New Zealand Trip –the Highlights.

Tongario River Trail

I would recommend everyone I know and don’t know to travel to New Zealand. At least once in a lifetime. We knew it is a beautiful country but what we saw bowled us over. Perhaps because we were visiting in spring, where there was bloom and waterfalls everywhere. Let me make an attempt to pen down some of these. Though no amount of words and pictures can sum up even half of what we experienced.

Walks and Cycling Trips: The NZ government has done a fantastic job of preserving the beautiful country as well as making it accessible for people to appreciate. They have created multiple walking and cycling trails inside forests and around the hundreds of lakes that the country is blessed with. Maps are freely available at information centres of nearby towns that help you explore the area. We must have walked for around 100kms taking umpteen trails over these days. Of these two were particularly interesting, one at lake Tekapo, the Mt. John Summit Track that walks mostly through open tussock lands ending with stunning 360 degree views over Lake Tekapo, Lakes McGregor and Alexandrina, the Mackenzie Basin and across to the Southern Alps. The other was Lake Rotopounamu Walk near Tongario that goes around a lake nestled on the side of Mount Pihanga. We also did two cycling trails – both of which were very good for those not used to cycling too much. The Tongario river trail did a loop around the Tongario river passing sometimes through forests and sometimes alongside green pastures of land. And the Queenstown trail went around lake Wakatipu. We rode up to Frankton on a beautiful sunny day. 

Windy and Wet

Kayaking in lake Taupo: Not many people were kayaking in NZ. Perhaps since the summer had not arrived. But on this rainy windy day, we were pretty determined. Mike and Barb, whose place we put up (Tongario Adventures), had Kayaks and they were very generous to offer it to us for free. Mike even took the kayak with me up to the Taupo lake, a 100 yards from their house. We first kayaked parallel to the beach until the end of the hill and then turned into the river upstream. It was difficult owing to the winds, but we went on. One side of the river had houses and the other had a hill. Families of ducks swam close by, perturbed by us, the unusual visitors. When we got tired, we turned around and the current made us drift slowly back into the lake.

Milford Sound Cruise: If one were to ask me the number one highlight of the NZ trip, then I would mention Milford Sound. Perhaps because it was a rainy day. We had booked ourselves on this bus that picked us in the morning from our hotel and dropped us at the cruise and return. On board was a very informative and enthusiastic driver cum guide, Shelly. She tried to keep our spirits up in spite of the cold and wet weather. But I guess the weather was a blessing in disguise. Owing to the rains, the Sound was full of waterfalls. A mystique mist formed around the mountains surrounding the Sound owing to which we were unable to see the top of the mountain and it seemed like the water falls were plummeting from the clouds. On a clear day a picture of the Sound will show multiple mountains one behind other, stacked up as layers. 

The surreal Milford Sound

But since this was a cloudy day, the same scene on a camera felt like a shaken photograph or someone who needed to see an ophthalmologist as eyes saw hazy images. Was nature playing games? It was an eerie feeling. “Did Lord Voldemort lived here?” Rupali asked. I was so excited that I opened my shoes, folded my pants, put on the poncho and went up to the top deck of the cruise. The winds were so strong that it was difficult to stand without holding on to the rails. Rains splashed from all sides and the poncho was no good. But the scene was stunning. As the cruise went up close the mountains we saw a family of seals lazing on rocks, unperturbed. One of the customary items on the cruise is that they move close to one large waterfall – almost underneath. Owing to the rains the fall had become even more rowdy and now the vapours from the falls were seeming like sharp water pellets. Damn the clothes and the camera. While Milford Sound will be stunning even on a bright sunny day, the rains added immense mystic and enigma to the place and made it incredible.

At "The Find" pub in Queenstown

Queenstown: This is some place where you should plan at least 3 full days. It’s a beautiful small hilly town with a population of 28K people, most of who I guess work for tourists one way or the other. Also called the adventure capital of the world, it offers a lot of activities for the enthusiast – Skydive, Bungee, Swings, Jet Ski, Parasailing, Skiing, Rafting etc plus a host of softer options such as Cycling, Milford Sound tour, LOTR tour, Wine Tours, Gondola Ride, etc. We were in Queenstown for four days and did some of these adventure trips and tours. On other times we mostly walked, sat in front of lake Wakatipu sipping wine, visited pubs and ate at Indian and Thai restaurants.

