The New Zealand posts wound up taking over a month to blog after all... I blame it on my really busy schedule. It's been internship on weekdays and lunch/dinner/late night dates catching up with pals.

So for the remaining of my trip, I spent my time in the most populated areas in NZ's South Island - Queenstown and Christchurch. So that means less of the nature walks and trekking to mountains summits. While I was at Queenstown, I spent most of my time just wondering around town, trying new food and visiting some cafes with my dorm mates and visiting the Loco Bar just right beside the hostel (Base Backpackers) that I was staying at.










The highly raved FergBurger!! The burger was about the size of my face? I got it ala carte and the portion was more than enough to fill me for a day. But I really enjoyed it!!

Undoubtedly, my spendings while at Queenstown was much higher than anywhere else. But I really had a lot of fun, especially with the nightlife that Queenstown is so popular for. I got to meet some different groups of people to hang out with every day, and one of which I went club crawling with! They were a really nice group of Germans/Italians who have been in NZ with their working holiday VISA for a while now, and they basically introduced me to the nightlife there.

Everyday's really refreshing, and I never know what to expect. Meeting people from all walks of life and hearing their life stories is something I don't think I'd ever get enough of. Like in the pictures below, I met this piano busker who was so talented in his trade I had to buy a disk.
Talking about all of this makes me so excited for grad trip!! Just another five more months of internship to go...





Halfway through my stay in NZ though, I lost my debit card. I'm not sure if it's stolen or if I dropped it somewhere but I highly doubt it's the latter because how could I have?? Just the night before, I spent all the cash I had on hand (which was about $60NZ for the day) thinking that I could just withdraw more the next morning. Little did I expect my debit card to disappear so I was basically cashless... Wtf.

I was worried nuts thinking about what the hell am I supposed to do because I still had four more days in NZ and I couldn't possibly starve for three days? I contemplated begging LOL but okay lucky me had better ideas to get myself out of my sorry state.

I managed to find a Singaporean family while I walked around town (I found them based on their accent actually LOL) and I explained my plight to them. Thankfully, though skeptical at first (who wouldn't be), they were really kind souls who in the end loaned me some cash while a friend of mine back in sg transferred the balance that I borrowed.
The problem with borrowing from dorm mates/friends I just met was that they all use different banks, which was kind of hard to get around. Lady luck was really on my side, since they were the first Singaporean family I chanced upon and I honestly can't be more grateful for their help!!






With the Queenstown drama is settled, I spent my last night before departing for Christchurch at 7AM the next morning. How I actually managed to drag myself out of bed then (it would have been 3AM sg time) when no I can't even wake up at 9AM is a miracle I cannot comprehend.

They're actually an eight hours drive apart so though so I spent one of the days just on traveling. My last two days were at Christchurch, which is basically one of the cities in South Island. However, it's mostly renovations all over after the major earthquakes four and five years ago.

Similarly with Queesntown, it's a lot of wandering around town, visiting cafes and some random malls adorned with painted murals and street graffiti. I wanted to take a day trip to Akaroa, but due to money limitations, I didn't):

There goes my farm experience sigh I thought I would get to sheer sheeps or play with llamas this trip... But that's fine I'll do it on my next one!!









And that's the end of my NZ trip! I will be coming up with the last post, summarising my expenditures and information on food, accommodation, transport etc that would probably be more helpful/essential to trip planning. I apologise for my draggy six-part-long rant hahah.

I've been receiving some emails/messages from friends and strangers alike, and I'm really glad to be of help!! Having been in the situation where I was pretty clueless about my budget and what it's like to backpack solo especially as a female, it's heartwarming to know that I'm able to help others with the trip planning, even if just a little.

Anyways, I'll be happy to answer any questions if you've them! Just drop me an email (mirabelle.koh@gmail.com) or message on fb and I'll get back to you soonest. Just like how some other travel bloggers have offered their tips and advice to me, it feels like I'm giving back to the community as well :)

Goodluck to those planning on their solo trips or New Zealand itinerary!!

Check out my other posts on New Zealand:

▶ Backpacking New Zealand (Part 1) - Why I backpacked solo
▶ Backpacking New Zealand (Part 2) - Tekapo
▶ Backpacking New Zealand (Part 3) - Mountain Cook
▶ Backpacking New Zealand (Part 4) - Cromwell & Makaroa
▶ Backpacking New Zealand (Part 5) - Wanaka
▶ Backpacking New Zealand (part 6) - Queenstown & Christchurch

I guess I miserably failed my goal of attempting to have all of the New Zealand posts up by September. My bad. Internship has just been rather draining.

