Our Honeymoon in New Zealand's South Island - Part I

The recent Christchurch Earthquake hit close to home for us, because we were there barely a month ago, and Ewan's mom lives just two hours away from Christchurch.

But rather than drone on about how sad the situation is, this post is going to be about the immense beauty of the country, and the wonderful, relaxing time Ewan and I had there.




We decided to go to New Zealand for our Honeymoon for several reasons. First, we wanted somewhere that was peaceful, quiet, just somewhere to chill. Also, because of the time of year, locations like the US (we had initially wanted to go to New York) and Europe were far too cold. And with Christian coming along soon, the 10 hour flight wasn't quite as daunting as the 24+hour flight to the US. Plus Ewan's mom lives there, so it would be great to visit her.

My parents sent us to the airport on the 2nd of January. Because I was 5 months pregnant, I had to prepare flight socks and a letter from the doc stating I was fit to fly.


The weather was great when we arrived. Blue skies, sun shining, temperature around 17-21 degrees... it was just perfect and comfortable. After a quick look around Christchurch, we went straight to Dez's place. Here's the gorgeous view from the guest bedroom.


We could see big dogs and sheep lazing around the neighbours' backyards. The neighbours also had donkeys and cows... but more on that later.

One of the first places we visited was Lake Tekapo. It was along the way, on our drive to Mt Cook and the colour of the lake was incredible - a bright turquoise colour, caused by glacial waters.


There was also a cute chapel by the lake, which is a photo opportunity for tourists.


While skipping flat stones into the lake, we met a Jack Russell called Jack. The minute his owner stopped his truck, Jack leapt into the water (which was really cold!) and swam to a shallow spot where he looked out at everyone else on the shore.


He must have known the lake so well, to know the exact spot to stand! It's hard to believe he's the same breed as Cleo. He must have been twice her size! His owner then started throwing large sticks and logs into the water - and Jack went for every single piece. He also leapt in when other visitors like us threw logs in as well.


A short 10 min drive from the lake is the St John Observatory, that overlooks the lake.

The view from the top was amazing.



We finally got to Mt Cook, at about lunch time. Had quiches, sandwiches and pies (a typical NZ lunch) at the cafe, which looked out to the mountain range. The clouds were a bit low so we didn't manage to see Mt Cook that clearly. But no matter, we were all still in awe of the grandeur of the mountain range - something that's just so different from what we're used to in Singapore.


Obligatory picture with a bronze Statue of Sir Edmund Hillary.


We took a half hour hike around the foot of the Mountain range...



... crossed a bridge suspended over a gushing river...



... saw sights that came straight out of the Lord of the Rings Movies.




... and saw a Paradise duck, her mate and her ducklings. We only found out that this native duck was very rare and endangered after we visited some museums in Christchurch! Good thing Ewan snapped a shot of her!


Took a long drive back to Timaru in the evening, where we had dinner at Robbies, bar/restaurant kind of place. Kudos to Dez who kindly drove us the whole way!