Almost failed Skydiving trip: Skydive was our No.1 highlight of the trip. There are three places to skydive in NZ: Queenstown, Glenorchy (40mins from Queenstown) and Wanaka (an hour’s drive). They are more or less similarly priced but we chose Glenorchy, the place were a lot of LOTR was shot, since it was most picturesque. Since Skydive is very much weather sensitive, we decided to wrap it up the first day itself. Upon reaching the dive zone, we were briefed by these cool looking divers  (instructors) who had done some 4000-5000 dives. NZ law requires one to have minimum of 1000 dives to be able to be an instructor which though expensive, makes it one of the safest places to dive. The guy who was to be Rupali’s instructor, Sasha, had taken Sonam Kapoor on the dive. Our group consisted of three men who wanted to dive from 12000 feet and us who wanted to dive from 15000 feet. 

Just before the failed Glenorchy dive

Since their aircraft was small, they took the three of them first. We saw them getting ready and boarding the aircraft. After a few minutes we saw them jumping from the aircraft and their shoot opening. They landed right in front of us, exhilarated. It was our turn now. We were excited and anxious in equal measure. My instructor was the guy who was briefing us, who also seemed to be the most dude, experienced type. Rupali went into the aircraft first and I was next. When we were up in the air, I could see why people said that Glenorchy was probably the best place to dive. While the scenery was stunning from the aircraft, my mouth was running dry. I wanted to sip some water. My instructor kept pumping my guts by some small talk. He pointed out where LOTR was shot. Meanwhile he was constantly talking to the pilot in some sign language, which I later understood, to be able to find the wind speed down there. When we reached 7000 feet, the pilot passed him a note that wrote 20 which meant the wind speed down there was 20knots. Anything above 25knots was not safe to dive. As we reached 11000 feet and the aircraft became colder, they were talking still and passing notes. His last note read 24. My instructor took the decision. We had to abandon the dive. All the way on the descend, he kept telling that he was sorry but it was not safe for us and that is why he had to take the call. I was partially releaved that we did not have to dive but equally disappointed that having come so close, we had to abandon it which meant that we have to go through this ordeal again. This disappointment kept growing as we headed back to Queenstown. I was thinking of those three guys who dived just ahead of us. We were really unlucky. We booked again for the next day for 9AM.

The next day while we did not have to come all the way to Glenorchy, the dive was cancelled again and again on the third day. We made an instant decision to take the Queenstown dive since we saw that the weather was quite OK in the city and the Queenstown team was diving. We booked ourselves for the 1330HRS dive, the earliest available for that day. At the said hour, our dive was cancelled again! The bloody wind had picked up again.

I was really disappointed. There were four highlights of our trip at the planning stage – the Tongario Alpine crossing, rated by many as the best one day hike in the world, the skydive, the glacier walk and the Tranzalpine train journey. We were unable to do the Tongario hike as it had snowed, unexpectedly, and therefore the hike was not feasible for armatures. The previous evening we came to know that Franz Joseph Glacier one day walk has stopped as the bottom of the glaciers are no more so the hike is not feasable. Now if we were unable to dive as well, we would have not done three of the four highlights initially planned. What a bummer!

Shitting bricks... Why is Rupali curious?

Just when we were taking a refund, we learnt that the Wanaka team were still diving. Apparently, if its the Westerly winds that are blowing on a particular day, they first reach Glenorchy and then Queenstown and if they turn, they would reach Wanaka. We booked ourselves immediately for Wanaka. I was only 50% sure that we will be able to dive that afternoon as I kept looking at the trees and leaves that seem to be swinging softly with the wind. We reached Wanaka and quickly got inducted and dressed. This time however, we booked ourselves for the 12000 feet, sensing the bad omen. We boarded quickly and were up and it was time for the mouths to go dry again. For some reason I did not find the Wanaka team to be very professional, compared to the Glenorchy guys. But anyways, we were up. 

In the flight were 9 people (4 teams) besides the pilot. The extra person was another diver who went up to take the video of this guy Chinese guy jumping. There are two types of videos you can opt for – one that is from a camera stuck on the wrist of your instructor (the cheaper option, $150, wherein your instructor puts the camera on once in a while) and another if you want full video where another diver dives alongside you and is always in front of you to take a full video ($250). The Chinese had opted for the full video. This camera guy was super cool. In between when we were say at 8000-10000 feet, he opened the door to do guess what? Throw his chewing gum away! At 12000 feet, he finally opened the door fully as a strong wave of chilly wind swept inside the aircraft. He lunged out like people do in Mumbai locals while the Chinese and his instructor got ready and went up to the edge of the aircraft. The instructor and camera guy made signs and wooo... jumped right in front of me. I was probably shitting in my pants as it was my turn. My instructor asked me to move forward. As I moved closer to the edge, I saw the earth below for a second. The instructor was making some adjustments, we were not abandoning this time and were indeed jumping. I was too frightened to keep my eyes open. I guess I lost my balls for those few seconds. I closed my eyes and kept my head on the right shoulder of the instructor as told, and then before I realised I was flying. Scared to death I could sense the chilly breeze hitting my face at 200kmph. 

