New Zealand: Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park

My last stop en route to Queenstown was at Aoraki/Mount Cook.        

I stayed at the YHA hostel here, it's like a little log cabin dorm.  I was really impressed by the kitchen setups in the hostels I stayed at in New Zealand.  I got the "Mt. Cooked' breakfast special, which means you get eggs, bacon and toast that you cook yourself :).

 

Something about the eggs here... best I've had

I hiked the Hooker Valley Track after breakfast, which takes you to a glacier at the end.  It was a very flat 5.5 mile hike, and even though it was foggy it was still beautiful.  The terrain here just makes you feel like you are on a different planet.

I could see the blue glaciers at the top of the mountain!

End of the track

On the drive out of Mt. Cook I passed by Lake Pukaki, a beautiful blue glacial lake.

Made it to Queenstown in the afternoon and dropped off my rental car.  Queenstown is the Adventure Capital of the World, so it's pretty much a requirement that you do some adrenaline-pumping activity here (bungy jumping originated here, and you can also do skydiving, canyon jumping, canyoning, mountain biking, zip-lining, jet boating, etc.).

I stayed at Nomads hostel here for one night, leaving early in the AM to head to Milford Sound.  I went to the "free dinner" offered by the hostel, which turned out to be the worst pasta carbonara I've ever had and served in the  back of an obnoxiously noisy bar (I sound old as shit now).  On the plus side, I met 2 awesome girls from Sweden who were studying engineering and taking a break from uni to travel through Australia and campervan through the South Island of NZ.  We bar-hopped through Queenstown and stumbbled upon World Bar... playing all of my 90s/2000s jams AND serving cocktails out of teapots... whaaaaat.  💕 👯

New Zealand! From Bikinis to Beanies

I was sad to pack up my swimsuits and bust out the down jacket, but beyond excited to experience the opposite side of the world. (Literally! Fun fact, it's called an antipode.) :). It's summer all the time in Thailand, but in New Zealand it is currently Fall. The North Island is really warm but the South Island is chillyyyy.      

I arrived in Christchurch at 6am with only 3 hrs of sleep in my system and picked up my RAV4 to head straight to Arthur's Pass.  The guy at the Avis counter seemed very concerned and kept reminding me to drive on the left side of the road, I'm sure it had nothing to do with the fact that I am Asian and female.  He told me to make sure I always drove behind another car to make it easier to remember... except I got there at the buttcrack of dawn so there was absolutely no one else on the 2 hr drive to Arthur's Pass except me and boatloads of sheep 🐑 !  Driving was pretty terrifying at first, I had a death grip on that steering wheel.  New Zealand has mostly one-lane roads and lots of one-way bridges, so the first time I had to pass a car I got major anxiety.  Finally was able to relax after 30 minutes and enjoy the amazing backdrop and endless sheep farms.  I want a pet sheep.

Stopped at Bealey's Hostel on the way to get some breakfast.  They love their meat pies in NZ.

There were a couple Kea birds hanging out at Bealey's.  They are very rare, only a couple thousand left.  Kea live in the forested areas in the South Island of NZ and is the world's only alpine parrot.  These birds are smarter than dogs -- they're very intellectually curious, can work in groups to problem-solve and are interactive with humans.  When they fly you can see the bright red/orange feathers under their wings, it's really beautiful.  Yes, I'm nerding out on birds right now.

This kea immediately approached me and untied my shoe.  The hostel owner told me they love playing with plastic things, so it was going for the plastic at the end of my shoelace hehe.

A friend told me this resembled a LinkedIn profile pic lol.

They will find anything they can to play with, and occasionally fancy a ciggy.

The hostel owner told me they figured out how to unlatch the lid on their plastic patio storage container, so they swtched to a round container with a screw-top lid and in 2 weeks the Kea figured out how to unscrew the lid.  Another guy said he watched a Kea unzip the pockets of a backpack and take out all the contents to play with them.  If you want to see them moving traffic cones at Milford Sound to direct traffic watch this.

  

Arrived at Arthur's Pass and hiked the Temple Basin Track...  a 2-3 hour in-and-out trail with a steep elevation change and a ski lodge at the top.

 

My first, but not last, rainbow sighting in NZ :) 

The scenery was stunning.  I loved this hike because halfway up it got really steep and craggy, lots of climbing over boulders.  Further past the ski lodge, there was a flock of Kea hanging out. More Kea!! It's so fun listening to them converse with each other.  Took some self-control to not post more pics on here :).

#quadgoals

Kea enjoying the view

After the hike I had a 5.5 hour drive south to Aoroki/Mt. Cook where I wanted to do my next hike in the morning.  

Their cows are so shaggy and cuddly-looking.

Rakaia Gorge was the first time I encountered NZ's blue glacial waters.  It is an incredible feeling to stumble upon something that is so beautiful it's hard to comprehend how it's possible. Until you Google it... the rivers and lakes that are fed by glacial waters here are blue because of the finely ground rock particles from the glaciers. So cool! 

I didn't get to Mt. Cook until dark because I kept stopping to view the sights and the cute little mountain towns.

12 Hours in Melbourne

My flight to New Zealand included a 12-hr layover in Melbourne.  Took the red-eye flight so had a full day to squeeze in as much of the city as I could. First mission... find food.  The food scene in Melbourne is really good so it was hard to choose. I went to White Mojo and got the Magic coffee to revive my corpse-like body and their infamous White Mojo Croissant Burger -- soft shell crab, pickled cucumber, chipotle mayo, smoked eel, fried egg.  This brunch was made for me. 

  

Meandered through Victoria Gardens.

I like how Melbourne has a mix of old and modern architecture in its city center and a lot of art, from garden sculptures to graffiti.

I caught myself walking on the right side of the sidewalk instead of the left and had to keep correcting myself to avoid oncoming foot traffic, just like they drive cars on the left side of the road.  All New Zealand drivers should feel very safe that I am about to enter their country behind the wheel of an overly large SUV... whether I will be able to see over the steering wheel is still questionable.

Wandered around Fitzroy, which is the hipster-ish district. This part of town had a lot of character and really eccentric shops and restaurants, I loved it here! Grabbed a beer at the rooftop bar of Naked for a Satan.

Got some pistachio-mouse goodness from Brunetti's.  (Thanks to Nicolo for the scenic beer and delicious dessert suggestions.)

The city at night.

Then hopped on my flight at midnight to Christchurch. I was exhausted from walking all day and looking forward to the whole 3 hrs of sleep I would get on the plane before taking on New Zealand!!