Day 9: Last Day in Christchurch

This was our ninth and final day in New Zealand, the end of a great vacation.

We'd planned on the weekend market at the Arts Centre as well as the International Antarctic Centre for this day, but we decided to sleep in and have a leisurely breakfast instead.

After packing and a quick shower, it was across the street to the bus stop and off to the airport!

All in all we had a good nine-day itinerary, it was a fabulous trip around the South Island.


We enjoyed our stays in Christchurch, Fox Glacier, and Queenstown. Lake Matheson, Mount Cook and Lake Tekapo provided glorious views, our tandem bungy jump was the experience of a lifetime, and we'll have to come back someday to see Milford Sound and go kayaking at Abel Tasman.

Anyone else have good New Zealand travel stories to share?

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Christchurch: Summers B&B at Knowles Court

Our cab pulled into an empty gravel driveway surrounded by a nondescript brick wall. There was no one in sight, although I’d briefly caught a glimpse of a shadowy figure through the old house’s windows.

"Are you sure this is the place?" John asked. We could see lights in the living room, so we walked cautiously through the garden to what looked like the front door. Knock, knock.


A few minutes later our host appeared in the doorway. He was large, imposing, and the very picture of a proprietor of a grand old Christchurch manor home. He gave us a hearty welcome, and on finding out we lived in Singapore, regaled us with stories of his excellent Chinese cooking. Yes, multi-course Chinese dinners complete with proper rice vinegar. No wonder Summers B&B is popular with Asian students and teachers.

Knowles Court is a registered Heritage Home. Sounds good, right? It was built in 1910, and if you wander around I suspect you can still see some of the original plumbing. Clawfoot tubs may look luxurious in pictures, but ancient showers and toilets are certainly something else.

We entered our apartment just as darkness started to fall. Our host gave us a short tour and turned on the heat. Then he left, shutting the door with an ominous thud. We were on our own.

The bed was simple and somewhat old, clearly not the luxurious queen bed with fluffy down pillows and sumptuous duvet that I’d conjured up in my imagination when making our booking. There was a huge closet in the bedroom. It was large enough to hold a person and I was afraid to open it for fear that it did.


The living room was sparsely furnished and had a small TV. An empty candlestick stood on the windowsill, instantly transporting us onto a real-life set for Cluedo. "Colonel Mustard in the living room with the candlestick!" We looked at each other and laughed nervously.

We explored the dining nook, where we found a length of twisted curtain tie on the shelf. "Mrs. Peacock in the dining room with the rope!" Our overactive imaginations manufactured an atmosphere of general creepiness and we scared ourselves silly.

We stayed awake for as long as we could watching TV, and then gingerly crawled into bed. We pulled out one of the headlamps we’d brought to Nepal, pulled the chain to turn off the room light, and slept with 4 bright white LED lights keeping us company.

The one redeeming factor of our stay was the delicious cooked breakfast, served to us in our private dining room by our host’s wife.


The apartment lost most of its sinister atmosphere in the bright morning sunlight. "You have no power over me!" I crowed happily, feeling triumphant until I opened the bathroom door and gazed sadly at the sub-par shower. As you can imagine, I am not generally keen on bathroom fittings that may be twice as old as I am.

As we left, John looked back at the house and quipped, "We never did find out what was in the cellar..."


Lessons I've learned on how to choose a bed and breakfast:

1. If you are booking in a home built at the turn of the last century, check to make sure the plumbing isn’t as historic as the house’s foundations.
   
2. Don’t get carried away by good-looking websites. Be wary if photos focus on details like lampshades and table corners instead of showing the entire room.
   
3. Always check reviews. I got lucky with Ropatini’s, but I’ll be a lot more cautious booking unreviewed B&B’s in the future.

Summers B&B may well be a terrific choice for New Zealand breakfasts and Chinese dinners, and I understand the house is being steadily though slowly fixed up. Until our favorite creature comforts are in place, though, I think we’ll stay somewhere else next time...

For the less-easily scared, here is their contact information:

• Summers B&B is at Knowles Court, 274 Papanui Road, Merivale, Christchurch; a few minutes by car from the airport.
  
