The rest of the South Island post-Queenstown was just kind of a rush up the east coast. I didn’t have a lot of interest in the destinations, and they were all one night stops. I had originally been meant to fly out of Christchurch where my Kiwi Experience pass ended, but since I was now going back to Wellington, I added on an extension to get me there.
The worst part of these last three stops was that I had almost no money whatsoever. About a week after I got back to Welly, I met a friend for a drink and tried to use the ATM only to be told I had overdrafted by almost $200. I literally couldn’t even pay for my own $5 beer. Not good times.
Lake Tekapo
My favorite stop of the three was easily Lake Tekapo. Only one guy from my last bus was continuing on the same one I left on, but I also ran into one of my old roommates from Base who was on the tour with her friend, so the four of us hung out the next couple days.
We made one stop on the way at Lake Punakaiki. The water was clear ice blue with rocks leading to the banks.
The lake in Lake Tekapo was just as beautiful, and I loved the area. It was a small, quiet little town with wooden shops and houses. It all smelled like a camp.
We stayed at the LakeFront Backpackers Lodge. It had big common areas and a lounge like a sunroom, but it was freezing everywhere. Luckily the extremely tiny rooms (if all four people were in there at once you wouldn’t be able to stand) had heaters though and were warm and cozy.
After dropping our stuff, we went for a walk around. We visited the most photographed church in New Zealand, the tiny Church of the Good Shephard, a pretty little brick building in front of the gorgeous backdrop of the lake.
We went down to the lake itself afterwards which is seriously stunning. It was like glass reflecting back the snowy mountains behind it. The shore was all rocks. The girls and I went in just ankle deep for some photos, but the water was so freezing that within a minute my feet had shooting pains from the temperature. Meanwhile, the Scottish guy with us was absolutely nuts and went for a full swim (Scots being impervious to the cold I guess).
Unfortunately, I hadn’t been feeling well and just had an early night, but apparently Lake Tekapo is the perfect place for stargazing. Its skies are so clear at night that plenty of people hike the mountain to enjoy it.
Christchurch
We made it into Christchurch the following afternoon. This was kind of an interesting destination. It’s the third largest city in New Zealand, but it was ravaged by an earthquake in 2011. There is construction everywhere and much of the city is (or was in 2014) still in ruins.
We checked into the YMCA because it’s the only hostel left standing that’s large enough to accommodate the Kiwi Experience bus passengers. It was a pretty basic building, but our 4 bed dorm room was really large.
We had done a quick tour around on the bus before checking in, so afterwards, I took off for a solo tour on foot to find some of the places we’d passed. There were tons of pop-up art exhibits around to put some cheer into the city as well as a pop-up mall to substitute in for the old shopping strip.
Luckily, New Regent St., a very pretty historical street, wasn’t damaged in the earthquake, and I loved looking at all the pastel buildings.
There was a cardboard cathedral built with the insurance money from the old church which had to be knocked down, and that was across from the CTV site. It’s just an empty lot now, but it used to hold the CTV building which completely collapsed in the earthquake. 115 people died in that building alone which was the greatest loss of life in one spot from the disaster.
There was another memorial on the opposite block that was pretty impactful. It had 185 empty chairs lined up throughout the lawn to represent the 185 people who died in the quake. They were all painted white and all completely different- there was a wheelchair, a high chair, a bar stool, a beanbag, and so on.
Most of what I took away from my walk was destruction. Collapsing buildings, construction machinery everywhere, and roped off closed shops. They’re doing their best to rebuild though- they made sure to get a strip club back up and running first thing!
It was a strange city to explore but was very interesting in its own way.
Kaikoura
My travel buddies from the last couple days stayed behind in Christchurch, so I was on my own up in Kaikoura. Not that it mattered. I had no money. There were activity options to swim with various sea creatures including seals which sounded delightful, but I barely had enough cash to eat let alone sign up for extracurriculars.
So I mostly spent my day reading and taking a short walk to the main strip. Kaikoura was small and pretty. There was a beach and a little main road of shops.
I also liked the hostel there, the Lazy Shag. The rooms were bright and comfortable, and they all had sliding doors that opened straight outside. It was nice to just unwind after the past few weeks on the bus.
The next morning, I caught the Intercity bus up to Picton, hopped back on the Bluebridge ferry, and finally was back in Wellington that evening. I was so excited to be back and settle in again (and by settle in I mean celebrate my return by staying out at the Ave until 4 AM). I’d end up staying almost another full year there (minus a trip to Fiji and five weeks finally visiting home) and so my last New Zealand entry will be all about the capital city of Wellington.
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