Singapore and New Zealand

A 21-day adventure by Pauline and Andrew Read more

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Trip start
January 16, 2019
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Sunday, January 13, 2019 at 6:00 PM
⛅ 8 °C
Altitude: 47 m
England Holmes Chapel 53.209068, -2.37386853°12’33” N 2°22’26” W
Trip overview
January 13, 2019 in England ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C
Here’s the flying route. 12 hours to Singapore, then another 10 or so to Christchurch.

Staying in Singapore for 3 nights, then going on a road trip around the South Island to fill in the gaps that were left when we were on our cruise in January 2017

Our aircraft is already on its way to Houston and we’ll catch it on its way back to Singapore.Read more
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Monday, January 14, 2019 at 9:00 AM
⛅ 6 °C
Altitude: 82 m
England Manchester Airport 53.36396, -2.27976453°21’50” N 2°16’47” W
At Manchester Airport and en route
January 14, 2019 in England ⋅ ⛅ 6 °C
Here’s the aircraft. Just arrived from Houston.

Half way to Singapore (6 hours in), we crossed Afghanistan.
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Tuesday, January 15, 2019 at 4:00 PM
⛅ 32 °C
Altitude: 18 m
Singapore Tanjong Pagar Terminal 1.270409, 103.8581651°16’13” N 103°51’29” E
Singapore, day 1
January 15, 2019 in Singapore ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C
Safely arrived, and able to check into our room early.

On the 19th floor, we overlook Raffles Boulevard and one of the “straights” on the F1 circuit.

Walked in the hot, steamy weather, to the Marina Bay Sands hotel, had a drink from the observation deck, then walked back via the Merlion

By the pool, then as expected, the rain came at 6 pmRead more
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Day 1
Wednesday, January 16, 2019
⛅ 31 °C
Altitude: 8 m
Singapore Symphony Lake 1.320101, 103.8155521°19’12” N 103°48’56” E
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Singapore touring
January 16, 2019 in Singapore ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C
Open top bus tour, to Botanic Gardens, then around the various “towns”.

Catching the first leg, made a mistake and crossed Raffles Boulevard (well, ran across!). Didn’t think of the overpass (part of the Marina Square Mall).

Afternoon Tea in the Mall, then by the pool and over to see the Flyer, parts of the F1 track. Had dinner with the locals.Read more
Traveler In the Botanical Gardens - Orchid section
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Traveler Rain Forest - the original, preserved after Singapore was established
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Traveler Afternoon tea
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Day 2
Thursday, January 17, 2019
🌧 30 °C
Altitude: 19 m
Singapore East Lagoon 1.267769, 103.8463591°16’4” N 103°50’47” E
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Singapore - a thundery day
January 17, 2019 in Singapore ⋅ 🌧 30 °C
Not much time by the pool until the thunder started.

Went for a walk to the Gardens by the Bay - in the Cloud House (we saw two waterfalls - one artificial on the inside and one real: another thunderstorm on the outside)Read more
Traveler In the Flower House at Gardens on the Bay
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Traveler F1 geeky stuff - the actual kerb where the track come out from under the grandstand
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Traveler Cloud House - mists at 4pm
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Day 3
Friday, January 18, 2019
⛅ 26 °C
Altitude: 16 m
Singapore Queen Elizabeth Walk 1.294702, 103.8546421°17’41” N 103°51’17” E
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Singapore Sling
January 18, 2019 in Singapore ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C
Raffles Hotel is closed, but the Long Bar is still open. One Singapore Sling is enough!

Taxi to Changi for the flight to NZ. Fabulous, efficient airport, but weird policy about water on board. There are vending machines and refill points right next to the security and the gate, but you have to empty your bottle!Read more
Traveler Butterflies at Changi
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Day 4
Saturday, January 19, 2019
⛅ 20 °C
Altitude: 10 m
New Zealand South Hagley Park -43.525701, 172.61087743°31’33” S 172°36’39” E
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Christchurch - being rebuilt
January 19, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
Arrived at 1015 (a very bumpy crossing over South Australia and the Tasman Sea) after a 9 hour flight.

Straight to the gondola, while the weather was good, then walked across Hagley Park to see how the rebuilding is going on after the 2010 and 11 earthquakes. Some things a lot better (Restart Mall has gone) and some not.

