Breathtaking Wanaka

Wanaka was honestly the highlight of our New Zealand trip. It was such a picturesque town, and we really really enjoyed our time there. The place we booked had the best views ever, imagine waking up to this everyday. 

View from our apartment

Our plan for Wanaka was to relax and chill. Our first day there coincided with Chinese New Year Eve and we thought that we would do a simple celebration. There was a very well-stocked Asian supermarket which surprised us and we managed to get all the ingredients for a steamboat dinner. 

We had originally booked a sky dive but cancelled it in the end since I got too scared to do it, after reading all about sky diving accidents. I'm sure it would have been great but I don't think my heart could have taken it. In the end, one of our first activities was to go to the Blue Pools, which was a really easy walk but also really crowded! There were so many people swimming in the pools or taking a dip and just enjoying themselves. There were some boys who thought it was a good idea to jump off the bridge to impress the girls they were with 🙄. While the pools were fairly crowded, there was still a lot of space to just chill out and have space to yourself. We didn't go swimming as the water is too cold for us, we did take off our shoes and walked around in the water and even then, it was already too chilly for us. 

We set off for Rob Roy Glacier the next day, and getting there was an adventure in itself. The drive was supposed to be about 2 hours according to Google maps but as there were no more paved roads after a certain point and you can only drive on gravel, it took longer than expected. Needless to say, the ride was extremely bumpy, I'm quite glad our rental car survived the trip. We went during summer so thankfully the roads were still pretty ok, I think it would be a much harder drive in winter. The hike was estimated to take about 3-4 hours and we used the toilets before setting off. Honestly, the toilets were really gross but since there wouldn't be any other better toilets along the hike, we just held our breaths and did what had to be done. The hike was honestly quite tiring, while there were some parts that were ok, some sections were really steep and narrow. We finally made it to the first viewpoint and took a much needed break to fuel up, rest our legs and enjoy the view. From the viewpoint, it took us another hour to get to the main section though we took another break to have lunch at another rest area.

View along the hike

After lunch, we finally made it to the glacier and it was absolutely breathtaking. We spent a lot of time just sitting there and marveling at it. 

On our way back, we picked up a hitchhiker as it was beginning to rain and there is absolutely no public transport that she could have taken. We didn't want her to walk for ages, and it did help that she was a female traveller so we figured there was less risk in picking her up. We had quite a good time chatting and asking her what hikes she did. She had spent the night at one of the cabins up in the mountains and was telling us how it was like. Her original plan was to hike over the ridges but she gave it up as it was too challenging. As we are the types who can only do a day hike, we were most impressed by her.  

After making our way back, we thought we would try our luck and headed to Kika for dinner. Since we went really early, we were lucky to get a table. New Zealanders are also quite casual so even though we showed up in our hiking gear, no one batted an eyelid. The food and service were good, definitely somewhere to consider going if you are in Wanaka. No pics of the food cos I realised I didn't take any good photos, was too busy eating the food instead of taking photos.

All in all, Wanaka was a really lovely place to spend a few days in. I do regret not scheduling more days there as it was a pretty little town where you can drive out to do some simple hikes or just spend time at the lake relaxing and people watch. 

In Search of Hobbits

22 years after The Lord of The Rings, we finally made it to New Zealand! We had discussed visiting the land of the hobbits multiple times, but nothing ever panned out. The one time we actually planned the trip and made all the bookings, the Christchurch earthquake happened so we were glad that we finally made it.

The trip didn't get off to a good start as I was horribly sick for over a week and was still feeling under the weather when we boarded the plane, though I was on the road to recovery by then. We had to cancel our heli-hike which was scheduled on the 3rd day after our arrival. On hindsight that was a good decision as the glacier is under a lot of environmental stress and we did not want to stress it further. 

After resting in Christchurch for a night, we took the Tranz Alphine train to Greymouth, where we picked up our car to drive to Franz Joseph. A friend had raved about the train ride, but I guess we were not really train people. While the ride was pleasant, I did not feel the scenery was mind-blowing, or perhaps my expectations were too high. If you do take the train, please ensure that you have cash with you, as card payment did not work on certain parts of the route as there was no signal. Luckily another friend had passed me her leftover cash so we still managed to buy some snacks. Once we reached Greymouth, we stocked up on some food and snacks and made our way to Franz Joseph. 

cute little cafe where we stopped for some food before heading off to Franz Joseph

Franz Joseph was a tiny tiny little town, which seems to exist purely for tourists. Most tourists go there for the heli-hike and we were no exception. We had to cancel it though as I was still feeling under the weather and didn't think it would be a good idea to hike for 4 hours. We drove around wondering what we could do and ended up booking a scenic helicopter ride which also had a snow landing. It was our first time in a helicopter and while it was quite exciting, we both felt queasy after a while. Our pilot did his best to share about the landscape and scenery but to be honest, we could hardly hear him over the noise of the helicopter's rotors. The views of the glaciers was breathtaking though and helped take our minds off the noise and queasiness. 

