My Kiwi Experience!: Wanaka

It wasn't part of our itinerary to go skiing or snowboarding but somehow, we made an impromptu decision to join Philipp and Pardis. I was like, yeah, why not (so unlike me). At the foot of the mountain, we picked up yet another hitch-hiker. This time, this fellow is a Brit from Bristol. When I found out where he came from, the following conversation took place:

Me: Oh, my cousin's in Bristol! He's studying there now.
Hiker: Wow, ok. So where do you girls come from?
Pet & Me: Malaysia.
Hiker: Seriously? My sister lives in KL! I've been to KL. Don't like it there. The town planner must have been drunk when he was planning the city. It's horrible!
Pet & Me: Agreed..
Hiker: Oh, but I love the outskirts! I went to the National Park, erm, Taman Negara. Had a great time there. Was actually lost while trekking in the jungle. So my mates and I left our bags in the jungle and moved towards the sound of the river. When we found the river, we swam not knowing whether we were heading in the right direction. But we were! We found our camp and the next morning, went back into the jungle to collect our things. They were right where we left them.

Imagine that.

So we had two Malaysians, two Germans and a Brit sharing a small car going up to the snow. This was just as scary as the climb up to the glacier. It was not only slippery, it was steep. The road was narrow and there were no barriers. So, one wrong move you could end up flying off the edge of the cliff. What made it worse was all I could see from where I was sitting was just a screen of blue. Yup, it was that steep and that high up that all you could see from the car was the sky. Yikes!

We stopped quite far from the resort (thanks to the Briton). Guess he couldn't wait to have some fun...

By the time we arrived the top, my motion-sickness kicked in and my tummy was playing up. I pulled out while at the counter. Yes, I'm a chicken. So while they went skiing and snowboarding, I waited at resort by talking to Dad on the phone and taking photos. Everywhere I turned, there were snowcaps:

When there's supply, there's demand. Look at the amount of cars there were (there were actually more parked further down)!

And haha, could that be another road leading to another skiing spot?

I had a total of two hot chocolates and one chai latte. I went to the loo twice. By the end of the day, I didn't feel cold anymore although I was surrounded by ice and snow. The sun was great. On the way back, we picked up yet another Brit. Haha... wonder what he thought of this carful of Malaysians and Germans who listen to Bob Marley music.

I don't know why I was feeling exhausted after that as I didn't do anything physical like them. But I was. I was also not in the mood of doing shopping so I opted to walk around Lake Wanaka to capture the colours before it was too late. I enjoyed myself lots doing so. Not too bad for someone who doesn't know how to use a D-SLR, eh?

The day ended with Pet and I watching a movie at...

We had the best seats in the house; a modified Volkswagen.. haha..

My Kiwi Experience!: Franz Josef

The climb up to Franz Josef Glacier made me realise that I am a VERY UNFIT young lady. The half day climb was called Fox Trot but I was definitely not trotting. I was not only petrified at how high up I was (I'm scared of heights), I was also overwhelmed by the amount of climbing we had to do. No wonder I was incredibly happy to finally feel the ice!

According to our guide, Franz Josef is one of the fastest moving glaciers in the world, moving at one meter a day. It was an interesting climb as she explained the geographical aspects of the mountain, where the original spot of the glacier was and how landslides occur. She even had small pieces of ice for us to taste!

Although it was SUPER TIRING, I am glad I chose to go for this climb. I came back to the hostel with a happy feeling and with bleeding toes (my skin came off as a result of blisters). Ouch..

We went to Matherson Lake for lunch. As usual, I had something with salmon in it. Hahahaha... yum... We didn't walk the entire perimeter of the lake as we were short of time. Halfway, or less I think, we headed back to the car. On the way out of Franz Josef, we made sure we filled up the tank as the next petrol stop would be 200km away. Also, we picked two hitch-hikers!

Philipp and Pardis are German and this backpacking trip is for before they head back to Germany to pursue their tertiary education. I learnt a little something about the education system in Germany from Philipp and found out that they only finish high school at the age of 19. Throughout the whole journey to Wanaka, Pardis was singing to the songs played on the radio. It was as if she knew all the lyrics!

We stopped many times as there were many lakes with breathtaking scenery. It was dusk so the tapestry of colours in the sky was irresistable...

We very nearly didn't manage to find a place to roost. Purple Cow was fully booked and the YHA had bunks in separate rooms. Luckily, there was a place with a family suite, which we quickly grabbed. Philipp was more hyped up knowing that Wanaka is the less commercialised version of Queenstown. First stop the next morning: Information Centre to enquire about the snow activities!