We trod familiar ground - we came here for a half day trip in January 2017Read more
Traveler At the top of the gondola, overlooking Lyttleton Harbour and Banks Peninsula
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Traveler Botanical Gardens
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Day 5
Sunday, January 20, 2019
☀️ 23 °C
Altitude: 20 m
New Zealand Sumner Bay -43.564696, 172.75439743°33’53” S 172°45’16” E
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At the beach - Sumner
January 20, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C
Lovely beach suburb of Christchurch: so popular (on a Sunday) that we had to queue for a place for coffees.
Only just picked up FindPenguins Been following on What’s App x
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Traveler Same all over the world
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Traveler Our hotel
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Day 6
Monday, January 21, 2019 at 11:00 AM
☁️ 21 °C
Altitude: 27 m
New Zealand Christchurch International Airport -43.488599, 172.54712943°29’19” S 172°32’50” E
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Experiencing the Antarctic
January 21, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C
At the International Antarctic Centre, experience storms (luckily they provided jackets to cover our tee shirts and shorts!), 4D film (we got sprayed a few times), penguins, exhibits and huskies
Traveler Ready for the storm - Minus 8 plus 40 km/h winds - cold!!
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Day 6
Monday, January 21, 2019 at 1:30 PM
⛅ 22 °C
Altitude: 57 m
New Zealand Islington -43.536859, 172.49000843°32’13” S 172°29’24” E
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Golf in New Zealand
January 21, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C
We said we’d play and we found this course at Templeton with a good deal and a nice welcome.

Quite close to the flight path to the airport, so good for looking up!
TravelerSome wonderful experiences up to now. How was the golf??
1/21/19Reply
Hi surprising not bad, considering we were using hired clubs! Fabulous to play in warm dry conditions- not busy either! Hope you had a great time in Spain. Did you catch up with Marie & John? Xx
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Traveler Templeton Golf Club
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Day 7
Tuesday, January 22, 2019 at 5:00 PM
🌬 19 °C
Altitude: 741 m
New Zealand Lake Tekapo -44.004284, 170.47397744°0’15” S 170°28’26” E
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Christchurch to Lake Tekapo
January 22, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌬 19 °C
Goodbye Christchurch. Nice city, hope you continue to rebuild.

We took the Inland Scenic Route, eventually to Geraldine, then Lake Tekapo. Temperatures up to 30C on the way (unseasonally warm), with a strong wind. Now we know the reason for leylandii - they make fabulous wind breaks - we saw miles and miles of them, protecting the fields from the winds.

At Tekapo, we went to the top of Mt John where there’s a “night sky” observatory; the clouds have built so there’s no chance of that tonight, but the daytime views were fabulous - just had to keep steady because of the howling winds!Read more
Traveler This was at Raikai Gorge. The photo co-ordinates said "wind whistle" - they weren't joking!
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Traveler Descending to Raikai gorge on the Raikai river. Another "wow" reason to stop and snap
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Traveler Lake Tekapo from Mt Ford - Panorama
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Day 7
Tuesday, January 22, 2019 at 6:30 PM
🌬 16 °C
Altitude: 1,027 m
New Zealand Mount John -43.985789, 170.46527243°59’9” S 170°27’55” E
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Mount Ford observatory
January 22, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌬 16 °C
Hard to stand still in the winds for these photos
Traveler Lake Takepo - blue from glacial debris
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Traveler From Mt Ford observatory
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Stunning!
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Day 8
Wednesday, January 23, 2019 at 2:16 PM
🌧 21 °C
Altitude: 13 m
New Zealand Moeraki Beach -45.348267, 170.82644745°20’54” S 170°49’35” E
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A day of weather and scenery contrasts
January 23, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 21 °C
From Lake Tekapo, we took the slightly longer route to Dunedin, hoping to get a clearer view of Mount Cook ... but the change in the weather got in the way of that.

As we reached the coast at Omarau, the temperature had dropped from 28 to 18, and by the time we got to the Moeraki Boulders, it was raining. Then the rain got harder and the temperature dropped to 7, by the time we got to Dunedin.

We looked up Baldwin Street (has the Guinness World Record for the steepest street), before heading up steep and winding narrow roads to our stay at Larnach Castle.

Then, the sun came out...Read more
Traveler Maori cave paintings
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Day 9
Thursday, January 24, 2019 at 5:37 PM
⛅ 14 °C
Altitude: 14 m
New Zealand Te Rauone Beach -45.784573, 170.72476245°47’4” S 170°43’29” E
Celebrity Solstice, Golf, Solstice again
January 24, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C
Ring...ring... WhatsApp video call from Matthew, Tate and the girls brought us to wakefulness, and just in time to see our favourite cruise ship, the Celebrity Solstice sail into Port Chalmers, opposite us.

Golf at St Clair, on the cliff-tops, we were almost blown away.

In to Dunedin centre from shop window shopping and the iconic railway station, before Pauline decided she didn’t want to go down the coast road again (it IS a bit scary from the passenger seat), so we went back up the windy roads to the hotel.

Andrew went off to the Albatross centre, and saw plenty of seagulls, before camping out to see Celebrity Solstice sail out - and give two blasts on its horn.Read more
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Day 10
Friday, January 25, 2019 at 10:58 AM
⛅ 12 °C
Altitude: 279 m
New Zealand Peggys Hill -45.875787, 170.62298745°52’33” S 170°37’23” E
Larnach Castle and Dunedin's twisty hill
January 25, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C
We got to look around the Castle before we left, and saw the dining room who would have eaten in if we’d stayed .... and if we’d had better information. We did give our feedback!

