Mount Cook, Franz Josef and Fox Glacier

DT and D4 had bade us farewell with much hugs and kisses as they headed back to Dunedin. We all parted by the side of the lake opposite Alpine Motel in Wanaka. As we had time, D2 and I went to assess the eateries for dinner. We settled on some takeaways which we could not finish.After a restful night, we were up and about early the next morning by 7.30 am. I went outside to get some fresh Wanaka air. It was still very dark and chillingly cold. My thermometer showed 3 degrees Celsius. We made ourselves warm coffee and tea with the packets we had. These are items amongst other things that we never fail to pack on our travel. We still had the beef steak and bread from the previous night's dinner. We warmed them up and that was a nice, solid breakfast. We settled our bill which came to $65 and checked out of our suite # 18. Our Atomic Shuttle coach which had been pre-booked arrived at 9.00 am sharp outside our motel. Our luggage was loaded onto the trailer behind the mid-size coach. In the coach were 2 guys from UK, 2 girls also from UK, 1 Japanese guy, ourselves and the driver whose name is Doug, aged 52. This portion of our journey would end at Greymouth on the same day.

Leaving Wanaka ,we next arrived at the town of Makarora where we had the first morning break for coffee and a quick breakfast for those who missed it. It was 10.00am. The drive was scenic and beautiful even in winter. At 11.30 am we arrived at Haast. At these scheduled stops, passengers may disembark or new visitors get on. The next stop was a major lunch stop at Paringa. It was 12.30 pm just in time for some chow at Salmon Farm Cafe. It was a fabulous place, amidst a very rustic setting. Here, we bumped into a 17 member group from Singapore who were with Diner's Travel.

After lunch, the coach driver, Doug, announced that the next two stops will allow us some time to see the Fox Glacier and the Franz Josef Glacier. We were in the heart of glacier country. We were warned to adhere to the stipulated time to return to the coach as the coach could not wait for anyone late or missing. So we arrived at Fox Glacier at 2.00 pm. There were shops and other eateries nearby. D2 and I walked around and soaked in the atmosphere of the place. Back in the coach again, we proceeded to Franz Josef Glacier which was about 45 minutes away. This place looked bigger than the previous town. There were more people around, perhaps more visitors.

All of us trooped out of our coach and were soon "lost" in the surroundings, surveying and doing mini-walks as we were given much more time here. After the stipulated time, all came back to the coach except for one guy. He was missing! As advised earlier, the coach has a strict policy of punctuality, of responsibility to those who need to drop off and those they will be picking up at exact stated times. Doug did delay a couple of minutes as he completed the switchover for a new driver to take over. The driver's name ...Tayo.

Thus, I wasn't surprised the coach moved off without the missing or late passenger.

But not to worry, since it was entirely the poor guy's fault, he will have to catch the next passing Atomic shuttle to re-connect, likely with Doug's help.

From the glacier, we travelled towards the town of Hokitika, arriving at about 4.45 pm. We saw Mt Cook, the highest mountain in NZ, along the way. It was truly a majestic view. Another beautiful sight was the sunset over the West Tasman Sea. We rolled into

Greymouth at about 5.30 pm and when we emerged from the coach we could catch the unmistakable scent of sea breeze. We were after all close to the sea. It wasn't difficult to locate our Motel with such an apt name......the Breeze Motel. At the motel's office, the owner Bob and Sandra Holbrom introduced themselves to us. They were such a nice, charming and friendly couple who told us they were great admirers of Lee Kuan Yew and of Singapore. Hearing this made D2 and myself feeling very thankful, blessed and proud to be Singaporeans!

And we chatted a little more, mainly about Singapore, before we were shown to our beautiful suite # 9. It was excellent.

From our suite we called D4 and DT who were staying with Maree in Dunedin.

We told them that we were loving every minute of our adventure in South Island.

Cruise on Milford Sound

It was in deep winter that all 4 of us D2, D4, DT and I arrived at the wharf at Milford Sound after one of the Best Coach journeys we've experienced. The stretch from Te Anau to the Homer Tunnel to our final destination is truly breathtaking for its views. The drive up the mountain passes with high walls on one side and sheer drops on the other requires much experience especially in deep winter. Our coach had to wait for certain sections of the mountain road to be cleared of rocks and snow due to a minor avalanche and heavy snowfall. On our return journey, we had a half hour delay at the Te Anau stretch when our Coach driver had to fix chains to the wheels on the advice of the police monitoring the traffic there.

