The Routeburn Track

So early the next morning, we headed out to the Routeburn track.
Our guide was Kevin, an amazing ex-Canadian with the strangest mix of an accent. (and also said we could keep our weather and neighbours to the south...while guiding a group with Americans in it!)
There were some really fantastic sights

Lots of suspension bridges, which are a blast to try and walk across while taking pictures.

Halfway there, we come out to this nice plateau, before we head up the 918ft climb over 3km (otherwise known as the KILLER CLIMB- this was the reason we couldnt walk for the next few days)
Here we are half way up the Killer Climb to the waterfalls...the yellow bit is from the picture above.
and FINALLY from the top!
The waterfalls we had walked all that way for...

Absolutely exhausted...but excited for lunch (our huge carb overload sandwiches, with inch thick pumpernickel bread)
One last view before we head back down.

Back down after the descent...walked by this fantastic stream with the clearest water I have ever seen.

More from the clearing.

Lots of streams with that New Zealand turquoise water.

After walking for 10 hours, we headed back to Queenstown, where we hobbled around as we attempted to shop, and ended up at another Thai place on the waterfront for some well deserved meals.

Queenstown

We arrived in Queenstown in the evening of that day, and checked into the now infamous Base Backpackers. Jim and I took a ride up the gondola to look over the fantastic city that we were staying in.

On the ride up, there were a bunch of sheep who were chilling out on the cliff side.

Up at the top, we had some fantastic views over the city.

The Remarkable Mountain range can be seen in the back here.

and here again...
Beautiful city, beautiful looking accommodations, but looks can be deceiving.

Out backpacker hotel looked fantastic and a great location, but those walls were much thinner than they appeared. This place was home to "Jimmie Page" (the guy who played Foo Fighters in front of our door at 1 am) the parade of drunks outside, and the game of tag between two girls at reception at 5am which included who was drunker. Ah...all lovely experiences.

This town was the base for the next 2 days of adventures (Routeburn Track and Milford Sound)

Drive to Queenstown

The next morning, we got up extra early to walk downtown to pickup our rental car for the rest of the trip. We arrived at 8am, only to discover that the newbie behind the desk wouldn't allow us to take the car until 10.
So we bummed around the park for a while and got some hot chocolate (which is not sugary enough for my taste) to waste some time.

Waddling around the river, and fighting with seagulls for our crumbs were these Paradise Ducks. They pair off for life, and travel together for the rest of their lives which I thought was cute. I think the dude has the white head.

Here is Jenn eyeing my under sweetened hot chocolate.

Picked up our 2008 Corolllaaaa and were on our way for the long trip ahead of us.
Along the way, we had to pass many of these one way bridges. You have to yield depending on which way the sign tells you, and pass one at a time. (also yes, they do drive on the left there...which is totally confusing and I still look the wrong way when crossing a street now)

Lots more beautiful scenery here too. (and tons of sheep!)

Lots of beautiful pastel coloured scenery.

and even more sheep.

and as you round the corner, there's mountains! This was a glacier lake which turns a fantastic blue (that doesn't really show up too well here). It was quite a fantastic sight.

Not the best picture, but here you can really see the colour of those lakes.
Mount Cook! This is the largest mountain in New Zealand. Did not walk up this one, but we sure felt like we did on the Routeburn track.

Me in front of Mount Cook and another glacier Lake...

The Camera Club got its start out here on the road to Queenstown, as Jim and I would pull over and jump out of the car at least every 20 minutes or so because of some fantastic sight. (something like these)
Watch where you're driving, cause you take one wrong turn in New Zealand, and you can end up in something like this. (you can see the trucks and cars driving in the background)

By this point we were almost in Queenstown and into the most strenuous and exhausting (but definitely most memorable) part of our trip.

Christchurch

That night, we arrived in Christchurch. This ended up being my favourite town for its buildings, activities and layout (super flat).
We walked around the city and saw some of the sights and bought some souvenirs. In the cathedral square in the heart of the city, there was...surprise, surprise....a giant cathedral!

The next morning, we took another city tour to see the sights.
Christchurch is also called the "garden city" of New Zealand, so we went to a large park with a botanical garden, where you could look right into the backyards of people and marvel at their fantastic gardens. Here I am just on a bridge in the beautiful park.

Lots more beautiful flowers in the botanical gardens.

And tons of duck ponds with even more ducks.

We took the long trip up to the top of the city again, and looked over the many many many bungaloes built into the side of the hill. On a nice day, we could have seen the mountains in the distance, but unfortunately this was a cloudier day.

On the tour, we also headed down to the port of Lyttleton, which was on the other side of a collapsed volcano. Here is the remainder of the volcano.

Within Lyttleton harbour, they were also holding two Russain boats for illegally fishing within New Zealand territory.

The next stop was the beach, where we enjoyed the rock formations and warm ocean. Jenn, Jim and I hiked up this giant rock to the lighthouse at the top.
We then climbed through the hollows made out by the water over time.

This is my feet in the Pacific ocean.

The rocks were totally covered by shells and were being battered by the crashing waves.

Back from the tour, we went back to the cathedral square, where we were lucky enough to see the Wizard of Christchurch. Fortunately, we did not make him mad enough to cast a spell on us.

While waiting for the tram, we discovered a clock which expresses (as Christine mentioned) Darwinism at its best. On top is the still alive and thriving Kiwi, and inside the egg is the Moa, the exctinct giant flightless bird of New Zealand.

Here is the big tram, which takes you within walking distance of its original station, but with the same lame jokes, no matter who is driving.

One of the stops was the Arts Centre, which is an old boys school which was converted for use as a theatre and artists studio. Here is an example of an inventive sculpture within the courtyard.

Our final stop on the tram was the Christchurch museum, where after a long day I decided to kill Jimmy.
We walked back to our hotel, and on the way stopped to watch the people "punting on the Avon," where boats travel on the river which runs through the city. Also, a cool fountain behind them.
After a day and a bit in Christchurch, a visit to the internet cafe and a LOT of walking, we got up super early to drive to Queenstown.