Christchurch, New Zealand

I was in Christchurch for 3 nights and I was still deciding on what to do and where to go when I was on the flight there. When we were on our descend, I saw the Southern Alps from the air and I couldn't believe my eyes. It looked so fake because it's so unbelievably beautiful. I had decided then that I needed see Mount Cook and the Southern Alps from a closer range.

Facts:
Aoraki/Mount Cook is the highest mountain in New Zealand. It lies in the Southern Alps, the mountain range which runs the length of the South Island. It is a popular tourist destination as well a favourite challenge for mountain climbers. Aoraki/Mt Cook consists of three summits lying slightly south and east of the main divide, the Low Peak, Middle Peak and High Peak, with the Tasman Glacier to the east and the Hooker Glacier to the west.

Just look at how beautiful it is. I just don't know how to further describe it. Just beyond words. I did more research on it and found out that a day tour will cost me around NZD280 with sight seeing stops on the way. Being a China man, I did more research and found out it will be way cheaper to rent a car and go for a road trip. It was awesome since I always liked road trips. My boss and three other colleagues were also interested and we set out the next morning. Unfortunately, the only car available from the car rental was a Ford Territory Ghia because we didn't make any reservation.


I was not that happy in the beginning because I had to do all the driving, and next thing I want is a big ass heavy slow coach SUV that is not stable on windy roads. But it was a blessing in disguise. This tame looking SUV has a 4.0L straight 6 engine in its snout driving 258bhp and 383Nm of torque to all 4 wheels. It has cruise control and 6 speed sequential transmission. The cruise control came in very hand especially when we had to do 50km/h when we pass through some small towns. Thrust me, it's not easy doing it manually with your right foot. It was almost brand new with only 11608km on itss mileage. It was a comfortable ride and overtaking was a brisk.



If this sounds like a wolf in sheep's clothing, Ford has a turbo version that churns out 332bhp and 480Nm of torque. Yes, believe it. The only complaint I have about the car was this black nipple look-alike thing that is actually the side mirror adjustment switch. It's an innovative design but it was distracting. It felt like there was a pile of shit on my door panel all the time.




Alright, enough about the car. This is the route we took.




We stopped by in Geraldine after about 90 minutes drive, where we had some brunch, and then on, we could see the Alps closing in nearer. There was nothing much along the way except endless green farms, sheep and cows. The scenery was great but too bad I couldn't take any pictures while driving, especially when my boss was sitting next to me. After another 30 minutes of drive, we arrived at Lake Tekapo.


The lake was so blue with the Alps setting the background. We stopped by to take some pictures and moved on. We soon arrived at another lake, Lake Pukaki. Since we were near Twizel - the town of trees, the scenery changed slightly, for the better that is.

This was my favourite view. The green trees, the blue lake and sky with the amazing view of the alps. I just passed my camera to the back and asked my colleagues to randomly snap some pictures for me.

The road got more windy as we near the alps, but I had had nothing to complaint and just enjoyed the scenery.

We finally arrived at the Aoraki/ Mount Cook National Park at about 2pm. We went straight to the cafe for some lunch as everyone was hungry. There was also a hotel, some private residence and a school there.

Private Residence

Hermitage Hotel

View from Cafe

After lunch, we decided to take a small hike up to the Tasman Lake where we could see the iceberg.

Tasman Lake freezes up during winter and since it's summer now, it's melting down leaving behind the icebergs. On the way up, the scenery got even better and I started to understand why some of the footage of Lord of the Rings were shot here.

Now here's the exciting part. Everyone thinks that icebergs were going to be large chunks of ice floating in the lake, but because of the dust and earth that settled on the frozen lake during winter, it looks like this.

It was a pity we didn't have much time to spare here. We could have done a 2 hour hike up the alps where we could see the Glacier of Mount Cook up close. We headed back after to Christchurch after that on stopping by at Geraldine again for dinner.

After writing this entry, I realised we didn't actually do much for this road trip other than just sight-seeing. But I can ensure you that it was well worth it. Till today, looking at the pictures I took, I still think the scenery looks fake. Why? Because it was UNBELIEVABLE.

Price for this road trip (car, petrol, brunch, lunch and dinner) = NZD90

Total distance covered = 704km

Time spent = PRICELESS

NEXT UP: Milan, Italy.