Milford Sound

Milford Sound was carved out during successive ice ages over millions of years and at its deepest point off Mitre Peak ,plunges to a depth of 265 metres. This long, deep valley, now filled by the sea, has walls that rise vertically some 290 metres from the sea floor to the surface and then continue more than 1500 metres above the Sound. The scenery is spectacular with sheer walled mountains, hanging valleys, remnants of ice age glaciers, cascading waterfalls and the deep brooding waters of the Sound. The 16 km long fiord was named prior to 1823 by a sealer, John Grono, after his birthplace, Milford Haven in Wales. The grandeur of this fiord can best be appreciated from the water. Bowen Falls, hurtling 165 m into the sea, and Stirling Falls down the sound are truly spectacular after rain, set amidst the towering cliffs and dwarfed by Mitre Peak. So it is no wonder that Rudyard Kipling described Milford Sound as " the eighth Wonder of the World". The wildlife here is unique. We saw Dolphins behind our launch. We saw seals on the rocky ledges. Exotic birds were flying around. Because of the high mountains all around there was little or no wind turbulence and this create a powerful atmosphere of solitude and serenity, peace and tranquility. It is a truly magical place...Milford Sound of Fiordland.

Legends of Fiordland

This place was well known to the Maori and many legends pertain to its formation and naming.

Demi-god Tuterakiwhanoa is said to have carved the rugged landscape from formless rock. Few Maori were permanent residents of the region but seasonal food-gathering camps were linked by well worn trails. Takiwai, a translucent greenstone, was sought from Anita Bay and elsewhere near the mouth of Milford Sound.

Captain Cook and his crew were the first Europeans to visit Fiordland and in 1773 spent 5 weeks at Dusky Sound. Cook's maps and descriptions soon attracted sealers, and whalers who formed the first European settlements of NZ. From the middle of the 19th Century surveyors, explorers and prospectors began to penetrate the unexplored interior of Fiordland.

I do not have a single photo of this trip as my camera had malfunctioned probably due to the very cold temperature that day. I had to bring my camera to a shop back in Queenstown for them to give it "CPR"! My camera did recover from its heart attack and served me well again.

The Route to Milford Sound

Homer Tunnel

Having heard quite a lot about the Fiordland and especially about Milford Sound , we embarked on this journey by taking the luxury coach from Queenstown. DT and D4 were also with us on this trip. The single day return trip, including the cruise on the Milford Sound Fiord ,takes more than 12 hours....especially in full winter season. Our very early morning journey began as we sat ourselves comfortably in the coach which moved southwards towards Mossburn. The roads on either side were enveloped with snow. Soon after reaching Mossburn we turned westwards heading for Monapouri , which houses a large power station. Then we headed northwards to Te Anau an internationally renowned resort described as the sightseeing" Walking Capital of the World." It is nestled on the tranquil shores of Lake Te Anau. From here, the road winds down the Eglinton and Hollyford valleys, then through the Homer Tunnel, to be met by Mitre Peak ,towering over the glassy waters of Milford Sound.

All in, the road to Milford Sound is one of the world's finest drives.

And Milford Sound is the most famous and accessible of the various fiords.

The FIORDLAND of South Island

In my more than 4 decades of journeying abroad, I have obviously accumulated a wealth of travel experience borne by a keen sense of history, a deep love for the great outdoors and the adventure that beckons beyond our safe shores. Having a sharp observation and the ability to appreciate the music, arts, food, language and culture of the destination, is always an added bonus for any traveller.

In many of my travels, rather than simply buy souvenirs for its sake, I prefer to collect local memorabila such as brochures,

stubs, tickets,postcards, natural foliage, shells, gemstones, etc..

My collection has naturally grown over the years and many are still wrapped up in their original wrappers.

The best travel brochures I've seen anywhere comes from New Zealand...as shown here. They are simply superb in style and quality. The pictures are of a very high standard. I took the trouble of collecting and keeping more than a 100 different types of brochures from this trip alone. Collectively, they represent a wealth of information for anyone keen on visiting,

studying or working there.

The Fiordland

Some of the most wild and dramatic scenery in NZ can be found in Fiordland, in the south west corner of South Island. Fiordland is one of the largest National Parks in the world and declared a World Heritage area. Here, D2 and I, including DT and D4, were stunned by the power of mother nature....from its waterfalls tumbling hundreds of metres into virgin forested valleys, lonely fiords, endless stretches of shimmering lakes and giant granite peaks.

If you are ever in South Island...don't ever miss this......MILFORD SOUND !

Christmas in JUNE ! ???

