Today is the 9th March and I am sat at an airport hotel in Auckland to wake at 5am for my flight to Hong Kong tomorrow. I don’t know how I feel to be honest, I stayed in a lovely town called Turangi last night and had a 4 hr drive to Auckland. As soon I woke up this morning I had a heavy heart, I felt that my travels were soon coming to an end as tomorrow is the start of my homeward journey. I felt sad that I was taking the hire car back, that I was staying at the Novotel tonight and knowing that I had to wake at 5am tomorrow for my flight, I was slightly nervous as I scraped the rear passenger door of the car in a Wellington car park and I was concerned about that – not that I should have been as the hire place said that they get that every day! Luckily I have excess insurance as I learnt the hard way after I was charged $2000 in Canada for damage to a hire car that I am sure I did not do! I was annoyed with myself as I have hired 8 cars so far this trip and driven around 9,000km and I just wasn’t looking – anyway, I digress!
I suppose that it is only natural to feel the way I do, it’s not that I don’t want to go home, I am looking forward to that, but as I wrote in the last post, this trip has had an effect on me, I have seen so much, experienced great things, some not so great things, eaten my way through the trip (I am thinking of doing a food post – especially as I am off to Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan), met a whole range of people…and the amazing experience is nearly at its’ end. Yes Ajay, I know I still have a while to go but I still feel sad!
I suppose that the above is a long way of saying that I need to get on with writing about my time in NZ as I am leaving tomorrow!!
So, a bit about New Zealand – the islands of New Zealand were the last large habitable land to be settled by humans. Between about 1280 and 1350, Polynesians began to settle in the islands and subsequently developed a distinctive Maori culture. In 1642, the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman was the first European to sight and record New Zealand. In 1769 the British explorer Captain James Cook became the first European to set foot on and map New Zealand. In 1840, representatives of the United Kingdom and Maori chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi, which paved the way for Britain’s declaration of sovereignty later that year and the establishment of the Crown Colony of New Zealand in 1841.
I will add a bit more background and history as I go on as it is fascinating – for me anyway!!
The main reason for going to Auckland first is because our lovely family friend lives there! Pip is the sister of JoJo in Sydney and she has lived in Auckland for years and she runs her own school running the Arrowsmith programme – https://a1student.com/ and she is incredible. Pip told me tome come to Auckland in her school holidays, made total sense to me as I could then monopolise her time!
I am sure that all you readers have relationships in your life that are enduring, no matter how far apart you are or how often you see each other and the Simonian Family are one of those relationships to the Devani Family. Uncle Jack and Auntie Pauline, JoJo and Pip’s parents, were great friends with my maternal aunt and uncle. I was able to speak to both JoJo and Pip about our families as they saw both my aunt Amita and my uncle Shekhar regularly, they spent time in each other’s company, BBQ’s, dinners etc. which we became a part of, and I loved hearing all the stories. Amita Masi died in 1976, when I was 10, from what I recall and have been told, her and I were good pals and I will admit that I remember being devastated when she died. I recall that when she came to stay with us in Ealing, I went to the hairdresser with her and had the same thing done to my hair , up at Hanger Lane – I don’t think that memory is made up. I remember taking a phone call from Nairobi asking for Dad, I told them that he was at the office, and I also remember the exact moment I was told that she had died. From what I understand, Uncle Jack went with Shekhar Mama to Amita Masi’s house and found her.
Enough of the sad stories, but I just wanted to explain the relationship.
I arrived in Auckland and Pip came too pick me up and took me to here place for the night and I met her husband. The next day Pip and I were due to drive up to the north to Russell to stay with her good friends Helen and Adam for a couple of nights as she wanted to show me the North Lands.
Helen and Adam were the most lovely hosts, Helen and I had a lot to talk about as she is from Cornwall! They own a lovely shop in Russell where I did do some retail therapy! Their home is just lovely and had the best view over the Bay of Islands. Russel was the first capital of New Zealand and is near the site of Waitangi where the Treaty was signed between the Maori’s and the UK Government. Time for pictures….
