Breathtaking New Zealand

New Zealand is 100% excitement because. It refreshes my body, uplifts my mind, touches my soul. I do not know when I pen the slogan that these ten words would help me wing my way to New Zealand but they do. The Elle Magazine confirms that I have won tickets for two to New Zealand along with a five day stay at Christchurch and Queenstown and I am on Cloud Nine! My husband, posted in the United Nations in Kosovo, volunteers to accompany me to the trip, so does my teenage son Ankit. I opt for the spouse over the son, because while all my younger son can offer is his own scintillating company, my better half can do better, he can tempt me with his U N International credit card!

Travelling to New Zealand is not a journey which can be done at one go. We begin our journey on 19^th April, and have to stop overnight in Singapore. We arrive from Singapore to Christchurch in the afternoon and we have to catch the flight to Queenstown the very next day. We have no time to see Christchurch, I wail. Thankfully our Hotel in Christchurch is in the heart of the city and just a stones throw from its attractions like the Botanic Gardens, the Art Centre and the ArtGallery. Greedy to visit as many places as we can, we can undertake but a cursory visit to these places before they close down. We are hungry after our dash around town on foot and a nice woman in a small caf offers us pumpkin soup and crusty homemade bread and happily shares the recipe with me. That evening the hotel helpfully arranges for our trip to a Maori attraction and we see the Maoris, the traditional tribe of New Zealand, perform their traditional dances for us. The original Maoris have become extinct. The Maoris who present the cultural are of a mixed parentage. This is their way of preserving their culture as well as earning money.

The Wakatipu lake, 44 kms in length and only 5 km in breadth changed hue, every time I look at it. At times it seems a clear blue, yet at other times it changes into a mysterious grey.

Queenstown is also known as an adventure town. Bungy jumping, jet boating, water skiing you name it, Queenstown has it. Seeing an adventure lover paragliding, I really wish I could put the clock back by twenty years! It is the `Lord of the Rings which has brought Queenstown instant acclaim and put it on the world tourism map, and one cannot but admit that Queenstown is breathtakingly beautiful.

That evening we take a ride on TSS Earnslaw, an old steamer where down in the engine room things have been preserved in the same way since 1912. It takes us on an enchanting tour of the Lake Wakatipu and the evening is rendered all the more memorable because all passengers are urged to join in singing old favourites like John Browns Body and Shell be coming round the mountains! After the ride we walk down the waterfront, reveling in the beautiful gardens, verdant landscape and magnificent statue of William Rees, the towns first European settler.

As our tourist bus arrives to pick us up the next day for our conducted tour, my husband, while checking his e-mail, learns of distressing news from home. Our car has been stolen in broad daylight from within our house. We are dismayed. We reluctantly board our bus, sure that nothing, but nothing can make our spirits rise. But that is before we reach the 43-metre-long KawarauBridge, the first commercial bridge in the world. It is supposed to have served as a launching pad for over 400,000 bungee jumpers who paid the fee of NZ$125 for the privilege! We are enthralled to see a man, all trussed up, swinging from a rope, plunge down and come up, defying gravity, amidst loud applause. The bus-conductor cum guide assures us that plunging down is not scary, coming up is the terrifying bit, since the bungee jumpers feels that the bridge is closing down upon them.

Soon we reach Arrow town, an old Chinese settlement where gold mining took place. The small town seems out of this world, so does the Museum. At Arrowtown, time really seemed to have stood still. Two years after the first European settlers established high country farms in the Wakatipu area, gold was discovered nearby. The find was concealed for a short time, but news of the discovery soon spread. In 1862 Jack Tewa, a shearer working for William Rees, found gold in the ArrowRiver. Originally named Fox's , after William Fox, a Californian gold miner, the town began to get populated. As the news of gold in the ArrowRiver spread, people began to arrive in droves. Over time Arrowtown developed from a canvas town to a solid community and today
with its cafes dotting the streets, a quaint museum, and medical centre, it is a tourist delight.

The next day we leave on a guided tour to Milford Sound. It is a very long drive to Milford Sound. The thought of a five hour drive while going and coming intimidates me but the thought of one and a half hour of sailing on the Sound is sufficient motivation to keep going. The journey is awe inspiring. Used to the droves of people on the streets in India, it is awesome to travel miles and miles without sighting a single soul on the road. Lake Te Nau, which we see on the way, is grey, sinister and reminiscent of Loch ness.

The MirrorLakes, where we stop by, have crystal clear waters which reflect the mountains with precision.

But it is Milford Sound which takes our breath away. Milford Sound is truly majestic. Our tourist guide, tells us the story of Milford Sound. Captain James Cook, who discovered New Zealand, sailed past Milford Sound. It was John Grono who was the first European to land in Milford Sound in 1812 and he named it after Milford Haven in Wales. The word `Sound is a misnomer, since a `Sound is a body of sea between an island and the mainland, while Milford Sound is actually a fjord, a narrow inlet of sea between high cliffs whose walls rise to 290 metres from the sea floor to the surface. We learn that it was carved by a series of glaciers over a period of millions of years. On both sides of Milford Sound we see evergreen forests clinging to sheer cliffs. As the ship passes through Milford Sound, we spot the spectacular MitrePeak, one of the highest peaks in the world. A little later we spot a seal, sunning itself on a cliff, blissfully unaware of the onlookers. At a distance we see the Tasman Sea which links New Zealand to Australia. The ship sways and passengers begin to feel queasy but I cannot not stop myself from capturing the beauty of Milford Sound on camera.

On our last night we go out for dinner to The Rodeo, a highly recommended eating joint. A tall stunning beauty, a Nicole Kidman look alike comes and takes our orders. My husband whose eyes are usually stuck on the right side of the menu card, today had eyes for no one but her. What would you suggest? he asks, as though she was the Oracle and not a mere waitress and she suggests two Rodeo special meals. Wouldnt one do, we can share? I butt in, each meal is twenty-five dollars each. Twenty-five New Zealand dollars, hisses my better half, as he gives the orders. Miss New Zealand soon returned bringing two huge platters of chicken, mounds of French fries and coleslaw. We can barely eat half our food, I am sure that the platter was designed keeping sumo wrestlers in mind! I grin wickedly at the thought of my husbands money going down the drain!

We return via Christchurch the next day and are prepared for a long wait at the airport at Christchurch. It is then that I learn about the Antartica centre, a major tourist attraction of Christchurch. I am keen to visit it, because I know that however much my wandering instincts may want it, I will never be able to see Antarctica in this lifetime.The "Snow & Ice Experience" experience is out of this world. I don the warm jacket and overshoes provided and step into the custom built polar room containing real ice and snow. Brrrr. I say, as I feel the cold blast. The wind chill machine ensures a-18 degrees temperature inside the polar room. I see a family in colorful jackets enjoying themselves in the snow. I hesitate since I am alone, my husband having decided to go for his morning walk instead, and I do not want to trip on the floor and break my legs, especially since I have a flight to catch. Before I exit, I watch an enthralling audiovisual show, The Great White South.

We are back in India after a layover in Singapore. I have traveled to the ends of the earth, I declare on my return, but am glad that there I found my slice of paradise! Incidentally our car is never found, but that, as they say, is another story!