which was featured in the Guiness Book of Records. Since the shop was actually closed, pictures can only be taken from the outside.

The Giant Jersey

Following on the trip with another hour of driving, we arrived at our first official stop for the day, the beautiful glaciel Lake Tekapo.

Lake Tekapo

Lake Tekapo is the largest of three roughly parallel lakes running north-south along the northern edge of the Mackenzie Basin in the South Island of New Zealand (the others are Lake Pukaki and Lake Ohau). It covers an area of 83 km², and is at an altitude of 700 metres above sea level.

We also get to see the statue of Friday, a very smart dog that outdone the authorities back then.

 

Statue of Friday, a working collie dog

It seems that back in 1855, James Mackenzie, a Scottish shepherd-turned-sheep stealer discovered the basin that now bears his name when he, with the help of his dog Friday, drove flocks of (stolen) sheep inland to avoid being discovered. When authorities managed to caught up, they captured Mackenzie, but struggled to take control of the sheep due to the highly intelligent dog. It is alleged that Friday continued to drive the sheep without his master's control until finally being disabled by the authorities. A bronze memorial to working collie dogs, such as Friday, was then commissioned in 1968 by local farmers and now stands on the shores of Lake Tekapo near the Church of the Good Shepherd.

Church of the Good Shepherd

Here, we stopped for a picnic lunch by the side of Lake Tekapo while waiting for those who took the optional spectacular glacier flight over Mount Cook.

 

Mount Cook in the background

Spectacular glacier flight over Mount Cook is operated by Air Safaris

This is also where we first caught a glimpse of the Lupin.

 

Lupins by the side of Lake Tekapo

New Zealand lupins have escaped into the wild and grow in large numbers along main roads and streams on the South Island. The seeds are carried by car tires and water flow. They are usually Garden Lupins, principally blue, pink and violet, with some yellow, and are very attractive, providing colourful vistas with a backdrop of mountains and lakes. They bloom for only a few weeks in a year, and we were lucky enough to get the best display.

Colourful lupins with a backdrop of mountains

We then head to Lake Ohau at the base of the Southern Alps, passing by Lake Pukaki on the way.

Lake Pukaki

 

Lake Ohau

 

Lake Ohau, our first overnight stop for the tour, is a glacial lake in the Mackenzie Basin of New Zealand's South Island. It is fed by the Hopkins and Dobson rivers, which have their headwaters in the Southern Alps, and has its outflow in the Ohau River, which itself feeds into the Waitaki River hydroelectric project.

We stayed overnight at the Lake Ohau lodge.

Lake Ohau Lodge

Lake Ohau Lodge from the lake

 

A breathtaking view from Lake Ohau Lodge

The trip today from Christchurch to Lake Ohau was about 311Km or about 5.5 hours.