South Island Trip - In a Nutshell

Be advised: This is going to be a long text.

It has been a long time since I have last updated my blog, mainly due to Japanese animations and Japanese comics taking up my time.  But now that I have finished most of it, it is time for me to kick back and start explicating my trip towards the South Pole.  Alright, my friends and I started things off at Christchurch, the once magnificent town that has been devastated by the earthquake.  Ironically, it is also referred to as the "Garden City", credits to its splendid meadows and natural scenery.

We were received warmly by our friend and she gave us an elaborate tour around Christchurch, elucidating its foundation and showing us the beautiful view of Christchurch's night scenery.  Even though Christchurch is in the process of recovering from the calamity, it still has some very attractive views to offer.  Sadly, I was forced to part with Christchurch the following day as we needed to stick with our original schedule.  Due to some engineering issues on the flight company's part, we took a bus down to Queenstown from Christchurch. It was a tedious 8 hours drive through winding roads and mountains.  The bus itself wasn't half bad but because of the distance traveled, I felt like throwing up  between intervals of the trip.  However, the pretty views along the way to Queenstown made up for the sick feelings.  I passed scenic mountains and crystal clear lakes, as well as heaps of sheep and cattle.

When we reached Queenstown, the first thing I noticed was how cold the weather actually was.  It didn't come as a surprise as I knew we were somewhere south in the island and a temperature drop is to be expected.  From the place my friends and I were dropped, we took a 20 minutes taxi to our accommodation which was located in the central in the city, making our future endeavours more convenient.  As everyone was dead tired after the bus trip, I went and hit the sack after our dinner.  Before we had dinner, my friend and I went up on the Gondola and were able to take a good picture of Queenstown's twilight view.  The following day, I went for my Nevis Ledge Swing at a place located in between 2 canyons.

The drop off part was extremely scary but other than that, it was extremely fun!!  Basically, now I know why children love to play on the swing even if you tell them not to.  Children have good sense of fun and thrill.  Miraculously, after the swing, my height phobia dissipated too and that was unexpected...Lol.  Okay, moving on.  I concluded my day with an oriental dinner.  The owner of the shop was very friendly and we chatted for a while in the shop.  I got to know that due to certain circumstances, people chose New Zealand as their perfect getaway and at the same time, as a place to relax and nurture their health.  On the third and final day at Queenstown, I went snowshoeing!!  Basically, it is a new form of sports that was introduced to New Zealand exactly 2 years ago and is still very new in the vicinity.  My group consisted of 5 people including me and a reporter.  We went up "The Remarkables" mountain and as we departed early in the morning, I got the chance to take a glimpse at the sunrise and it was simply majestic.  The sun rising from the horizon and illuminating the dark earth with its warm beam and graceful banquet certainly was a sight to behold.

As it turned out, the mountain which we hiked was used as a shooting spot for the trilogy "Lord of the Rings" and I had the honour to actually drink tea at nearly the peak of the mountain.  We stopped at a frozen lake to have our morning tea and sipping tea in the cold was an amazing experience!

"The mountains through the eyes of the tea! :3"

Sadly, all good things must come to an end.  My Queenstown trip was blissful and sure worthed the investment.  After finishing at Queenstown, I proceeded to Otago, once again, by bus.  As we were traveling along, I got to meet fellow Malaysians who were making the same excursion as I am to Otago for the Malaysian Games held once a year.  I simply went there to support my friends and cheer for them.  When we arrived, I was amazed by the sight of Otago.  It was marvelous!  The setup was exactly like that of the Scottish country, untouched and untainted by urbanization.

I went to the Museum and was perplexed by the amount of artifacts and wonders it has to offer.  It has an array of antiques that was collected from across the world and the descriptions that came along with these antiques enlightened me on the history and "experience" of each of these antiques.  Touring around the museum took up more time than I had anticipated and when I was done, it was almost closing time.  However, the knowledge I have acquired far superseded my sense of fatigue at that particular point of time and I was contented despite my head throbbing like mad.  On the second day, I signed up for a wildlife tour near the Otago Peninsula and our tour guide, Sean (hope I got the name correct), gave us info on the founding of Otago and how it became the Otago it is today.  I had the grace to witness all the amazing wildlife in South Island which included the rare Royal Albatross, Yellow-Eyed Penguin, Blue Penguin, Fur Seal and Sea Lion. Of all the animals viewed, I like the penguins best as they were so adorable and petite! 

The tour was sublime and my highest compliment to the tour guide for giving us such a wonderful time.  The subsequent day was filled with cheering for my friends at the games and hoping that the opponents would make a blunder and lose.

Much to my delight, my friends did get champion for the activity they participated in albeit they didn't perform as well in others but that is a given as the adage goes, "When God gives you something, he takes something away from you too".  Can't do much about that.  On the second to last day of my South Island trip, I went to the Cadbury chocolate factory and got to see, not to mention eat, the most heart-filling fill of chocolate any mortal has ever seen!  Our guide, Joe, was a jocund person and he showed us around the factory while all the time, gave us free chocolate samples.  My bag was literary stuffed when the tour ended but the more the merrier so I had no complain about that.  After the chocolate heaven, I went to the Chinese Garden which is one of the few oriental paradises that are located outside China.  Drinking tea while marveling at the view of the garden is truly relaxing and for those few minutes, it was as though all my worries and anxieties vanished into thin air and my mind was totally blank, not subjected to any earthly desires nor apprehensions, just peace and more peace.

On the fifth and truly last day of my trip, I went to watch my friends play basketball and I had full confidence that they would prevail in the game.  There were some tough times when the team almost lost but thanks to their chivalrous captain and excellent teamwork, they were able to pull through and emerged victorious in the end.  

All in all, the trip was, without a doubt, tiring and exhausting but the excitement, exhilaration, joy and gratification felt transcended all those negative elements.  If I have to summarize this trip into one word, then it would be none other than, "Delightful"!

"So that humans remember, a proof is always left behind."