• Web site:www.summers.net.nz
  
• E-mail: stay@summers.net.nz
  
• Phone: +64 3 355 1145
  
• Rates range from NZ$60 to 120 per double per night with breakfast
  

Bloggers tell tales of scary stays in other places:

• “We were both awaken (sic) by a thrashing sound of something flying." - Iloilo City Boy, in Iloilo
  
• “I kept visualizing this enormous spider (the size of a grown man's hand) crawling out from behind the mattress and on to my pillow." - dcb, in Cairns
  
• A Haunting in Hugo: Old Johnson House Inn, also built in 1910 (Coincidence? Ha, I think not) - Open Magazine

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Day 8: Queenstown to Christchurch via Mount Cook

Day 8 was another road-trip day, going from Queenstown back to Christchurch, again via Newmans coach. We left Queenstown a little past the scheduled time of 8:20 AM and arrived in Christchurch around 6:45 PM. For the first time on our nine-day trip, the skies were grey and rain poured the whole day.

Well, almost the whole day. The sun peeked out for 10 brief minutes at Mount Cook, just enough time for us to take this picture.


The coach stopped at Mount Cook Village for lunch. Instead of crowding into The Hermitage with the rest of the tourist crowd, we borrowed a huge umbrella and walked over to The Old Mountaineers' Cafe.


One day we'll have to come back and try their kayak tours.

We stopped again at Lake Tekapo for pictures of the Church of the Good Shepherd. This chapel is one of my favorite churches, along with Caleruega in Tagaytay, the Abbey of Our Lady of Montserrat in Manila and Sainte-Chapelle in Paris. Small and intimate, the church has a large picture window right behind the tabernacle, with a beautiful view of Lake Tekapo.


What other people are blogging about Mount Cook and Lake Tekapo

• "350 km there and back, but what a trip." - World Signia
  
• "Reminded me of Helms Deep in The Two Towers" - drmnsd
  

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Queenstown: Southern Laughter

I'm a compulsive reader. Give me a piece of printed text, however mundane, my eyes are irresistibly drawn to the letters. So it was heaven wandering around Southern Laughter where every last inch of the place is plastered in poster-sized Far Side cartoons and jokes of all sorts.

And these beds! The bed in the double room was so comfortable it was hard to get an early start.

What I like most about Southern Laughter is the crowd. In the winter, the hostel serves free soup at 6 pm. People gather in the common room with their soup bowls, swapping stories and laughing at re-runs of Friends. I figure anyone who can stay in a hostel wallpapered with Gary Larson cartoons has to have a good sense of humor.

The rest of the facilities are pretty good. They've got a couple of spacious kitchens, and lounges with video libraries where we scared ourselves watching Stigmata late at night. The hot tub is fabulous after a long day of canyoning, if you don't mind making new acquaintances while getting your soak. Alternatively, if you'd prefer to meditate in the hot tub alone, 6 pm is the perfect window of opportunity while everyone else has rushed off to the soup pot.


The staff was friendly and efficient, except for the one new guy whom we stumped on his first day by asking him about white-water kayaking. He got a little flustered after that. Turns out nobody offers white-water kayaking in Queenstown because it's too dangerous for the inexperienced.

My only complaint about Southern Laughter is - you guessed it - the bathrooms. The showers are fairly decent, although nothing like the superb ones at The Old Countryhouse. It's the sinks I can't stand. This hostel deserves to be in the Guinness Book of World Records for the world's smallest hostel sinks. There's barely enough space to wash your hands, let alone brush your teeth or wash your face.

You also need to watch out for the fire station across the street... but Queenstown is small enough that I guess practically all the hostels have to deal with either bar noise or fire engine noise. We opted for the fire station because at least we know the sirens won't run every night!

Minor quibbles aside, stays at Southern Laughter are bound to be cheerful ones. And that definitely gets my vote.

Information and Contact Details for Southern Laughter Lodge

• Web site: www.southernlaughter.co.nz
  
• Rates range from NZ$23 per person for a share dorm over 4 beds, to NZ$54 for a double with shared bathrooms/showers.
  