On our final night in NZ, after our Tranz Alpine arrived at Christchurch Train Station, we made our way to Bella Vista Motel at 193 Bealey Avenue. This cluster of beautiful motel is only 3 streets away from Cathedral Square...the city centre. Nevertheless, after checking into our suite, with the map of the city in hand, we headed into the city. There was no snow but we could see bits of frost in nooks and corners along the pavement as we sauntered at a leisurely manner. We were going nowhere in particular but looking out for some eateries or restaurants to have dinner.
The next morning, 15th of June 2000, we headed for the city information centre and booked a city bus tour on the spot. When the bus arrived with a guide to boot, we were pleasantly surprised that the only people were ourselves....just the 2 of us, the driver and the guide!
We visited many of the main attractions in and around the city and suburbs. The tour ended at the square.
With much time on our hand before our flight back home, we explored more of the city centre.
Top photo: This one caught our immediate attention. It says," Try our Mid-Winter X'MAS Buffet " at the Riverside Restaurant ( Oxford on Avon ). For a moment we thought the people here celebrated X'mas in June rather than in December. But the ambience, the cold climate and environment stirred our memories of winter Christmas in the Northern Hemisphere. Strange....but we felt as though it was already X'mas back then!
ps: the date on the photo was 14.6.00. This is an internal camera error. Should be 15.6.00.
Centre photo:
Relaxing after punting on the Avon River in the park.

Bottom photo:
The official Town Crier at Cathedral Square

Don't ever miss this ! Part 2

All 4 photos from source: http://www.seat61.com/ ( Mark Smith)

Our Journey took off from Greymouth at 2.25 pm. We passed through the old mining town of Dobson, then crossed an ancient suspension bridge over the Grey River. Soon we arrived at Old Brunner Mine which was the site of New Zealand's worst mining disaster in 1896 which claimed 65 lives. The conditions inside our train was cosy and pleasant but outside was very misty. Still the scenery and views in winter was absolutely stunning. Chugging along smoothly, we passed by waterfalls, mountains, valleys and crossed over many low bridges which criss crossed over the river. We followed a deep valley across a shallow river and then came to Otira. This is the place where our train entered the Otira Tunnel at 8.6 km long( 5.3 miles ), making it one of the longest in NZ. It was completed in 1923. As soon as our train emerged from the dark recesses of the tunnel, we were at Arthur's Pass which was a major stop.

Passengers can get off the train for picture-taking, walk around or have a good stretch. We were in the heart of the Arthur's Pass National Park surrounded by snow everywhere. With so much snow around it wasn't surprising that people began to make snowballs and threw them at one another. We did so too! A very good relaxation activity.

On resumption, we passed more hills and plateaus and headed for the famous " Staircase",the highest viaduct at 73 metres high. This vantage point gave us all spectacular and panoramic views of the scenery before us. The train slowed considerably as it slowly wound itself over a series of short tunnels, deep gorges with steel girder bridges and then to the Waimakariri River Gorge of the Southern Alps. Descending, the train passed through Springfield and its foothills, Darfield a commuter town, animal farms and edged further away from the Alps.

Soon, we were on the flat Canterbury Plains open farmlands, passing small wooden suburban bungalows, freight yards, and the Addington Cement Works.

By then it was already early darkness of a cold winter evening as our Tranz Alpine train came to a halt at Christchurch station. Our location was about 3 km SW of the city centre.

We bade farewell to some of our fellow travellers as we went to retrieve our luggage.

Thus ended a journey never to be forgotten.

Don't Ever Miss this ! Part 1

All 6 photos from source: http://www.seat61.com/( Mark Smith )

The Tranz Alpine train journey is rated as one of the top 6 train journeys in the world. It travels from the west coast of NZ to the east coast from Greymouth to Christchurch and vice-versa. It crosses old mining towns, suspension bridges, waterfalls, mountains and valleys, tunnels, climbs the Southern Alps right into the heart of forests, the Waimakariri Gorge and fertile farmlands of the Canterbury Plains.

The carriage allows amazing views on board. There is an open-air viewing carriage that affords spectacular and stunning scenery. However, as we were in winter, the conditions outside were extremely cold, as the chilling winds made it an additional challenge to remaining outside for long. But it was worth the exposure.

The train is centrally heated in winter and has a buffet carriage. It is run bythe privatised NZ train operator TranzScenic. It runs once daily, to and fro. On flatland it travels at 60 mph. In all, the train will cross 16 tunnels, 5 viaducts...the highest being the Staircase at 73 metres.

Owl's Recommendation
This is one train journey no one will regret making.

.