We went to the site of the Treaty signing and had an official tour which explained how the Treaty came about. In 19th century New Zealand, the British wanted to formalise their involvement in the country, protect British interests,regulate land speculation, control violence and disordered settlement. They were faced with a Maouri population that was more numerous, with cultivated land and government.
The point of the Treaty was to establish a British Governor of New Zealand, proclaim the exclusive Māori ownership of their lands and other properties undisturbed by the Crown, and ensure Māori would also enjoy equal rights of British subjects in British fora.
With differences in wording between the English and te reo Māori texts relating to sovereignty and possession of lands and other properties, there has been much discontent since the signing. Within five years, the New Zealand Wars had begun with the Battle of Kororāreka. The Wars continued in different parts of the countries for several decades resulting in lost lives, livelihoods, and land.
By 1867 Māori were vastly outnumbered and dispossessed of much of their land. They were granted four seats in parliament, and from this small beginning the political strength of Māori grew, both inside and outside the system.
The Treaty of Waitangi Act was passed in 1975 which now governs and guides all Treaty-related issues and claims in New Zealand. This Act resulted in the formation of the Waitangi Tribunal which has heard and settled claims since 1975 and continues to be an integral part of contemporary Māori’s dedication to the struggle and resilience of their ancestors.
It was quite a moving place to be honest. I also attended a cultural show which was interesting.
We walked into a cafe in Russell and on the floor were my bathroom tiles!! Who’d have thunk hey?!! https://www.facebook.com/boitrading? Is the link to Helen and Adam’s shop, The Bay of Islands Trading Company – have a look – there is some great art and home stuff!
I decided to tour the South Island once we had come back from Auckland, can’t remember why but it was probably as it was a better fit for organising and including the flights to French Polynesia 🧐.
I flew to Christchurch and my planned route was Kaikora, Blenheim, Christchurch, Tekapo, Wanaka, Queenstown, Te Anau, Doubtful Sound, Gore, Dunedin then back to Christchurch in time for the flight back to Auckland.
Kaikoura is known for whale watching, but I had missed the season so I drove the coastline – gorgeous Oceanside. I stayed at a very interesting motel for the night, it was like a motel and campground all in one. I had a kind of cabin, which was cool and then right outside were parked campers and cars, was a bit confusing 😁.
There were loads of campers on the road, in Aus too, it was high season I suppose! Van hire is a really good way of going around, there are loads of sites to stay at and the roads are wide!
Then came Blenheim and Picton, it’s where the interisland ferry to the North Island sails from and is the gateway to Queen Charlotte and Marlborough Sounds. From Picton I took the mail boat tour which is exactly as it is named, the boat that takes the mail to some of the inlets and takes passengers! Was so cool, we got to visit the Sound and learn about the area. Apparently years ago, fir trees were introduced across the the coves to replace the indigenous bush that had died off. The firs took over and covered over everything and surpressed the regrowth of the original bush and the government decided that they had to do something. What they did was get people to shoot the trees with stuff that would kill them whilst flying over them!!!! Of course H&S put a stop to that!
We took post to remote houses, but I think that they were up market properties so I didn’t really feel sorry for them 🤣. The Captain was really good with the residents and chatted to each one and provided dog biscuits!
If this post seems a bit disjointed and choppy, sorry! I am on the plane to Hong Kong and had 10 hours to kill so I thought that I would use the time to finish NZ as Cathay Pacific have WiFi – wonders of technology! Having said that, it keeps going down and the iPad keeps crashing and I can’t download pictures & videos. I will keep going and see how I get on!
Blenheim is big wine country, the town is rather boring but the scenery is lovely. I saw a few wineries but couldn’t get on any tours.
