Sweet As Trip of a Lifetime

We flew out of Christchurch on the evening of Saturday, January 5. Zack and I both agreed that this was truly the trip of a lifetime and New Zealand is an incredible place. We were treated to a beautiful sunset over the mountains as we flew away from our dream holiday.

Here we are sporting our new shirts and jade necklaces on the flight home. "Sweet As" is a saying in New Zealand that basically means "awesome." For example, our trip around the South Island was sweet as and there will never be another vacation like that one!

Mount Cook Mania

After our skydiving adventure on Friday, Zack and I drove up the East side of the South Island to spend the night near Mount Cook. We had seen glimpses of this mountainous region when we were on the West side near the glaciers, but the view was much better from here. This strange round cloud encircled the peak as the sun went down while we were driving. When we reached our campsite, the view of the mountains was even more amazing.

On Saturday morning, we drove to Mount Cook National Park to do a short hike. It was a gorgeous, sunny day, so we were able to get some good pictures. As seen in the glaciers, the snow atop these mountains had a cool blue tint to it.

I loved the reflection of the mountains in this random pond!

We weren't able to hike for long, because we still had a four hour drive to Christchurch to drop off our campervan before closing time. But we didn't mind the drive, because we got to pass by incredibly blue water like that seen here in Lake Pukaki. The color was truly unreal.








The Church of the Good Shepherd on Lake Tekapo is one of the most photographed in New Zealand, so we made a quick stop there to join the many tourists getting pictures.

Then it was off to Christchurch to say goodbye to our beloved Jucy campervan (post about that coming) and head to the airport to leave New Zealand. Boo!

West Coast Wonders

Driving along the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island is spectacular! We stayed near a seal colony on the night of December 26, and we checked it out on the morning of the 27th. Then we made our way from Westport down to the Franz Josef glacier, stopping at several points along the way to check out the scenery.

In Greymouth, we stopped at the famous Monteith Brewery and did a beer and cider tasting tray much like we did in Nelson. You see the Monteith brand everywhere in New Zealand, so it was cool to visit the actual brewery.

We did a short hike at the Truman Track, which went through the woods and led to a cool beach with this overhang ledge thing. The landscapes along the West coast are so varied...beach, forest, rivers, farmland, rocks, etc.

In a small town called Hoktika, we stopped and each bought ourselves a jade necklace. New Zealand jade is kind of a big deal, especially in that little town. Can you spot Zack's necklace in a picture above?

As we continued our drive, we were treated to a spectacular sunset. It happened to coincide with the exact moment we passed by this unbelievably blue water. I have not altered the color in the picture below, and the photograph doesn't even do it justice. It looked fake.

The West coast was truly full of wonders, and tomorrow I'll have a post about one awesome place in particular that I haven't mentioned yet. Lots more to come!

Sporting our new jade necklaces and loving the blue water!