The 15th of March we set foot on New Zealand. Our flight through Singapore to Christchurch went well and we past customs quickly. Our hiking boots were given a quick cleaning and our wooden souvenir from Vietnam and our toy feather were inspected thouroughly, but did not cause us any problems. We were welcomed in such a friendly way the New Zealanders made us feel right at home in the land of the Kiwi.
The first two nights we booked a hostel in Christchurch to refuel before we would hit the road. The city tour of the Lonely planet through Christchurch was a nice walk through the town centre, city parks, the river and passing beautiful Englisch style houses ending up in the botanical gardens. Autumn has definitely set in in New Zealand, most flowers are gone and the trees are starting to show their first beautiful autumn colours. Chesnuts could be found in the botanical gardens, another sign of autumn.
The food is delicious, we really had to hold ourselves back not to buy the complete assortment of the supermarket. A lot can be bought in family size packages, but canned vegetables are hard to find. The prices are compared to Vietnam a lot higher, but relatively cheaper or the same compared to the Netherlands. A few times we prepared a lovely meal for ourselves.
Our rental car is a Toyota Corolla from 1999, colour white, license plate CFR756 and with almost 200k on the odo. When we picked up our car we only had to look for major damage, the already present dents were not an issue (renting costs only 25 NZD a day). Outside the main roads in New Zealand you can encounter many gravel roads, which probably explain the little dents. Our little car drives fine, we only miss some music, there is a radio present, but it is hard to fine tune on a good channel.
Until now we followed the Southern Scenic Route from Christchurch through Oamaru (yellow-eyed penguins at Bushy Beach), Dunedin, Otago Peninsula, Owaka, Nugget Point (nice view with sealions), Porpoise Bay (Hector Dolphins) through Invercargill to Manapouri. Overnight stays in Backpackers Hostels cost about 20 to 30 NZD per person per night.
In Oamaru one of the yellow-eyed penguins decided to pose for passphotos, made by photographer Edvar, really cool. The Otago Peninsula really was worth visiting, we saw: albatrosses, sealions, kingfishers, black swans and again yellow-eyed penguins. On Victoria Beach we were chased by a male sealion, although we were still the advised 30 metres away from him and not between him and the ocean. According to us this lumpy fellow liked to practice his territorial skills on passing tourists. These animals are definetely not afraid of you, luckily you can outrun them, but for the elderly we advise to bring a stick for selfdefence 
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After this little adventure we headed back to our car in the dusk. Unluckily I stept in a hidden hole when I stepped down from a fence and sprained my ankle. Since I still was able to move it in all directions, I knew it was not broken. Without being able to cool it, we stumbled back to the car me using Edvar as a crudge. Again we used our first aid kit and I wobbled around with my ankle taped in my hiking boots for a few days, but now my ankle seems to be fine again.
One night we stayed at Falls Backpackers near the Purakaunui Falls. We were welcomed by the son of the house, a very nice guy. The hostel was run by his mother and she has the habbit to make pictures of all her guests and put them into albums for future people to look through. Scanning the pictures I found a picture of Danny my diving buddy in Vietnam. Edvar made a picture of it. A very nice hostel with very nice people where you instantly feel at home. The location is also near a lot of sights in the area (Nugget Point, Jack’s Blowhole (did not make it with my ankle), McLean Waterfalls). The Cathedral Caves were closed, because of a rough ocean, so we missed those.
In Manapouri we had our first acquaintance with the little vampires named Sandflies. Little black flies, which will land on every piece of uncovered skin and will try to suck the blood out of you. The little bumps they leave behind can itch like hell. Manapouri is very small, but you can have nice little picknicks at the lake and you have easy access to Doubtful Sound, one of the fiords of New Zealand.
The first day in Manapouri we walked the Circle Trail, first cross the river with a rowing boat at Pearl Harbour and after that a nice firm walking trail of three hours with a nice view. The second day we explored the road to Milford Sound with stops at the following sights: Mirror Lakes, Trail at Milford Sound, Trail at the Homer Tunnel (Kea), The Chasm Falls and the Marian Falls.
In Milford we saw a wounded penguin (the paw did not look good). Also saw the destroying big parrot the Kea, very funny as long it is not your car they are molesting, thanks to Edvar’s well chosen parking spot our Corolla was left alone. The road to Milford Sound is lovely with very nice stops and we would definitely recommend it.
Our overnight cruise to the Doubtful Sound was also a great success. Spotting Bottlenose Dolphins and Fur Seals and kayaking through the Fiord. Admired a marvelous sky filled with many stars at night and heard the Kiwi call out in the wild. The wildlife of the ocean in New Zealand is spectaculair, but we do miss the great mammals a little bit. The only native mammals are two species of bats, the long and short tailed bat. New Zealand is trying hard to reduce the damage caused by the many introduced species. On the hitlist are the following animals: Possums (The only good Possum is a dead Possum, Squashum), Stouts, Deer, Rabbits (in national parks you are being warned for poisoned carrots). Tourists are even advised to try and kill these animals with their rental car, when one af them is trying to cross the road. But don’t try this with deer … 
New Zealand tries to get more and more Islands plague free, so the native animals get a chance to survive and will be protected against extinction. Examples are the following animals: Kiwi, Red and Yellow crested parakeet (Kakariki), Takahe, Tuatura (reptile), Kea and the Weka. The native animals never had to worry about natural enemies and do not have a good run and hide instinct. Birds are very curious and approach tourists up close. Examples of those are the Fantail and the Tomtit. Edvar’s parents have a nice experience with a Weka.
After Manapouri we drove on to Queenstown, where we met Edvar’s parents. Three days of chatting and exchanging experiences of New Zealand. Spoiled with lovely souvenirs which I will not reveal to keep it a secret to the people at home , thanks again. Nice little apartment, visited the botanical gardens and the Kiwi Birdlife Park. Spent a day in Arrowtown, and old city founded during the goldrush with a Chinese area and Wanaka where there was a nice exposition with pictures of the world viewed from above by the photographer Yann Arthus-Bertand. Really magnificent pictures.
Said goodbye to Edvar’s parents this morning, who will be heading South and we will be heading North. On Easter day Sunday 8th April, we will take the ferry to the Northern Island.
For more pictures, check the Photo Gallery.
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), so I hope you can now enjoy our stories about New Zealand and don’t forget to check the 88 pictures in the Photo Gallery!