Anyway, here's part five! After a night at Cromwell, I departed for Wanaka - one of the more populated places as compared to all the other towns I've been to.
When I first read up on how quiet and serene New Zealand was, I was kind of expecting vibes like Punggol in Singapore. You know, just not as developed as compared to other areas with more nature and scenery (or at least it used to be) but nope it is far more secluded than that. But all the sites raved Wanaka to be one of the more "happening" places so I was thinking that maybe it'll be like Tampiness or Ang Mo Kio (yes I know that my comparisons gtg) but nope it's like Sembawang?? LOL.

While I really love how slow paced things were in New Zealand, I still prefer living in a more lively town (like Wanaka) especially after spending the past couple of days in quiet regions.
I guess that's what being brought up in a city does to you haha, but I still found the break from the hectic, fast-paced Singapore to be quite rejuvenating!!


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Anyway, to get to Wanaka, I got a hitch hike from a local on his truck from Makaroa. He was actually the first kiwi I got to talk to during my past four days there?
I expected myself to interact with more locals but the South Island is mostly made up of with foreigners who are either here for a vacation or their one-year long working holiday. Even most of the staff at supermarkets, inns and cafes were all foreigners who applied for the working holiday VISA. I digress.

The kiwi was pretty cool. He's actually a hunter with a super huge dog in the backseat (didn't see the dog there until it barked at me when I got into the passenger seat) and throughout the ride we were talking about his job, NZ and backpacking solo.
My only regret is not taking a photo with him cause I didn't want phone photos...

Upon reaching Wanaka, I reconciled with the two friends I made at Mt Cook! Right after we went for the Glendhu Bay track leading to the Waterfall Creek, only we didn't finish the entire track cause it started to rain and got really cold.





That wanaka tree




I spent the next two days doing other tracks in Wanaka (Beacon Point track and the Mt Iron trek), and exploring the neighbourhood which had quite some unique stores and a winter fair.








The summit of Mt Iron



I also spent the nights at one of the bars in town and one of the mornings at a cafe with new friends I made in the dorm. I suppose I splurged a little bit more during my stay in Wanaka. But the food was really good (though expensive) so it was money well spent?
I could have saved more but I went to a couple of bars and tried some of the cades when I went to Queenstown since they are well known for them. I thought I shouldn't miss these small thrills since I was already there. But, I think I should have controlled myself a bit more LOL.

Anyway, I edited this photoset a little differently than how normally would. What do you think? :)
Hope you guys are enjoying my NZ posts so far!! Till next time.

Check out my other posts on New Zealand:

▶ Backpacking New Zealand (Part 1) - Why I backpacked solo
▶ Backpacking New Zealand (Part 2) - Tekapo
▶ Backpacking New Zealand (Part 3) - Mountain Cook
▶ Backpacking New Zealand (Part 4) - Cromwell & Makaroa
▶ Backpacking New Zealand (Part 5) - Wanaka
▶ Backpacking New Zealand (part 6) - Queenstown & Christchurch

For my next destination, I alighted at Cromwell (one of the stops listed on Intercity) at about 5pm, after a three hour bus ride from Mt Cook. Cromwell is a small town known for their fruits produce, especially when spring comes around, but I went during winter-early spring so I couldn't try fruit-picking or visit their fruit farms because the flowers have not bloomed yet.

Anyway, as a Singaporean, you'd think that 5pm is pretty early to retire for the day. So when I arrived, I was surprised that the restaurants and shops were already closed, with the exception of the supermarket that closes at 7pm.
The sun was already setting by then so I was kinda hunting for a place to crash for the night, but like every other place in New Zealand, the populated part of Cromwell is actually really small. The fruit farms probably makes up 80% of Cromwell.





It was getting kind of dark and cold, and I thought I would end up on the streets that night LOL. But omg I finally found Cromwell Backpackers just right before the dusk fell.
I was getting kind of worried when no one answered the door bell no matter how many times I rang it, but I managed to get around to one of the windows and two Japanese girls who happened to be staying in let me in. Apparently, the owner wasn't in but after following various instructions (given to me in Japanese by the girls; who would have thought that learning Japanese a few months back could be useful in NZ), I got myself a bed to rest for the night.