Next came Christchurch (and the rain), which is the largest city in the South Island and often likened to an English city. It suffered 2 large earthquakes in 2010 and 2011 that caused widespread damage. Heritage buildings and hi rise buildings were lost and the re building of the Cathedral stopped in 2024 as the city ran out of funds.
I saw lots of urban art across buildings that had been damaged, quite an arty city with amazing views. Pictures below….
In one of my previous posts I wrote about how some hostel residents are long term and have loads of personal stuff stored around their bunk, these pictures are such a good example of what I was talking about!
Then came Lake Tekapo, I remember feeling a bit flat that day, Christchurch had been wet and gray and I was wondering what the hell I was doing, but then I was coming down a hill when the lake came in to view and it was just so stunning, I could not help smiling. The hostel was right on the lake, calm and serene, I also managed to do some washing 🧺.
The Lake is fed at its northern end by rivers that have their sources in the Southern Alps to the north. The meltwater from the Southern Alps is tinged with a light turquoise colour from the glacial silt giving its’ distinctive colour.
I have gone overboard with the pictures as it was absolutely stunning. The darker pictures are from the day I arrived and the sunny ones were the second day. I had real trouble concentrating on anything – i made a little video to explain….
After Tekapo came Lake Wanaka, once again fed by the Southern Alps. ~before I write anything, watch this this video!!!!
Yes, I know – complete madness and it was one of those spur of the moment things. I was driving in to Wanaka and went past the airport and there was this big sign for the Sky Dive company which is when the seed was planted in my head. I booked it that evening for the next day without a second thought. Unfortunately that is my M.O., I tend not to think before I do something!
I wasn’t nervous or anything, this poor chap who was with his wife – newly weds – was so jittery all the way up but he was ok in the end! I was a very weird experience, all I recall is getting to the edge of the plane and my instructor did not waste anytime in jumping off! I looked down at the ground and the cold hit me in the face and the gushing wind went right up my nose and into my nostrils, the ears were painful too, but the views were incredible and I must watch the video and look through the pictures, just to remember how it all was! I chose the 15,000 ft jump, possibly that was a bit too much for my body as I could not do very much for the rest of the day 😳🤣.
Personally, the town of Wanaka was nicer than Tekapo, much more to do, but Lake Tekapo is far superior to Wanaka. The next day I was working my way down further south and I went to the Wanaka Lavender Farm on the way. Was very pretty!
Queenstown was the next stop – everyone goes to Queenstown, it is the adventure capital and on the shores of Lake Wakatipu. You can ski, snow board, parasail, bungee jump and a whole load of other things.
I thought it was fine, it is very pretty and the actual town has a few things to do. I stayed a little bit out of town along the lake which I was very glad about as town was heaving! I was also coming down with a head cold so I stayed in the hostel mostly.
I was making my way down to Te Anau and towards Doubtful Sound where I had booked an overnight boat stay on the sound. The other place people go to is Milford Sound as it is easier to get to, but I read that it can get really busy and you don’t get the whole experience. Queenstown and Te Anau are a bit of a blur really as I was poorly and was feeling sorry for myself! I did not do much and rested as I wanted to be better for the boat trip.
I did go to the historical town of Arrowtown, just outside Queenstown, where gold was found in 1862. There are remnants of a Chinese settlement along the river as they were not allowed to live in the main town. The Main Street has been maintained and restored and there is an interesting museum with mock ups of what life was like during the gold rush period.
I have lots of scenic pictures of the landscape whilst on the road, they are all lovely but they do all look the same after a while!
Thankfully I was feeling better by the time that I had to leave for Manipouri, which is where the ferry to the boat leaves from to go across Lake Manapouri and then a coach across Wilmott Pass into Doubtful Sound where I met the boat that we were staying on. There were only 11 of us, we had Ignacio, our on board chef, and 2 deckhands. What I was not expecting were sand flies, hundreds of the fecking bastards that bit me, mainly my feet and forearms – I have picture evidence to prove it!
