New Zealand Discoverer
Day Nine – 5 March 2012 – Day of the Nomad
Weather: Sun, high cloud 19
I can’t believe I slept till 8 am. I thought I’d be up at 6:30 and go off for a walk or something, but nope. I actually feel really refreshed now. I rolled out my luggage and went down to breakfast for 9. It was the usual New Zealand breakfast. The only question that enters my mind is whether or not they’ll have the creamed scrambled eggs or the dry ones. And what the sausages will be like – vienna sausage style or typical sausage.
This morning it was creamed scrambled eggs and typical sausage – bite sized ones.
I picked up a fridge magnet for Mt. Cook and we left at 9:30. As we left the tiny town of Twizel, Nellie asked who would like to go on the fixed wing Mt. Cook flight then she stood up and called out my name. LOL. It needed four people minimum. Six others put up their hands.
Woooohoooo!!
We have high broken cloud and more than enough sun to light up the peaks. The cost is $325 which works out to about $270 Canadian. Nellie puts on the song for the flyers – Come Fly With Me.
A half hour later we pull up to the Air Safari….yeah, I’m going on a safari!!….and Nellie drops us flyers off.
Woooohoooo!!
We’re flying in a twin prop Nomad plane where everyone gets a window seat, but the trick is to get one at the back so that you don’t have the wing struts in the way. I learned that at Nazca where a rude British couple pushed their way to the head of the line and got the seats with the struts (and as I got off with them behind me I said to a tourmate…“wasn’t it great to have the back seats and no struts in the way…LOL). Even better on this one, the pilot said we could switch up our seats once we were in the air.
We paid for the trip and the pilot loaded us on with most of the weight to front and took off.
Wooooohoooo!!
It doesn’t take long to get among the peaks and the plane flies at 10,000 feet so the peaks are at our level. We go up a river valley in between the peaks then over more snow covered peaks to Franz Josef glacier where we see the same helicopter that had taken us up to the glacier.
We get a SPECTACULAR view of the glacier then go over the peaks to the smaller Fox glacier. Much better views of them from 10,000 feet than from the helicopter, but the plane didn’t give us that waterfalls moment.
Then we pass through more peaks with cameras just going click click click as we approach Mount Cook and do a circuit.
I had two cameras going. One filming and the other one snapping pics. At times I had one camera pointed left and one point right getting the shots from both sides (the plane was just half full).
After the incredible views of Mt. Cook the plane went over some of the lakes that feed the power stations. The colour of those lakes are incredible – even from this height.
We landed after 45 minutes. No doubt that it was worth every single last penny.
When we got off, the pilot gave us a certificate and signed each one.
All I can say is WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!
We board the bus with smug smiles on our faces. I can understand why some didn’t go. This is a trip that took a few by surprise with the expense, so my recommendation is that if you do this trip is to budget at least $1000 more per person if you want the whole experience.
As Nellie would say…seize the day! Or rather, seize the wallet!
While we were flying, the rest of the bus went to Lake Tekapo to visit the little stone church on the edge of the lake. Nellie stopped to give us a couple minutes to get a picture. The mountains on the lake were awesome.
We set off for a Be-My-Guest lunch at a working farm that raises sheep and cattle. Luckily, it’s not a farm that will have me answering yes on my customs form when it asks if I’ve been to a farm. It was essentially a meal in their backyard like any backyard. The sheep and cattle were in the fields beyond that.
Gorgeous property!
Lunch was fresh lamb, beef patties and delicious beef sausages. The veggies were all fresh including the recently harvested potatoes.
Dessert was pavlova that was amazing. Even the tea tasted really good – must be the water.
As we all finished, a dog appeared and he jumps the fence and all the sheep gather into a bunch including the rams.
I took a video of the dog pacing back and forth.
One ram doesn’t have horns but is obviously a ram.
The farmer said they’re breeding them away from having horns. He talked about the sheep and how meat is becoming far more profitable than the wool as the world’s food supply is becoming tigher. East Asia is his market.
He also has some llamas but isn’t sure why. He asked if we wanted one.
Then the bus started up. That’s our cue.
We hop aboard and the host comes on to thank us and wish us a well. She gets a round of applause.
As we pull away, Nellie puts on a movie. I think it’s The Fastest Indian or something like that. We get a half hour into it and stop to pull into a town called Geraldine. Since Terrance Downs is kinda isolated people wanted to visit the ATM and pharmacy and get something for dinner since it’s not included tonight. I checked to see if I could ride a horse after we arrive but the last horse ride leaves before we arrive.
I pick up a sub and drink and check out the shop before getting back on board for the last hour and half to Terrance Downs. With so many people leaving, I get that last day feeling even though I have more than a week to go.
We watched the rest of the movie with the credits starting to roll just as we rolled into Terrance Downs. I have to say Nellie has the timing down for all the songs and that. We’re met at the villas by the staff and porters. I’m in the same room with different roommates. This time a mother and daughter. We get along great and they have Third Rock from the Sun DVDs with them. And a DVD player.
I go down to the reception area to buy some internet after one of the staff told me it was back up from last week. I get all the way down to the reception area only to find out that only the complimentary internet in the reception lobby is up. The rest is down. I grumble and start back to my villa for my computer then I remember I had my smart phone with me.
There’s a reason they call it a smart phone!
I check my email and that and go back to the villa to watch an episode of Third Rock and chow down on my sub. Nellie had said there was a farewell drink at 6:30 for the part of the group that was only doing the south island but there was nothing official set up, but it gave everyone a chance to meet up at the same time. We stayed till 8 and went back to our villa to keep doing laundry (oh, it’s so nice to have a washer and dryer right in our villa…oh wait…it’s a condo. Silly me!)
We watched another episode of Third Rock and I got my laundry done then settled down for the night.
Go to Day Ten
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