• Address: 4 Isle Street, Queenstown, New Zealand
  
• E-mail: southernlaughter@xtra.co.nz
  
• Phone: 0800 5284 4837 (local toll-free) or +64 3 441 8828 (international)

What others are saying about Southern Laughter

• 2.5 stars at BUG
  
• "open-minded, fun, and altogether wonderful people staying here" - one of several user reviews at Hostelz
  
• "funny cartoons are framed everywhere...even in the toilets!!" - A Kookie in a Nutshell

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Day 7: Canyoning in Glenorchy

I woke up slightly dazed after a late night out. The previous morning, we'd done a tandem bungy jump, and in the evening watched a local band perform at Altitude. The combination of alternative rock and country square dancing in the same set was a strange quirk that we put down to the diverse audience.

I hauled myself out of bed and contemplated what we'd signed up for. Four to five hours of wilderness fun, promised the brochure. Climbing cliffs, sliding down waterfalls, and jumping into icy pools. Although I'd previously been all gung-ho to go canyoning, in the cold morning light that prospect seemed somewhat less appealing than it did the night before. Did I mention that I'm afraid of diving into dark rocky pools?

Our guide drove us from Queenstown to Glenorchy. We were a motley crew of four, all first-timers: a visiting American hopping over from her business trip to Australia, a Kiwi Experience driver, John, and me. We signed the requisite waivers releasing Twelve Mile Canyoning from any responsibility in case we, oh, fell off a cliff or something.


We pulled on our full-body wet suits, padded vests, helmets, and life-jackets. By the time I was fully dressed I looked like a neoprene version of the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man. Hiking around Mount Aspiring National Park in a padded wet suit is no joke!

I have no pictures of us canyoning, for obvious reasons. Our camera is neither waterproof nor shockproof, although we were ready to submit ourselves to conditions our camera would never survive. Suffice it to say that a few hours and several waterfall jumps later, we were tired but happy. A plunge into ice-cold fresh water is one heck of a way to wake up.

Jump off a rocky outcropping into a freezing pool? Bring it on.

Information and Contact Details for Twelve Mile Delta Canyoning

• Web site: www.xiimile.co.nz
  
• E-mail: canyoning@xiimile.co.nz
  
• Phone: +64 3 441 4 468

Canyoning all over the world

• "I started my abseil with a slip and ended up hanging upside down" - Clare and Dan, at Empress Canyon
  
• "35 metres of insanity!" - Sarah and Dave, in Ecuador
  
• "The excitement of the jump trumps the coldness many times over" - Spark, off Piha

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Day 6: Kawarau Bridge Bungy Jump

"You booked the tandem one?" asked the lady at the AJ Hackett Bungy counter. "You're crazy."

Having your sanity questioned isn't exactly the most confidence-building start to an extreme activity, but we took it all in stride. The AJ Hackett folks had written our jump site, Kawarau Bridge, on the back of one hand just before we boarded the shuttle from Queenstown. They now wrote our weights on the back of the other hand and sent us off to the bridge.


Kawarau Bridge was the first commercially-operated bungy site. I didn't know whether to be comforted by their 18 years of experience, or alarmed by the thought that some of the original bungy ropes might still be in use.

A burly jump coordinator walked us through the obligatory safety briefing as he harnessed our ankles together. "Make sure you jump forward and out, not down," he warned us, "otherwise you'll end up going too deep in the water. Oh, and don't forgot to smile at the camera."

We shuffled nervously onto the platform. With our ankles firmly bound, it took our best penguin impressions to get us to the edge. We knew a single mis-step could mean falling ignominously down 43 meters to the river below, far too early for any souvenir photos.

Finally we stood at the edge of the platform. The cold blue-green waters of the Kawarau river swirled ominously below us. I suspect this was not the vantage point at which the Lord of the Rings film crew were standing when they chose this river as their River Anduin.


"Ready?" asked the burly jump coordinator. "Put your hands together like this," he explained, to keep us from knocking our heads together as we jumped. "I'm going to count to three..."

The tandem bungy jump is a sure-fire cure for bungy jump panic. When the guy counts to three, there is no room for last-minute hesitation. Jumping off a 43-meter bridge is nothing compared to what your significant other will do to you if they jump at the count of three and their ankles (bound to you, of course) stay frozen on the platform.