The Tranz Alpine ticket

This is the actual Tranz Alpine train ticket in my name.

On the front of the ticket is a picture of the train.

The reporting time given was 2.05 pm, that is check in time. The train promptly departed at 2.25 pm.

The same journey from Christchurch will depart from there at 8.15 am and arrive at Greymouth at 12.45 pm.

The 3 baggage claim stubs are still with me!

The Tranz Alpine Journey

Back in 1978, as President of Comex Singapore, an adventure travel club with more than 600 members in Singapore, I had organised and led our 1st European Expedition using the Eurail Pass mainly. It was a month long train journey that covered most of Europe, including the remote region of the Arctic Circle plus another 2 weeks of adventure in the UK. That was, for me and those with me,
an unforgettable journey of a lifetime, a dream spectacularly fulfilled.
But this Tranz Alpine train journey would top all that. It was that good! It surpassed all my previous train journeys for the sheer splendour and panoramic views D2 and I had experienced. Nothing in my previous experience had come close, except perhaps, our train journey on the Taieri Gorge Railway, South Island, NZ in 2005. But details on that will come much later on this site.
The advance booking for this was done by D4 while we were still in Singapore. The cost was $ 82 in NZ currency for a single ticket from Greymouth to Christchurch, a journey of 223.8 km long and takes about 4 and 1/2 hours in all.
After we had a simple lunch in the town centre, we headed for the Greymouth Train station by about 2.00 pm. We collected our tickets and our luggage was checked into the Baggage Carriage. We had 3 pieces of luggage. We proceeded to our assigned seats which were very comfortable. All in the carriage were excited and animated fellow travellers from various parts of the world. There was a couple who ran a poultry farm in the North Island and that was their 1st trip to the South! Amazing! And they weren't that young. I asked them for their honest opinion ...the beauty of the North, where they came from, versus the South. Without any hesitation their joint answer...."the South wins handsdown !".

[Hey you southerners....Maree, Nic, Karl,Judy,Margaret,Finnigan, Adrian and all....You owe me more than a beer huh, when we next meet ! ]
The photos showed us at Arthur's Pass, where all passengers were allowed to get off the train, shoot pictures, have snowfights, do whatever until the whistle blows for re-boarding.

The Jade Boulder Gallery,Greymouth

After we arrived at Greymouth, in the late evening of a cold and dark winter day, in June 2000, we had checked into the Breeze Motel. It was a cosy, quiet place centrally located in the heart of town. The town isn't large by any standard but is still the most important town along the west coast. We walked out from our suite and headed for the edge of the town centre. The night lights were already on as we ambled along, catching in the sights, sounds and tranquility of the surroundings. Most of the shops and other attractions were closed for the night by about 5 pm. And we haven't yet had dinner. It was heaven-sent that, as we headed back towards our motel, on a corner of Chapel Road, we noticed a very small, Chinese take away food shop, hidden in a secluded corner of a row of buildings. The shutter was half-way down. They too were about to close shop. The signboard read Hong Kong restaurant. The owners were a Chinese couple who had the Cantonese look about them. So, I spoke to them in Cantonese ,my native dialect. Bingo! The man was from Hong Kong and his wife was from Malacca before they came to NZ. We chatted like some long-lost cousins, asking about our forefathers' origins in HK. Then, he asked what we were doing there. And I said we were desperately looking to get us some dinner..of any kind, but had no luck. After hearing of our plight, my newly found "countryman"fried us half a chicken, and added fries,bread and other stuff...and beef noodles and traditional fried rice, just for us, he said. He went about his cooking rather happily. He told us there were few Asians in that town,let alone Chinese and one who could speak his tongue!

We thanked the kind couple profusely and wanted to pay him extra. He declined. Such hospitality is normally absent in the bigger cities. This meal turned out to be the "biggest meal" we had throughout our trip.

The next day, we had time for NZ's premier Jade Gallery situated at 1, Guinness Road.

The brochure is attached here. We bought a couple of pendants. They are lovely.

GOLD! GOLD! GOLD !Shantytown, Greymouth

The West Coast Goldrush started in 1864. It started as a trickle and turned into a flood, as people from all over the world poured into this isolated bush clad wilderness. Many of the early miners and their families had to endure terrible hardships. There were many stories of those who struck it rich.

Here, at the entrance of the Gold Claim I stood, contemplating whether I should submit my plans for an early retirement from my work back home. After all, the good news is that the early miners didn't find all the gold. After an instant crash course in the skilful art of goldpanning, D2 and I began to pan for those little grains of real GOLD!!!