view while waiting for our helicopter ride

the blue ice from the glacier

The next day, we headed to Lake Matheson for a walk, which was very picturesque and a relatively easy walk. The really great thing about New Zealand is that all the walks are clearly marked, and the estimation of how long it takes to complete the walk is fairly accurate for a person with average fitness. We were lucky that the weather was good and there weren't too many people, thus we could enjoy the scenery and just soak in the atmosphere. 

lovely view of Lake Matheson

 After lunch, we headed off to Kā Roimata o Hine Hukatere (Franz Josef), which to be honest was very disappointing. The glacier had melted and retreated quite far back due to global warming, thus from the viewpoint, there wasn't much to see. Luckily, it was a very short walk, thus it wasn't as if we hiked for hours just to see that. There were also other shorter walks around the area, which we did, however the views were not really anything to shout about. The only plus point is that the walks here are all paved and very easy, thus if you are not very mobile, this would be a good compromise, however if you are short of time and relatively fit, I would suggest that you skip this and just go to Fox Glacier instead. 

After being disappointed at Kā Roimata o Hine Hukatere, we thought that we would give Fox Glacier a try before heading off to Wanaka, which turned out to be a great decision. The walk was much more scenic than Franz Josef and the glacier was more intact. While the hike was longer, it was manageable for anyone with average fitness. You can't get too close to the glacier for safety reasons but the view was worth the hike. It was also less crowded than Franz Josef, which meant we didn't need to jostle for space at the viewpoint. One thing to note though is that insect repellent is a must if you are going for any walks. I got bitten very badly after just 2 days in New Zealand so make sure you bring that along and spray liberally and reapply it constantly! 

view of Fox Glacier, this is the closest you can get to it

And with one last look at the glacier, we headed off to Wanaka. 

Oops, We Did It Again

I'm not really sure how, but we have once again moved to a country where we don't speak the language. While we didn't speak Thai, moving to Thailand was a no brainer, we were both familiar with Bangkok, going there frequently for holidays, it is also within South East Asia so we were still near home and it was easy for friends and family to come over and vice versa. Sweden, however was a whole different ball game. While we have visited before as tourists and CS has been here for work, it is still a rather foreign country to us. The weather was also something that I am personally not keen on. In any case, 6 months after CS boss raised the issue with him, we found ourselves here, in a country that I would never have thought in my wildest dreams that I would be living in. 

This time round, it was slightly easier to move since KC is no longer with us. I always tell people that if he were still around, we would not have moved since I did not want to subject him to a long flight where he would be cooped up in a carrier in the cargo area. Some days though, I wonder if he would like it in this cold country and if he would have enjoyed the cold weather. 

Snow, a few days shortly after we moved into our temporary housing

While we didn't have to worry ourselves with quarantine requirements or the stress of putting KC through a long flight, moving overseas is still stressful no matter how many times you do it. Sorting out items to be donated/ given away/ throw is a huge exercise. We decided to treat ourselves and took business class on Qatar Airways, which also meant a ridiculously long layover. At first I was really ambitious and thought we might leave the airport and check out the markets for iftar, however in the end we were so tired from everything leading up to the move that we just stayed in the airport and slept. The Doha airport was seriously huge and while it gave some Changi Airport vibes, I'm biased and would say that I still prefer Changi Airport. The lounge was really great though and very comfortable with plenty of quiet spots to sleep or just rest. 

Obligatory photo of the famous beat at the airport

We have been here for slightly over a month now and been busy finding a more permanent place to live in as the company provided housing is only for three months. One culture shock here was that an unfurnished apartment not only means no furniture, the apartment also does not have lights or curtains. Laundry rooms where an entire building shares washing machine and dryers are also common, though landlords have realised that the younger generation prefers to have washing machine/ dryer in their apartment and started putting them in. Thankfully we managed to find an apartment with a washing machine and dryer in the apartment, I really do not fancy having to wear a ton of clothes just to do laundry and waiting for it to be done. Having to wear layers and layers just to throw garbage is already bad enough, I don't want to do it for laundry as well!

The apartment hunting process has also been an interesting experience. There are firsthand contracts, secondhand contracts, queues managed by the government and private landlords and probably more that I haven't figured out yet, it was a lot to digest to be honest. For some really strange reason, people also keep telling us we should just buy a property instead of renting. I don't plan to be here long term and managing a property feels like it would be too much of a headache. Sure, there are some really beautiful old buildings and while it would be lovely to own an apartment in one of these buildings I'm not sure I want the associated stress that comes from dealing with an old building and the rules they will have in place. 

Now we just need to move in, and start the unpacking process, something that I really really really do not look forward to!