The last leg of my journey on the Kiwi bus took me from Queenstown to Christchurch, where I planned to spend my last few days in New Zealand before flying back to Sydney.
When I was in Dunedin, I’d hoped to see a Super 14 game at Carisbrook but due to the schedule, this was not to be. Fortunately, the Crusaders were playing at home the day after we arrived in Christchurch and there were still plenty of tickets available!
The game itself was a little scrappy until the last 20 minutes or so (Wellington won 24-30), but as a spectacle I’ve never seen anything like it at a rugby match. With cheerleaders, horsemen dressed as knights and a military helicopter landing to deliver the match ball, it was more like the build-up to an American football game than anything I’ve seen at Murrayfield!
As I still had a couple of free days before my flight, I decided to hire a car, drive up the coast and spend a night in Kaikoura with some of the people I’d met in the Deep South. One of the main attractions in Kaikoura is swimming with dolphins. Unfortunately, despite the weather in Kaikoura being brilliant (Christchurch had been a bit cold and wet for a few days!) the swell was bad enough that no boats were leaving the harbour. But the weather on-shore was good, and there was a hot-tub and plenty of beer at our hostel.
I can certainly think of worse ways to spend an afternoon!
New Zealand Customs and Immigration is really strict! Even more so than Australia! Before I could be issued a boarding pass for my flight to Auckland I had to produce a paper copy of my return itinerary and show it to the check-in agent. I didn’t have one (I had all the relevant numbers in my head and it was visible on the check-in computer, but The Rules said it had to be paper!) because I’m not returning until March, and I’d probably only lose it anyway, which meant I was in for a quick run around the terminal with my 20kg bag looking for the Emirates office to get a print-out. Luckily the airport bus was early, and even after my morning jog I made the flight with about 20 minutes to spare. Once in New Zealand, everything that came off the plane was x-rayed, sniffed and poked just to make sure it wasn’t food, soil or drugs. The Australians simply asked me if I had any fruit or vegetables then let me go!
Seeing New Zealand from the air, I was surprised by how much it looks like Scotland. Since it was evening when I arrived, I was too tired to go explore Auckland. On my way into the city from the airport the main thing I noticed was how quiet Auckland is when compared with Sydney (or even Melbourne). Auckland is much smaller, but still the largest city in New Zealand. Even around lunchtime there never seems to be the same crush of people that I’d just about become used to in Sydney. It’s quite nice really.
I’m leaving Auckland tomorrow morning and heading North to the Bay of Islands for a few days, before turning back South and eventually getting to Christchurch sometime before the start of March.
I wasn’t sure how I was going to get around New Zealand. Meg suggested I go on a Contiki tour, as she did the same thing a few years ago, but it was quite expensive, and to be honest, I didn’t really like the idea of sitting on a bus for 2 weeks with a load of drunk 18 year-olds!
I’m traveling with Kiwi Experience (the same group as Oz Experience), which has a pretty similar reputation, but in my (Oz) experience wasn’t anywhere nearly as bad as that! I’d also been considering the Stray backpacker bus, as it seems to aimed more toward people who actually want to see the country rather than those who just want to get drunk, but after asking around friends who have been over here already, Kiwi Experience got far more recommendations. I suppose I’ll find out if I made the right choice in a few weeks!
