New Zealand Day 15 part 2 - Christchurch

18 Jun - For the afternoon, we visited the Christchurch Art Gallery - Te Puna o Waiwhetu as they are offering free admission to check out the art exhibition.

Bull on a piano

Cute rabbit

Display made of pure sugar

Lights

3D display made of match sticks

Lone passerby in a river

Stranger playing chess on the street

And finally Christchurch Airport in the evening for the flight back to Singapore

New Zealand Day 15 part 1 - Christchurch

18 Jun - This marked our last day in Christchurch. Checking out early from our accommodation, we spent most of the day exploring the city and looking at the aftermath of the destructive 2011 earthquake.

Public Chess area at Cathedral Square

ChristChurch Cathedral destroyed in 2011 earthquake

Random shot

Christchurch Tramway

Re:START - a temporary mall built from shipping containers

Tramway conductor that looks like a Santa Claus

Street Art

Fred and Myrtle's Paua Shell House @ Canterbury Museum

Christchurch Botanic Garden

Vibrant flowers in full bloom

New Zealand Day 14 - Christchurch

17 Jun - In order to catch the postcard picture of Church of the Good Shepherd with Milky Way as the background, we battle the cold and woke up at 4am in the morning when the full moon has set, leaving us with a dark sky full of stars. In order to catch the perfect Milky Way, you will need a DSLR on a tripod with no light interference. End result? See the pictures below:

Perfect Picture

The next morning, having slept for 3 or 4 more hours after the night shot, we got ready for our final leg to Christchurch. We dropped by the Christchurch Transitional Cathedral (Cardboard Cathedral) which was originally intended as a temporary structure after the 2011 earthquake. In 2012, the city decided to build and kept it as a permanent structure.

Christchurch Transitional Cathedral (Cardboard Cathedral) 

In memory of the lives perish in the 2011 earthquake

 

Victoria Square

Thank YB for all the photos in this entry! =)

New Zealand Day 13 - Lake Pukaki & Lake Tekapo

16 Jun - We woke up early in the morning again to began our scenic drive down Mount Cook, passing by Lake Pukaki before reaching Lake Tekapo. Along the way, we made a pit stop at Mount Cook Alpine Salmon. Fresh salmon grown in alpine water are really tasty and refreshing! They are the best salmon I had ever eaten!

Passing by Lake Pukaki with good weather

Pit stop at Mount Cook Alpine Salmon

Lake Pukaki

Stopping by Lake Tekapo

Clear alpine water

Church of the Good Shepherd

Dog Monument

For the night, we had fun joining the Mt John Night Observatory Tour, peering into the telescope, looking at star constellations and not forgetting a warm chocolate by the famous Mt John Observatory Cafe! Too bad we don't have photos to show as the tour discourage photography to reduce unnecessary light pollution.

New Zealand Day 12 part 2 - Hooker Glacier

15 Jun - For the afternoon, we decided to tackle the Hooker Valley Track, which on paper indicated a 3 hours return time. This is one of the popular tracks in Mount Cook for the visitors, covering 5km one way and definitely a scenic journey.

A monument remembering the people who perish in Mount Cook at the start of track

The first swing bridge (out of three) and Mueller Lake

The Hooker River rushes through the rapids fed by glacier water

Crossing the second swing bridge

Enjoying the flora and fauna along the way

Catching the rolling grasses from the broadwalk

Crossing the final swing bridge

Hooker Lake and the glacier in the distance

Though scenic, this track is certainly not for the weak. Overall, for the 10km journey, we took about 4+ hours. Luckily, we managed to make it back to the visitor center before the sunset.

New Zealand Day 12 part 1 - Tasman Glacier

15 Jun - Living in the Mount Cook Village really need nerve of steel. Not only you have to anticipate the occasional visit by the wild bunny, you have to also endure the strong gush of wind coming down the mountain. As usual, we woke up early to start attempting to conquer the Mt Cook tracks. Our accommodation is also one of a kind. The heating provided in house is not enough to ward off the chill air of the mountain. Imagine the coldness we felt in the morning!

View of snow peak mountains from our accommodation

Rainbow greeting on the Tasman Glacier View track

View of the valley floor

Iceberg on Tasman Lake

Floating Iceberg broke off from the Tasman Glacier

Scenic View

Original Blue Lake fed by glacier water turned into Green Lake fed by rainwater

Iceberg on Tasman Lake