May be 10 seconds after dive, in free fall

I opened my eyes a couple of seconds later and what I saw was absolutely stunning. As if in an instant bliss replaced fear. I was absorbed by the beauty I saw below. Mountains, lakes, farms all etched as if it were a child’s painting. I tried to look left and right and absorb as much as I could see. While the wind kept hitting the face at the crazy speed, the feeling was so overwhelming that I just wanted to take as much as I could. After about 45 second free fall, the shoot opened. Yes it did! And then as if the earth came to s standstill. From 200kmph, we were, what felt like zero speed in like four seconds. It was so sudden that I felt that we had landed! Once the shoot opened my instructor and I were able to talk. He showed me the topography of the place – the Roys peak, Mt Hyde, Mt Aspiring, the Wanaka Lake, Lake Hawea, the Wanaka River etc. He then asked if I wanted to swing to which I said a big NO. I am not a swing person – please! Now that the shoot opened and I was offered another chance to live, I don’t want to swing. I realised how much I hated amusement parks. But thats OK. I wanted this to last. I was absorbing the splendour around me. I saw other divers below me – one of who could be Rupali. It seemed that for a few minutes we were not moving at all. The wind was getting strong. The only way to go down was to swing. He told me that he would take small swings to which I agreed. Slowly after a lot of effort from his side, I guess, we were moving down. When we finally reached the ground there were four five people from his team waiting for us. Look on their face showed that our dive could have become a concern soon. But yes I was alive, in one piece. I saw Rupali down looking very happy. We hugged and kissed at this exhilarating experience, after four cancellations. An item ticked off our bucket list!

Glacier Hiking @ Franz Joseph: While the full day glacier walks had been closed, one could still do half day Heli-hikes. The way this works is that you board a chopper that takes you right up to the glacier and from there you hike up along with a guide. We booked ourselves for the first flight. (Always do weather related trips first thing in the day. The weather changes fast and usually gets worse as the day progresses). We were a group of 10 who were given a proper gear and crampons. The chopper ride was short and in no time we were on the glacier where our guide was waiting for us – in T-shirt and shorts with an axe. His look kept me puzzled for the next few minutes as I put on my crampons. Finally, we started our hike. It was not as adventurous as I would have thought. The guide uses the axe to pave the way for the group which makes the climb relatively easy. The glacier however was a beauty. It had shades of white and blue. Then there were the crevices of different formations. During our hike we also saw a small glacier explosion – where part of a glacier breakaway like a thunder. The trip was so well timed that just when it ended, it started to rain.

Clicked from the Train

Tranzalpine Train Journey: This was the final leg of our trip. The kiwis run some great trains; particularly the Tranzalpine, Northern Explorer and the Coastal Pacific. We took the Tranzalpine from Greymouth to Christchurch. This was our last day in NZ and we had seen so much beauty that I was wondering if the train journey would add anything that we had not already seen. For the first hour or so, the train passed alongside the Waimakariri River and reached Arthur Pass station after passing through a 42km Otira tunnel built in 1923. Up to this point, the journey was nice but nothing to write home about. It was after this point when the train passed through the gorges and the farmlands of the Canterbury plains that the scenery became extraordinary. I went up to the open board at the back of the train and was busy clicking pictures. There were few people on the open deck since the train was not even 50% full. (If you travel in peak season, you may get a place to sit but the open board will be packed.) Owing to spring, it became even more dramatic as Pohutukawa trees and Kowhais flowers were blooming. There were shades of green that one cannot imagine. Mountains, rivers, flowers and trees – all in one! Highly recommended.

While we visited Roturua's Geysers and the Buried village and also spent some time in Auckland and Christchurch, we wont put them under highlights. Not because they were not good, but perhaps not good enough to seek a place in this list. 

Anyways, we think we will go back again, may be after a few years. We still have to do the Tongario crossing, Milford on a sunny day, Abel Tasman National Park etc and perhaps repeat a few things once again.