Trip to Auckland-Christchurch-Queenstown-Te Anau(New Zealand) 6th-21st, Nov 2009

On Nov. 6 2009, Lambert and I took a long-awaited trip to Auckland, NZ to pay a visit to my brother KY and his family.  We haven't had the opportunity of visiting them since their emmigration to NZ nearly 15 years ago, which now in retrospect, was quite unthinkable!  During the eight days that we stayed with them in Auckland, we were able to spend time with our two lovely nieces, Cerys (aged 13) and Cassia (aged 9), and experienced their home life and family routine.  We enjoyed a great feeling of family kinship and sharing that was so heart-warming and intimate.  The trip would be perfect if Kay could come with us. 

We also took the opportunity to join a six-day tour of the South Island, reputed to be the last vestige of paradise on earth.  The trip was truly worthwhile and we were much impressed by the pristine and unspoilt beauty of the NZ landscapes.  There was only a total of 11 people in the tour group, which was a good size as we could enjoy both the convenience of a fully-arranged tour and the privacy of a small group.  The coach was large and comfortable and we were lucky to sit in the front seats where we could enjoy a full view of the enchanting or stunning landscapes throughout the over 2300km drive around the Island!

Our tour took us from picturesque Christchurch, across the Arthur Pass to Greymouth in the West Coast, where we visited the rugged Pancake rocks at Punakaiki and had a try at gold-sifting at the Shanty Town.  We viewed the still-moving Fox Glacier at Franz Josef amidst rain and sleet, spent one night at the World Heritage Hotel at Haast where we saw a double rainbow, took some interesting photos at the Puzzle World at Wanaka, and then spent a leisurely day at pretty Queenstown.   From Queenstown, we embarked on a five-hour journey to Milford Sound where we took a boat ride on the Milford Sovereign to view the magnificent fiords and the splendid waterfalls.  The weather was wonderful on that day, which according to our tour guide was quite miraculous, as mist and rain was the usual norm in the area.  Our journey then took us to Te Anau where we visited the wonderous glow worm caves.  On the fifth day, we travelled to historic Dunedin, visited the Moeraki Boulders en route to Oamaru where we awaited patiently the home-coming journey of the blue-eyed penguines.  On the last day, we turned inland again to Twizel to visit pretty Lake Pukaki and Lake Tekapo with their milky blue waters against the gorgeous Mount Cook at the background.  The tour then took us back to Christchurch, where we took our last fill of the picturesque town at the beautiful garden of Mona Vale and the Avon River before boarding the plane back to Auckland.