Friday, August 24, 2012

NZ #2-3

the trip to mount cook was AWESOME.. the scenery along the way was breathtaking. the mountain with its top covered in snow, the clear blue sky (yep, it's like what the people in the lodge has said, if it's raining in christchurch, it will be good weather  in mount cook). we should've rushed since we were planning to stop by the salmon farm first, but the scenery seduced us to stop multiple times to take pictures and to enjoy the view. we stopped by at lake tekapo which was marvelous. the mist had gone, so we had the clear view of the lake. then we went on to the salmon farm. too bad at that time, they were having maintenance, so they didn't have the tour around the farm. we only stopped there to buy some salmon and to eat lunch.

then we went on, driving along the lake tekapo and then along the lake pukaki, heading toward mount cook. the view was also marvelous. when we arrived at our hotel in mount cook, it was a perfect place to stay. the hotel was surrounded by the mountain, and from our room, we could see mount cook. in our hotel there was a museum and planetarium, dedicated to sir edmund hillary, the mount everest's climber. actually, we planned to go on a glacier tour and stargazing, but unfortunately, both of them are not available at the moment. so we just spent the afternoon watching 3D movie and walking around the hotel and taking pictures. the next morning, after breakfast, we went on tasman valley tour. we went to the top of tasman valley to see the glacier. our tour guide was funny. he told us that population in mount cook during low season was only 100. but in peak season, it was 200 people. the kindergarten there, 1 teacher and 5 kiddies.. wakkaka.. what a small village. he even joked that everybody knows everybody there. and then he made it clear by waving to some villagers passing us by.

halfway toward the top was spent riding the argo, which was like a 4WD, but this one had 8 wheels. our guide drove like a mad cowboy.. with all the yeeha and stuff.. hahaha.. he was funny indeed. then, we had to climb to the top. fiuh.. it was hard work alright, since i haven't had an exercise again since i was 7th month pregnant, and now my boy is almost 3 months.. wew.. but we managed to get on top. the view? breathtaking.. he told us that the glacier shrunk quickly. 6 years ago, it was in the middle of the lake. now, it was only 1/4 of it. talking about global warming. i hope we could visit it again with the whole family before it melt completely.

after that, we were back on the road again. this time to queenstown. the scenery was not as great as before, since there were no green grass and stuff. but, we did have a wonderful lunch. we stopped by at this small town called twizel, and trusted tripadvisor for guiding us to this cafe called poppies. and they do served delicious food for a small town. the salad was deliciousss.. even me who never eat salad, ate them all.. hahhaa..

our first night at queenstown? we spent it an hour waiting to get the famous fergburger. we didn't know which one to order since many people had their own different taste. so we ordered the big al and rib eye. the big al was okay, but it was toooo big so both of us couldn't finish it. the rib eye was yuck, not gonna buy it again. and then we went to rest since tomorrow will be a long trip to doubtful sound.

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