The work was made easier that day as the sluice gates were all still working properly, bringing rich alluvial soil from the mountain creeks flowing down the sluices.

My 1st few tries were horrible. I actually threw away the Gold!! I was not able to swirl the gold specks to the surface.

No " kung fu" as Chinese people would say. D2 didn't fare any better. Not until our expert gold panner, a nice fella, gave us both some close up demo of the "kung fu" that was somehow missing in our methods......that we both STRUCK IT ! GOLD!

Real GOLD ! Our separate gold was carefully removed from the pan and kept in a glass vial each. See me SMILING....I calculated that our Gold find should appreciate in tremendous value

over the next 200 years. Not too bad as a family heirloom for our future generations!

Today, the two precious vials of GOLD hold pride of place in my library shelf.

Greymouth, NZ

After our stay at Wanaka ,where we bade an emotional farewell to both D4 and DT who had to drive back to Dunedin in our rented car, we took the Atomic shuttle the next morning, proceeding to Greymouth. This is the largest town in the west coast region of South Island. Greymouth has a rich history that is steeped in Maori heritage. It is here that the Maoris came in search of the jade or greenstone [ pounamu ]. We bought some too.
The town developed as a result of the 1860's and 1880's Gold rush. Coal was also found here. From the town, you can see Mt Cook clearly to the south. The Midland line ( train ) runs through from here to Christchurch. The world famous train journey....the Tranz Alpine train begins and end in Christchurch.

We stayed the night at the Breeze Motel.
The next day we went on a special tour of Shantytown.

Queenstown, South Island

This was early in the morning at our Wakatipu View Apartment in Queenstown. The front porch, garden hedge and everywhere outside were snow-covered. There was heavy snowfall the previous night and also during the day. As a result of all this wintry conditions, we missed one of the top highlights of a Queenstown experience...the Shotover Jet on the Shotover river. We had booked and paid the day before but on that morning we received news that owing to the inclement weather, conditions at the river were not safe for the jetboating activity.

Nevertheless, there were other interesting activities to occupy us during our stay there. As you can see, nothing could stop us from creating our own fun such as having snowfights. Here, D2 was about to launch a snow bomb at me just before I took the picture.

The bottom picture showed the surrounding view from our apartment. The roads were also snow-covered and much care and caution was required when driving over such conditions.

Larnach Castle, Guinness World record

Here are two more brochures which I've collected from the trip.
Dunedin holds the world record for the steepest street in the world.....Baldwin street.

Larnach Castle is a "must see" place on visitors to this region.

A World famous logo

The fern leaf you see here is the Silver Fern of New Zealand. The logo of this fern is widely representative of New Zealand and New Zealanders. It is an image that all New Zealanders can relate to. This is because it is a very powerful and emotional symbol of inspiration when it matters. It comes from the leaf of the N Z fern....Cyathea Dealbata [ Maori name is ponga ]. Its top-side is dark green while underneath it is silver. In moonlight, the underside glows brightly thus providing excellent track markers in NZ's forests.

There are over 180 varieties of ferns in NZ. Only the Silver Fern has such qualities. The fern can grow to about 10 metres tall.

There is a long history of the origins and usage of the fern's symbol. It has been widely used in emblems for sports, business, trading, military units, currency etc. The NZ world cup netball champion team is known officially as the Silver Ferns while the famous All Blacks always have this on their rugby jersies.

The Albatross Inn, Dunedin

Dunedin is the 2nd largest city in South island, NZ. It is about 5-6 hours drive from Christchurch. About 20 % of the population here are students. Most attend the nearby University of Otago which is one of the top university in the country.

The ambience and setting of Dunedin is very much of the Victorian and Edwardian style or era. By that, I mean the architecture, infrastructure and built-up areas. Nevertheless, it is a modern city with much history and heritage around most nooks and corners.

For our base accomodation, we were highly recommended to the Albatross Inn at 770 George Street.

It is a quaint but modern inn with superb service from the husband and wife owners who also displayed a well-meant, macabre sense of humour. As we entered the main door, we were greeted by a genuine, old world dentist drill chair and set-up. Hanging from the overhead dentist lamp was a clear notice that read,

" If you wish to make a complaint please take a seat and we shall be with you shortly !! ". So...I sat myself down, open my mouth wide and just then the boss owner came into view, smiled and pointed to the sign above me. And we all burst out laughing! On hindsight, I think it was an ingenious idea to put such a thing there. D2 and I really love that inn. The room we had overlook the main street below and gave us a bird's eyeview of the beautiful surroundings. It was cosy and had a homely atmosphere about it.