Last updated on January 8, 2024
On Tuesday, we left Queenstown around 11. I drove us to Arrowtown where we walked around the quaint town and visited some historical sites of the Chinese settlers from the gold rush.
Next, I drove us through the windy roads to Cardrona. It’s a beautiful drive although I didn’t enjoy driving the windy roads.
We stopped for lunch at the Cardrona Hotel, where I had an excellent chicken Cesar salad. The sourdough croutons were fried, which made them delicious but too filling!
After lunch, we drove through the Lindis Pass to Wānaka. We visited the famous tree, which is way smaller than I expected before walking through the town.
From Wanaka, we continued on to the Hermitage Hotel, stopping for some views along the way. We had dinner at the sister hotel, Mount Cook Lodge Chamois Bar.
The Tasman Taser Helicopter Tour
On Wednesday, we had a full day planned. We had a 25-min helicopter tour for close(ish) views of the Tasman Glacier, Mt. Cook and the surrounding area. We stopped on top of a mountain (in the snow) for a few minutes to take pictures as well.
The helicopter was so much smoother than the plane ride I had from Milford Sound. It looked like we were really close to the mountains but I trusted the pilot knew what he was doing. C got to sit in front with the pilot and one other guest. I was happy to have a window seat. With a 4-sit configuration in the back, this means two people sat in the center. I would not have been please with that option.
Seeing the lakes, rivers and mountains from the sky was exhilarating. I think that the order in which you sightsee makes a big difference. Between this tour and the Milford Sound tour, I think it will take a lot to surpass the views I’ve already seen in New Zealand.
After lunch and some downtime, it was time for a hike. We took off from the hotel and walked about 30 mins to White Horse Hill car pack/campground, where the Hooker Valley Track started. It’s a flat hike and so it seemed popular with families. There are a few stairs but the height elevation is only 60m. The most challenging part for me were the three suspension bridges. Hooker Lake is beautiful and it’s easy to see Mt Cook from the hike, but remember the helicopter tour was only that morning!
We stayed at the Hermitage for dinner. C had the vegetarian charcuterie board while I had the salmon. And then it was time for rest and a self massage of the bottom of my feet!
A Short Drive to Tepako
After checking out at 10am, C drove us to Tepako. We didn’t make any stops along the way and it was just over an hour long. It was too early to check in to our hotel so we went up to the Mount John observatory.
Next, we went for a walk around the city, to the grocery store and for lunch before heading back to check in and do laundry.
It was very hot in Tepako so we lounged around the hotel until it was time for dinner.
We chose a nearby Japanese restaurant for dinner. I had a bento set, which was quite good. Ironic that I had Japanese food in NZ and Indian food in Japan!
After dinner, we walked along part of the lake to see some of the sculptures and over the bridge to the Church of the Good Shepherd. It was around 8pm by then but it was still bright. We joined the crowd of other people taking photos and enjoying the view.
We went back to the hotel to rest because we knew we’d have a late night.
Stargazing in a dark sky reserve
By the time I thought of reserving a sky gazing tour, both nights of our stay at the Hermitage were sold out. Instead, we bought a hot springs stargazing tour in Tepako.
We had to check in at 11:44 pm for our tour! We were a bit worried because the sky was cloudy but kept our hopes up. Everyone was excited when the guide brought us outside. It was still cloudy but there was a gap that would allow us to see the young stars. Before anyone on the tour could get to the telescopes, it was called off. The clouds had flown over! But there was a backup plan.
No one was excited for the backup plan – an AR tour of the night sky. Personally, I was trying my best not to fall asleep. When the guide announced that the sky was clear and we’d be going outside, everyone scrambled to take off their AR headsets and headphones and hurry outside!There were 4 telescopes for our group of 30 to use. The guide pointed out Orion, Sirius and a few other stars and constellations. Don’t ask me for more details because I can’t give you any. All I could probably point out to you in the sky is Orion’s Belt and while I’ll allow that that is something, it’s not a whole lot. Through the telescopes, we saw the young stars, old stars, and teenagers. It’s possible that the word nebula was mentioned…. We also saw parts of the Milky Way. By then, our time was up and we got to go to the hot springs.The hot springs was lovely, sitting under the stars. I didn’t like that it was chlorinated; my skin always itches when I get into chlorinated water but the warmth was very relaxing.
The guide told some stories and pointed out more stars and constellations. The only thing I really remember is the Te Po Māori creation story.
It was after 2 am by the time I out of the hot pool. The guide was still telling stories but I was ready to rinse off.
Unfortunately, I had an accident getting into the shower. I slipped on the wet floor and thought I’d just scraped my knee. But a toe started to hurt when the water hit it. I looked down and saw blood. I touched it and the nail was gone. 🤢
After my shower, I told C what happened and she went to get help. Apparently she said “someone’s bleeding in the shower”. A bit dramatic but effective. One of the guides came with a first aid kit, disinfected the nailbed and put on a bandaid for me. Back at the hotel, I researched podiatrists and asked Dr. Google about lost toenails before succumbing to sleep.
On to Christchurch
With less than 4 hours sleep, I was a wreck in the morning. I haven’t gotten more than 6 hours of sleep a while for some time and I’ve got some sleep debt. C took pity on my and drove the whole way to Christchurch. We didn’t make any stops except to grab coffee before leaving Tepako.
It was lunchtime when we got to Christchurch so we stopped for lunch before dropping our bags at the hotel. Then it was time to go shopping. I left my running shoes somewhere on the way (did I mention my sleep debt?) and so I needed to replace them before the next hike. I’d walked the Hooker Valley track in my sandals and I didn’t want to do another walk without sneakers.
The Westfield Riccarton is the largest mall in NZ so I knew I could find something there. In fact, one of the first stores we saw once we entered the mall was a shoe store. They have one of those fancy machines that measures your feet and stride to help them make recommendations for you. I was very open to that because I’d noticed the sole of my last shoe was unevenly used.
The salesperson helping me asked my favorite colors and came back with three options – ASICS, New Balance, Hoka. I liked both the NB and Hoka so I made my final choice based on aesthetics.
After a Starbucks stop ( I wanted to try the chestnut specialty flavor), we dropped off the car and went back to the hotel. We didn’t do any sightseeing in CC but a friend that we taught with in Nagoya picked us up and gave us a short driving tour. We spent a delightful evening with her.
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