He counted, "One, two, three..." and we were off. "AAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!" we yelled on the way down. "AAAAAHHHH!!!" as we bounced back up. On our next bounce down, John had enough breath for complete sentences. "I married a crazy woman!!" he yelled.

Finally we stopped bouncing, and started swinging madly from the rope in an effort to catch the long rubber pole that would lower us the the waiting raft. Or, as I discovered later, I was madly trying to catch the pole while John was actively avoiding the pole to get more hang time. Which would explain all the swinging.

We eventually dropped into the raft, got ourselves untied from the rope, and started the short trek back up to the bridge. Behind us, we could hear the exhilarated screams of the bridge's next victim. "I can't believe we paid a couple hundred dollars for that," John mused. "Want to go do the 134-meter one?"

Information and Contact Details for AJ Hackett

• Web site: www.ajhackett.co.nz
  
• E-mail: bungycentre@ajhackett.co.nz
  
• Phone: 0800 286 495 (toll-free local) or +64 3 442 4007 (international)
  
• The classic Kawarau Bridge Bungy
  
• In Queenstown, AJ Hackett also operates the 134 meter Nevis Highwire, and The Ledge Urban Bungy and Sky Swing.

What others are saying about their Kawarau bridge bungy jump

• "My heart's left my body at this point and has ran off back over the bridge, the coward." - Grimbo
  
• Pictures of the jump: "bungee / bungy / bunjee / whatever" - Aniel.Net
  
• "What a rush!!!" - goddess_jen

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Day 5: Fox Glacier to Queenstown

Day 5 was a road-trip day, going from Fox Glacier to Queenstown via Newmans coach. We left Fox at 8:45 AM and arrived in Queenstown a little after 4 PM, with lots of picture-taking stops and a brief pause in Wanaka. I love the Newmans coach drivers, most of them have a great sense of humor and a good spiel - freshwater sharks in Lake Hawea, anyone?


When we got to Queenstown, we checked into Southern Laughter, booked our tandem bungy the next day, and headed off to get some dinner.

We had pretty good pizza - I think it was at Q Lounge, on 53 Shotover Street. First pizza we had in New Zealand. And of course, John had to have his ginger beer.

There were no live bands playing that night... it's a small town, after all. So we walked around the shops until it was time to call it a day.

Information and Contact Details

• InterCity Co. runs both Newmans and InterCity coaches. The web sites provide route maps, timetables, and online booking.
  
• Passes are a convenient way to get around and can be purchased at significant discounts if booked early.
  
• E-mail: info@intercitygroup.co.nz
  
• Phone: +64 9 623 1503

Other NZ Bus Companies Recommended on ThornTree
Disclaimer though, I haven't tried these...

• Atomic Shuttles
  
• Flying Kiwi
  
• Kiwi Experience - "the party bus"
  
• Magic Bus
  
• Stray Travel
  
• Which one to choose?

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Day 4: Fox Glacier Heli-Hike

Fox Glacier heli-hikes are billed as a once-in-a-lifetime experience. That’s partly because after paying our tab we were too broke to consider a second go. Kidding aside, the glacier was amazing.

Having previously had a taste of mountain walks in Nepal, I was by no means keen on walking an entire day just to catch a glimpse of Fox Glacier. Friends of ours highly recommended taking the heli-hike instead, a spectacular – albeit expensive – option for those of us who have more enthusiasm than endurance.

With just two days in Fox Glacier and little allowance for re-arranging travel plans, we booked in advance, paid our 50% deposit, and prayed that the weather would hold. The skies were ominously cloudy the day before, but the day of the heli-hike dawned bright and clear.

Trish served us a huge breakfast spread and then drove us over to Fox Glacier Guides for our pre-flight briefing. Ever paranoid, I’d brought three layers of warm clothing and my not-really-waterproof Clima-Fit pants, only to be greeted by a guide dressed in shorts and a short-sleeved shirt. I later learned that Fox Glacier is famous for being a tropical glacier, ending at just 300 meters above sea level. Despite the low altitude, the ice doesn’t have a chance to melt because it rushes along so quickly: on average, a meter each day. This translates to positively balmy temperatures on top of the ice. Much more comfortable for hikers than the freezing cold one normally associates with glaciers.

