We travelled by coach to Christchurch from Queenstown via Mount Cook.
What can I say about Mount Cook? It was gorgeous to look at but not something that made us go “wow” compared to Milford Sound. This was probably because we knew what Mount Cook looked like beforehand but nothing prepared us for the beauty of Milford Sound. I am glad we saw Mount Cook because you can’t really go to New Zealand and be in the area and not visit it. We had the chance to go up the top on a helicopter but we decided not to bother as we felt what we could see from a distance was enough. We had lunch in the café overlooking Mount Cook which was lovely and we took some pretty nice pictures.
Once we got to Christchurch, we weren’t too impressed. There seemed to be very little to see and do compared to Auckland, Rotorua and Queenstown. Maybe it was the location of our hotel, but I’m pretty certain we got to the centre of Christchurch by foot one evening and we struggled to find somewhere to eat and ate at the hotel both nights we were there. If there is nowhere decent to eat, then what does that say about the location?! I suppose we spent the first day travelling to Christchurch via Mount Cook and the second day travelling to and from Kaikoura where we went whale watching. The only opportunity we had to walk around Christchurch was when it was dark, so maybe that’s why it seemed so sedate. But then again, Auckland, Rotorua and Queenstown seemed just as lively at night as they did during the day. The fact that our itinerary from Travelbag didn’t allow for time to do something in Christchurch is probably a good indication there is nothing there and we probably only stopped there to fly out of New Zealand.
Our last day in New Zealand saw us going to Kaikoura whale watching. It was a long drive from Christchurch to Kaikoura: about 2 hours. After going on the dolphin cruise in Auckland and being a little disappointed with not seeing more than we did, I was a little wary of how enjoyable this trip would be. However, it turned out to be better than Auckland. It was a truly memorable and enjoyable experience. It was the first time I actually saw whales and we also saw fur seals, albatross and dusky dolphins. Seeing a whale up close was surreal. I always knew they were big but didn’t imagine them to be THAT big! The whales we saw just seemed flat out on top of the water (well, they are big and heavy so can’t do very much!) We also saw two whales doing a dive underwater but it obviously wasn’t like a normal dive where the water splashes, the whale dives seemed to go into slow motion and the water surrounding it just remained calm. Rob’s face on this trip was a picture – he had always wanted to go whale watching. When he managed to snap a picture of a whale diving, he was grinning from ear to ear. Bless him! This proved to be a wonderful way to end our stay in New Zealand.
Tags: New Zealand