It was beautiful on the sound, really calm and quiet as only 2 boats at a time are allowed on it, rather than the 23 per day at Milford! We sailed out a bit and there was the opportunity to go kayaking and swimming, and then in the afternoon we went fishing for our dinner – literally! I got really in to it and may need to explore fishing opportunities back home. We saw some dolphins and lots of birds. The night was a bit uncomfortable with the heat and I had to keep getting up to put cream on my bites, but that is travelling for you! The water was amazing and we were really lucky with the weather.
Fiordland National Park is the largest national park in NZ and covers 12,500 square km, most of which is inaccessible by land. As a result no real logging operations could take place and no other marine work takes place due to the weather. The area contains by far the greatest extent of unmodified vegetation in New Zealand and significant populations of endemic plants and threatened animals, in some cases the only remaining wild populations.
We managed to catch a reef shark but that obviously went back in! I caught a few but they were too small and so we could not keep them. All the other passengers were very nice, and we all got on well. There was a family from the North Island, another from Darwin and couples from Germany and USA.
Here come the photo’s and video’s……
Doubtful Sound was near the end of my time on the South Island and I was then working my way up to Dunedin which was about 6 hours away so I made an overnight stop part way, in Gore where the motel was owned by an English couple! That was a reoccurring theme actually, English and Indian owned.
I know that I have pointed this out before but us Indians are bloody everywhere, in the smallest towns in Australia and NZ, running the 24hr convenience stores, motels, beauty parlours, cafes and restaurants. They are hardworking and resilient, leaving their homes to try and make life better for themselves and their families. I am very proud of them, it’s like the Ugandan Asians who had to leave and have worked hard to achieve so much. I know that I am biased and many other nationalities do the same, but I have only had personal experience of Indians. Gone are the days where Indians used to look at USA or GB, now they are looking further afield to work as nurses or chefs and other avenues in life.
I will stop pontificating now and move on to Dunedin. I was told that it was very Scottish and named after the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh. Around the time of the Gold Rush, around 1860, many Scottish and Chinese migrated to the city and today it is the home to the oldest Chinese community in NZ. The mainstay of the city is the university and other tertiary educational organisations.
It has some amazing buildings, the train station is amazing, famed for its ‘Gingerbread’ architecture, Lanarch Castle and the Chinese Gardens. I saw that there was dinner and overnight accommodation at Lanarch Castle and so I thought why not, something different – but it was like they were trying to make out that it was ‘experience dining and staying in a castle’ – pretty mediocre but an experience!
Larnach Castle was built as the private residence of William James Mudie Lanarch, in the 1870’s. Materials came from all around the world, including Scotland! It is quite a sad story as the family suffered financial and personal setbacks ending with William’s suicide in 1898.
The castle was then bought by the Barker family in 1967 who then embarked on a restoration process and even retrieved original furniture to refurnish the house. I do love a good historic house!
The Chinese garden was lovely and commemorates the contribution of Chinese people to the history and culture of Dunedin. The garden is New Zealand’s only authentic Chinese garden and one of only three outside China – the first of its kind to be built in the southern hemisphere. Parts of it were constructed in China by authentic chinese artisans and then brought across and put together on the site. You can tell that I went on the guided tour!
I am not sure what I thought about Dunedin, I did get a strange vibe, no idea why – things were just a little odd but I am not sure if I am just being unkind!
From Dunedin, I then worked my way back to Christchurch to get the flight back to Auckland, spending another couple of days with Pip, I did the usual washing and managed to get my haircut! All in time to leave for the whole reason for the trip, French Polynesia!!! I know that I have already posted some stuff about Polynesia but it was the best thing ever and so well worth the trip – I have amazing pictures and videos, well I think so anyway, and excited to share them here so that I can keep looking at them and reading about the trip.
I am actually sat in my hostel in Seoul at the moment finishing this, got here yesterday and had a slow day today to catch my breath and plan the next few weeks before I come back home.
Happy Mother’s Day everyone ❤️
Adventures of Nisha 