After a totally knocked-out night, we woke up about 8am, got ready and packed...then we checked out and walked to the train station which was just opposite the backpacker...we shopped for our breakfast and bought some groceries...then we took the shuttle bus to the Interislander Ferry terminal...that cost us NZD2 but i'm glad we didn't try to save that NZD2 and walked there...coz it was quite a drive and there were a lot of turnings...hehe...
So we checked in for our ferry ride...had our breakfast while waiting to board the ferry...we were quite amazed when we boarded the ferry (which was called Arahura) coz it was huge...equipped with a cinema, children's playroom, private lounge, cafe and convenient store...we departed at 1025H and our journey lasted aout 3 hours...i slept part of the way but as we were reaching Picton, Cam woke me up to see the beautiful scenery that surrounded us...so we went up the deck and took lots of pics of the lovely view...after that, we went to the cafe and bought some Rush Munro ice-cream...i had maple walnut while Cam ate hokey-pokey...soon after, it was time to disembark...
We checked-in our luggage through to Christchurch so we didn't have to lug our bags while walking to the train station in Picton...we had about 25 mins to get from the ferry terminal to the train station...our Tranzscenic train left at 1400H and we travelled about 5 1/2 hours before reaching Christchurch...we stopped in between...for views and all...there was a place we stopped which was called Kaikoura...it was famous for whale and dolphin watching...we went down for a while and almost missed our train...along the way we saw seals, sheep, cows on the field, snow-capped mountains and Lake Gressmer, which was New Zealand's main source of salt...the lake was huge and it was separated into squares...and there were also processing factories nearby where we saw heaps of salt...
We reached Christchurch at 1921H...by the time we got our luggage, the info counter was closed...and the last shuttle bus of the day has also left and the train master told us that it would take about 40 minutes to walk to the city centre...so this was the story of how Elena came to join us in our New Zealand trip...so while we were pondering on how to get to the city centre, a Spanish girl came and asked us if we wanted to share a cab...there was another poor helpless Japanese girl who was left behind as well...so the 4 of us shared a cab which cost us NZD20 and stopped at Cathedral Square...the Japanese girl then left us to meet up with her friends...so the 3 of us went to the visitor information centre where we sought help to find a place to stay for the night...unfortunately the Japanese girl there wasn't too helpful..so we tried our luck at some backpackers...BB's Backpacker was full..so we found a backpacker at Gloucester St called Stonehurst...Elena decided to join us to share a triple room with ensuite bathroom for NZD83 per night...which was a pretty good deal coz the room had a TV, coffee/tea drinking facility and it was cozy...about the nicest backpacker we've had by far...
Cam saw a sign on the way to our backpacker which read steak for NZD10 on Wednesday night...so these 2 starving ladies went to fill our stomachs with sumptious steak while Elena stayed back to eat her bread...Cam was doubly happy coz the waiter who was serving us was cute...so after a hearty dinner, we went back to the backpacker...Elena told us she booked her Queenstown to Auckland flight on Sunday (29/8/10)....coz earlier i told her that we'd be leaving Queenstown on Sunday thinking that Sunday was 30/8/10...Damn! due to my stupid mistake, we have caused Elena to book the wrong flight...coz initially she planned to leave Queenstown on Monday as well but i think when i told her that we were leaving on Sunday, she must have decided to travel with us...
So in the end, Cam and i decided to change our itinerary...so we wouldn't be staying an extra day in Christchurch...so we booked our bus to Mt Cook for the next day for NZD63 and then our bus from Mt Cook to Queenstown the day after for NZD78...we also booked our Milford Sound tour on 28/8/10 coz we were afraid there wouldn't be time to do so coz everything was pretty rushed...the tour cost NZD145...really thank God that the reception at our backpacker was this very nice lady who was willing to help us although it was quite late at night...her name was Catherine...
Since we weren't going to go around Christchurch, Cam wanted to go to Cathedral Square to take some photos...it was drizzling a bit...and the square was devoid of human beings except for us 3 girls...and it was bloody cold...we even took a picture of the tram stop since we weren't going to take the tram...so thanks to me, we didn't get to go for river punting, the tram and gondola ride...after we've had enough pics, we went back to the room, bathed and slept coz tomorrow was a full day ahead...
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