South Island New Zealand Part 2

Even pictures that you take from your car while driving on South Island in New Zealand can be so breathtaking. The sky is very clear, the mountains and lakes are naturally magnificient. Here is one of the shots to share.


After Christchurch we drove to Aoraki Mt. Cook which is the highest mountain in New Zealand. On our way there, we were caught in a traffic jam caused by hundreds of sheep. I have posted this picture before. I will upload a different picture when I win the battle with my scanner. For those who have not seen it, here you are.
Click here for the story. We were amazed how well a dog can be trained and entrusted to take care of the flock. New Zealand has the most sheep to population ratio. For the statistics, click here.

There are about 28 mountains that make up the Southern Alps of NZ. Activities include going on a 4-wheel drive safari, helicoper scenic flights with snow landing, fishing, hiking, etc. We decided to hike different trails on our own, often ending with different lookouts including glaciers. That evening the temperature dropped drastically and when we started running, my brother dropped our thermometer which we did not bother to find. We felt so good at the fireplace. We saw views like these pictures.

This is one of the pictures I took with Mt. Cook right in the center which is behind me. We climbed over rocks and snow to get this shot. My sister though slow, said she would not give up the hike for the sake of the such scenic views. If this picture doesn't load,
click here.
It is very scenic. It was the most beautiful hike in my life. We made a snowman but it was so ugly and funny looking. When my scanner is fixed, I will upload that picture. For more pictures of Mt. Cook by helicopter, click here. We did not take the scenic flight as we felt we were not rich enough to go on one. A 10 minutes introductory scenic flight over Fox or Franx Josef Glaciers cost $95 and $105 respectively! If you want to include a snow landing on Mt. Cook it cost at least $240. For the scenic flight map and cost details, click here.

After Mt. Cook, we went to Wanaka. The highlight of attraction in Wanaka is the Skyshow Centre, where you will find the largest collection of air worthy WWII Fighters in the Southern Hemisphere (information source). For those who are more adventurous, you may want to try tandem skydiving. See the tourism website with video and pictures here. I did not go for the freefall. Other things that you can do at Wanaka are trout fishing or just enjoy the beautiful lake view. See pictures below.




The highlight and best part of our adventure in Wanaka was learning to ski at the Treble Cone Ski Resort. I have a complete post on Ski Tour and Lesson with nice pictures and details posted here. I hope you enjoy reading as much as I have put them together.

I have decided to write on Lake Tekapo on a separate post as this post gets too long with numerous offsite clicks. I am still battling with my scanner to make it work right.

In less than 2 weeks, I will make my first trip to Mexico. I will take digital photos to share without messing with my scanner.