We attended our briefing, laced on the boots and boarded the helicopter. After a scenic flight through the valley, our helicopter pilot deposited us on the glacier face where our guides walked the twelve of us through the process of strapping on crampons and reading slide lines.

The pictures tell the rest of the story...



The entire experience was like a walk in the park – the polar opposite of our equally memorable Nepal experience. John kept wishing for bad weather to liven up our hike, looking forward to being stranded on the glacier and hoping the guides would have to break out the rescue equipment they keep cached up on the ice. I, on the other hand, glanced at our troop of twelve tourists and sized up the lone slice of plastic-wrapped carrot cake our guide was carrying... clearly, being stranded overnight would not have been a pleasant experience.

Thankfully, our Vertical Limit visions remained just that – fantasies – and all too soon we were back on ground level at the hangar, unlacing our boots and picking up our “I Climbed Fox Glacier” certificates.

Information and Contact Details

• Web site: www.foxguides.co.nz, providing trip information and online booking.
  
• Fox Glacier Guides is on State Highway 6, Fox Glacier, near the intersection with Cook Flat Road. Click here for directions and a map.
  
• E-mail: info@foxguides.co.nz
  
• Phone: 0800 111 600 (local toll-free) or +64 3 751 0825 (international)

What other people are saying about Fox Glacier heli-hikes...

• "Our chopper pilot was a bit of a showoff" – 2headedturtle
  
• "I even went swimming in a little lake..." – Paul Notte

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Fox Glacier: Ropatini's B&B

When we travel, we try to avoid huge chain hotels... not that there's much chance of a sprawling hotel complex in Fox Glacier, population 258. This time, our search for a charming place to stay led us to Ropatini's, a garden homestay bed & breakfast about 10 minutes' walk from Fox Glacier's main intersection.

Trish and Collin were gracious hosts. They shared colorful stories of their life in New Zealand and the visitors they get trooping through Ropatini's. Before opening up Ropatini's, Trish worked at heli-hike operators Alpine Guides (now Fox Glacier Guides) and both Trish and Collin ran the local backpackers'; lots of interesting tales there.

Trish's sideboard table was constantly laid out with freshly-baked muffins, bread, and chocolate chip cookies. It was the first B&B I've stayed in that welcomed us with afternoon tea... perfect after the long bus ride up from Greymouth.

We loved the postcard views of Mt. Cook and the Southern Alps from their picture windows. Terry the Thar (complete with plastic nametag) presided regally over the dining room as we breakfasted on boiled egg, toast, jam, cheese, muffins, orange juice, and tea.


The guest rooms set an equally high standard, with comfortable beds and spacious, well-lit bathrooms. I'm particular about my showers and these were heaven. The two Garden Studios stand side-by-side in a free-standing cottage a few steps from the main house. Guests also have a choice of two rooms in the main house; an ensuite room with a super king sized bed, and a queen room with a shared bathroom.

 
Plan lots of extra vacation time if you book at Ropatini's, as getting out of bed will be a challenge! The in-room TVs were tiny, but who goes to Fox Glacier to watch TV? They also offer free wi-fi, if you've got your laptop with you.

Restaurants in Fox Glacier stop serving dinner fairly early - around 8:30 pm. Every evening Trish would call into town to see which cafes were open that day and who was still serving meals. All her recommendations were excellent. My favorite was The Plateau, beside the glow-worm forest.

Trish and Collin made us feel more like family than visitors. We had a great stay and I will happily go back any time!

Information and Contact Details

• Ropatini’s is at 87 Cook Flat Road, Fox Glacier.
  
• Directions: They’re between the school and Sunset Motel; ask the coach driver to drop you off in front of their driveway.
  
• E-mail: ropatinis@xtra.co.nz
  
• Phone: 0800 009 644 (toll free local) or +64 3 751 0779 (international)
  
• Rates during low season range from NZ$130 to 200 per double per night with breakfast for a one-night stay, with a NZ$20 or more discount per night if you stay multiple nights
  

Read the previous entry or check out the rest of this New Zealand trip series.

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