Dunedin is an incredibly hilly place - we almost got used to twists and turns. On the street signs, when there was a yellow triangle, it meant “caution”: they weren’t joking in many cases!Read more
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Day 10
Friday, January 25, 2019 at 5:29 PM
⛅ 17 °C
Altitude: 311 m
New Zealand Queenstown -45.033036, 168.65928745°1’59” S 168°39’33” E
Queenstown via he Clutha Valley
January 25, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C
Almost running out of superlatives with the scenery - miles and miles of breathtaking views.

Then, “the adventure capital of the world”, Queenstown. Our hotel is an easy (though downhill walk) to the centre. A couple of beers on Perky’s Floating Bar Bar were nice after the long drive.Read more
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Day 11
Saturday, January 26, 2019 at 10:51 AM
🌧 12 °C
Altitude: 368 m
New Zealand Stone Creek -44.871983, 168.40089444°52’19” S 168°24’3” E
Glenorchy and Lord of the Rings country
January 26, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 12 °C
Drove up the side of the lake at its head at Glenorchy and then on to the gravel surface to explore more: we turned around after a mile or so (this is what the whole route was like until the 1990s).

Back to Queenstown then up to 2500 ft on the gondola.

Another couple of “happy hour” beers in a bar that ended up with a few more, as we got chatting to a delightful Australian couple who were here to revisit the place where they’d met 53 years ago.Read more
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Day 12
Sunday, January 27, 2019 at 11:18 AM
☀️ 21 °C
Altitude: 407 m
New Zealand Bush Creek -44.938503, 168.83238344°56’19” S 168°49’57” E
Milford Sound no-flight and Arrowtown
January 27, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C
We were due to fly to Milford Sound today, but, although the weather here was fine, just 45 miles away, the cloud was low enough to prevent an entry. We had already postponed from yesterday, so we called it a day. We’ll probably drive there when we are in Te Anau in a few days.

This gave us the opportunity to visit Arrowtown, kept as much as possible like the mining town it started as...

... and we bumped into Margot and Norm again! They’d been to look for the place we’re they’d met, but it’s been demolished.Read more
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Day 13
Monday, January 28, 2019 at 1:15 PM
⛅ 19 °C
Altitude: 209 m
New Zealand Te Anau -45.41125, 167.72891245°24’41” S 167°43’44” E
Golf at Te Anau
January 28, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C
Today, we drove from Queenstown to Te Anau, first stop was at the golf club, for 18 holes. A sad place - only 3 players today (and we were two of them), yet such a nice course and club.

Checked out our “antipode”, being as this is the furthest south we get (sort of - there was Mossburn, on the way, where we stopped for coffee.Read more
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Day 14
Tuesday, January 29, 2019 at 8:52 PM
⛅ 17 °C
Altitude: 263 m
New Zealand Milford Sound -44.654072, 167.90278644°39’15” S 167°54’10” E
Milford Sound, at last!
January 29, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C
On the 2 hour trek the Sound, we passed a point that was literally 13 miles from Glenorchy (where we were the other day).

Climbing and climbing, wondering when we’d pass on to the west coast, and at 3000’, there was the entrance to the Homer Tunnel - only one lane and less than a mile long, it leads directly to the head of the valley down to the Sound.

Keas (an aggressive / cheeky type of parrot) climes all over the cars looking for food, as we waited our turn for the tunnel.

Milford Sound is as spectacular as we imagined. We even got to the Tasman Sea (and its dwells), before heading back in and getting a “glacial facial”Read more
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Day 15
Wednesday, January 30, 2019 at 4:23 PM
⛅ 28 °C
Altitude: 272 m
New Zealand Roys Bay -44.696049, 169.13198944°41’46” S 169°7’55” E
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Perhaps the longest drive so far
January 30, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
All the way from Te Anau to Wanaka, we avoided the Cardrona shortcut (the roads looked a bit scary), but we did get to see bungy jumping
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Day 16
Thursday, January 31, 2019 at 1:14 PM
⛅ 27 °C
Altitude: 325 m
New Zealand Wanaka -44.70272, 169.13957244°42’10” S 169°8’22” E
Golf and Toy / Transport museum
January 31, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C
Wanaka Golf Club has 1,100 members, so we were glad we got a chance to play, with fabulous views over the Lake.

After playing, we visited the National Transport and Toy Museum at the airport. Fantastic! Even had a Ford Anglia, early model Escorts and Cortinas, plus many of the toys we remember from childhood.

Over 31C today, we finished off with an outside jacuzzi.Read more
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Day 17
Friday, February 1, 2019 at 1:15 PM
🌧 13 °C
Altitude: 21 m
New Zealand Filleul Creek -43.70703, 169.4700343°42’25” S 169°28’12” E
To the west coast
February 1, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 13 °C
A journey of real contrasts: from pouring rain as we set out, no views because of low cloud, more Rain as we cross the divide at Hass Pass, waterfalls, then breezy sunshine along the coast.

The west coast seems to be a rain forest, but of course, it’s got the glacial valleys, so there were many ups, downs, twists and turns over the last miles to Franz Joseph.

We lost count of “one lane bridges”, but we were never held up.Read more
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Trip end
February 5, 2019