New Zealand’s Te Waipounamu (South Island), land of the Maori, is known for its mountain

beauty and rugged terrain. Glaciers appear on the west coast and beautiful cities and towns on
the east coast. I was fortunate enough to be there for a week and a half during these school
holidays and have done many extreme sports in Queenstown and gazed at the breathtaking
landscape in many other towns as well.

Upon touchdown in Queenstown, even though I could barely open my eyes, I was pumped for
the first day. Not all went to plan though, as there was a delay with the rental car that took up the
rest of the day. The downpour made visibility low, but on the bright side, the holiday home we
stayed at was great.

Many Lord of the Rings filming locations were in New Zealand, and the snowy town of
Glenorchy was one such place. Located on the northern end of Lake Wakatipu, Glenorchy has a
divine view. I was impelled to jump into a canyon with nothing but a harness attached to a
bungee line. The giant swing was exactly what it sounded like, a 60 metre free-fall then 100
metres of swinging above wild river rapids.

The day after we returned to the base of the same canyon. We boarded the famous Shotover
Jet. Most people were drenched by the end of the ride but overall, it was a unique experience.
Though it was extremely cramped at the next event, a mechanical shark, we were able to see it
dive into the harbour then leap out like a dolphin. Being fully submerged in a submarine and
being able to see everything underwater was a truly amazing experience. The relief of solid land
under my shoes didn’t last long, however, as I ran off the top of a mountain towering over
Queenstown as a paraglider. Despite the freezing temperatures, soaring above the city was an
experience like no other.

As we left Queenstown and headed north, bypassing the puzzle world in Wanaka, we arrived at
the base of Aoraki (Mount Cook), the highest of the many peaks in New Zealand. A thirty minute
hike and snowball fight loss later, we made it to the spectacular Tasman Glacier. Though the trip
down a cliff of boulders to the shore was extremely challenging, everything was worth it when
the glacier view at the bottom blew us away. I managed to find a “shortcut” on the way back but
filled my boots with snow. I then stupidly cut open the back of my hand on a barbed wire

😥
designed to keep out wild animals while I was having a snowball fight rematch against my
veteran grandpa, whose throws were so powerful they knocked me into the snow (I
lost….again). I must say though, alpine salmon farmed in glacial freshwater is delicious.

The geomagnetic index was extremely high that night, but we were unable to see the southern
lights due to storm clouds. Everything was covered in snow the next day, but unfortunately, the
roads to Christchurch were closed until noon. I ended up pelting my brother with snowballs on
the driveway the whole morning. Though the ride was extremely dull, Christchurch reminded me
that I was still far from home. I felt like I had been away for a long time, when I arrived at
Christchurch due to its similarities to Melbourne.
As one of the five Gateways to Antarctica, Christchurch Airport, which also houses the
International Antarctic Centre, is busy with cargo planes and Antarctic supplies. I was not
prepared to find myself in a simulation of a storm on the southern ice cap in three puffer jackets
and riding through rugged terrain in a Hägglund designed for Antarctic transport. The five-hour
drive to Dunedin was gruelling, with nothing but the eastern beaches and town after town. We
made a stop at the Kaihinaki (Moeraki Boulders), a beach of round boulders in the sand formed
in the dinosaur age, and Katiki point lighthouse, where I was almost devoured by fur seals while
capturing a photoshoot of them snoozing in the afternoon sun. Exhausted, I practically fell into
the bed at the hotel room in Dunedin before preparing for another long drive the next day.

After we visited the world’s steepest road, I found myself being chased by more seals in soaked
pants from somehow falling into the waves at Sandfly Beach, before setting out for Te Anau.
Unfortunately, the glowworm cave was closed due to excessive rain, and there was not much of
anything else in the town.

We received more bad news as the road to Milford Sound, one of the 8 natural wonders of the
world, would be snowed in for the whole day. After that, we met up with my classmate who
coincidentally was in Te Anau as well. We drove up to Queenstown while his family explored the
town. One of the events we didn’t have time to do in the beginning of the trip was the Below
Zero Ice Bar, a bar sculpted completely from ice. Even the shelf and countertop was ice. The
“ice hockey” table in the middle was definitely a highlight, and so was freezing our fingertips off
trying to not drop the cups of ice.

What’s a trip to a country without seeing their national animal? Though most were hard to spot
in the dark as they’re nocturnal animals, the kiwi and also many other native animals resided in
Kiwi Park, a local zoo. After bumping into the same classmate again, we realised we were
taking the same flight home and were both going on the TSS Earnslaw, the only coal-fired
commercial steamship in the southern hemisphere, opened 112 years ago in 1912. The scenic
ride on the historical ship on Lake Wakatipu took an hour and a half return from Queenstown to
Glenorchy. The trip and lunch was quicker than planned, so we had an hour to kill at a local park
before checking in for the flight. Though we thought we were barely going to catch it due to
traffic, we only needed to arrive around 15 minutes before boarding, despite it being an
international flight, as it only takes around 20 minutes to walk the entire airport and there were
no queues. Three hours were nothing compared to the five-hour drive from Christchurch to
Dunedin, especially since I slept through the whole flight. We ended up making it through
customs in Melbourne around midnight, and nearly got detained because the machine couldn’t
take my grandparents’ Chinese passports and border control was suspicious until closer
inspection. Everyone was exhausted and grateful to be in their own bed and we all woke up at
noon the next day.

I loved the scenery and wild nature of New Zealand, but nevertheless, I still missed my usual
lifestyle quite a lot.