A Walk Around the Gardens

As the chilly New Zealand winter becomes spring, A rare Luke Stover is spotted quite frequently in the Ilam Gardens of his institution. You may spot a Stover venturing these gardens on his way to class, or possibly trying to study on a bench. This is futile, as the distracted boy finds another reason to postpone his studies.

Part 5: Wanaka and Haast Pass

We continued our travels north, towards the two Lakes Wanaka and Hawea. Between these two roads leads you through Haast Pass, the southernmost pass in the southern island. Before we headed to the west coast we stopped in the small, picturesque town of Wanaka, right on the lake. I found this town and its surroundings to be beautiful, quiet, and relaxing. It may not have as many activities to do as Queenstown, but its a very relaxing place to visit and tramp around.

We even decided to rent some kayaks to take in all the scenery

Haast Pass was absolutely stunning, with waterfalls and temperate rainforests

The satellite photo shows the path we took starting at Queenstown(A) to Wanaka(B) and ending up at Haast(C) for a spectacular sunset.

So how about some less talking and some more photos on the road!

Overlooking Lake Wakatipu in Queenstown

Crystal clear glacial water running down the mountains allowed you to see trout a few meters underwater. Now I know where to fish!

Haast Pass

The drive must have gotten to me, as shown
by the only two photos recorded of me
driving; with eyes spacing out into
the distance, or playing with oranges

I also got a bit of a reality check

when i saw this sign from afar:



Notice I'm starting to talk less and post more photos? If there's anything you'd like me to expand on any of my travels let me know, as I am getting writer's block


And here's a taste for next week's blog, THE WEST COAST

Part 4: Queenstown: The Place for Adventures/Excitement, If You Have the Money

Waking up on Lake Wakatipu in Kingston, we headed along the lake's coast to Queenstown, A small town of 8,000 which is popularly known as the "Extreme Sport Capital of the World". The town is close to one of New Zealand's premier ski slope, The Remarkables. As a result, the town is naturally a small high-end touristy ski town. Within beautiful mountain ranges and right on the Lake, It's the perfect location for just about every extreme sport an outdoor junkie could think of. In fact, bungee jumping was first started in this very town.


So I HAD to do it!

The Kawarau bridge is the original location of bungee-jumping, at 43 meters. How is bungee jumping? Although it was higher up than most cliffs I've jumped before, it seemed more relaxing. You are attached to a bunch of rubber bands, which don't jerk you around like i thought would happen. I find cliff jumping more of a thrill, probably because you are going to hit the water, unless the laws of physics decides to change suddenly. It's also cheaper to go cliff jumping, 150 USD cheaper!

On a side note, that river is where they filmed the Anduin River in end of the Fellowship of the Ring. And yes, that is the natural color of that river. Some of the most beautiful blues run through the countryside as rivers from snow-capped mountains or glaciers in the area.

And what do adrenaline junkies eat after a long day of extreme sports? They eat at Fergberger.

And you thought the "baconator" from Wendy's was bad. I give you, The Big Al's HamburgerDouble patties of beef (1/2 pound), lashings of bacon, a whole lotta cheese, two eggs, beetroot, lettuce, tomato, red onion, a big wad of aoili, avocado, and pineapple.

And I demolished it. After 1 week traveling in the van with only vegetarian meals, i needed my fill for meat. So I got it, and was good for another week of vegetarian meals again.

Being stuck between a couple of mountain ranges on the west coast of New Zealand, the majority of our days in Queenstown were cold and wet. But there is a cure for walking around in the rain, and that is head toward the nearest bar. And whats better than going to one bar a night in Queenstown? Going to Six bars in Queenstown in a night! It was an interesting experience joining the locals in a "Kiwi Crawl".
I ended the night tearing up the dance floor for about three hours before retiring to bed. Quite an interesting dj, at one point he was scratching the theme song to Lion King with some pretty cool beats

Queenstown was a great half-way point of our journey, where we made contact with civilization and took showers(!) along with some great food, good dancing, some extreme sports. We were done with this high-end touristy place, and proceeded to meet more beautiful territory. Next, to Wanaka!