The two Japanese girls (Mika and Misa) were my dorm mates! I practically spent the whole night chatting with them about a lot of things. Misa has already been in NZ for 11 months for her working holiday, and it's pretty cool listening to how she too, travelled by herself and took up different jobs such as farm work. Given a chance I would wanna try working in a farm too...

I didn't take any photos during my stay in Cromwell since it's a pretty short stay (14hours including bedtime), but it was one of the more fulfilling days since I really had nice conversations with both Japanese travelers!! Hopefully I'll meet them again the next time I travel :)


After the night at Cromwell, I left pretty early to catch the Intercity bus to Makaroa. Once again, Makaroa is a stop I decided to randomly alight at... I read that there were a lot of beautiful tracks there and decided to go for it without researching on anything more. But since it was located in the mountains again, I prepared myself this time by stocking up on groceries at Cromwell that morning.

That was my biggest mistake. Makaroa has zero phone coverage, and the hostel I lived in didn't provide any wifi either. Okay, I could possibly survive without Internet or whatsapp for a day but there was actually no one else staying in the dorm with me? Imagine the isolation I felt whilst being stranded on the mountaintop with no company, phone services or internet coverage where civilisation was far off from. Clearly, a 19 year-old city girl like me (who is not yet well travelled) felt overwhelmed by the whole situation LOL.

I survived it though, even though fear got the better of me when night came around. There were no lights outside my dorm, and the pin-drop silence was torturous. I managed to force myself to sleep by plugging in my earphones and blasting iTunes.




Well, the dorm is really pretty and clean, if that counts for anything. 







I did do two short tracks while up in Makaroa, but my camera was drained then so I didn't actually bring it along with me for the tracks.

When morning came around the next day, I was so glad to be on my way back to civilisation. I chilled at a cafe and had some Hocky Pocky ice cream (they are so good) and a cuppa before departing for my next destination.

So I have been jumping around places, staying only one night before leaving for the next. Wanaka was my next destination, and I really loved Wanaka because it's not too quiet and their lakes/tracks are so beautiful!!

Check out my other posts on New Zealand:

▶ Backpacking New Zealand (Part 1) - Why I backpacked solo
▶ Backpacking New Zealand (Part 2) - Tekapo
▶ Backpacking New Zealand (Part 3) - Mountain Cook
▶ Backpacking New Zealand (Part 4) - Cromwell & Makaroa
▶ Backpacking New Zealand (Part 5) - Wanaka
▶ Backpacking New Zealand (part 6) - Queenstown & Christchurch

I'm not sure if this is what you call a writer's block, but I've been staring into this empty white space for a while now, writing and then deleting and then writing again, because I can't quite decide on how I should start my third post on New Zealand. This has never really happened before...

But whatever let's skip it. Here's part three of my backpacking trip, where I spent my second day in New Zealand at Mountain Cook!

Mountain Cook was my second destination after a night a Tekapo, and it's about a few hours on the Intercity bus to get there. As the name suggests, it's located up in the mountains and fun fact: they only have a permanent population of 250!! That's really little, considering how big Mt Cook is.

But after staying there for a night, I guess I can kind of understand why... There were hardly any stores up in the mountains, not even a supermarket. I didn't read up on that earlier cause I assumed that their village might have some sort of market or grocery store but no they don't?? I guess the people living there have to drive to town to get their groceries.





Because I didn't do any research prior to my arrival at Mt Cook, I was left with one serving of pasta before I departed Tekapo... So that meant starving for dinner since I only had one meal to last me the entire duration of my trip there.
Thankfully though, I had really nice dorm mates who offered to share with me their food!

Upon reaching Mt Cook, the overcast weather and light showers were hardly welcoming. I had to wait around the hostel for quite some time before the rain lets up. But during that time, I made my first friends in NZ (two female Malaysians by the names of Elly and Belle)!! They happened to be in the same Intercity bus and dorm room as me and we got along almost instantly (maybe because geographically we live so near? LOL).
We then decided to trek together later on when the weather got better. They were a really friendly and approachable pair throughout the time I spent with them. They always offered me food and shared with me their travel stories etc.


There are quite a number of treks on Mt Cook. I'm not experienced so I didn't go for any tramping that was on rough terrains. I would love to do so the next time though heh.
We went for the Hooker Valley Track, which takes about three hours return if you were to walk all the way to the end point at the Hooker lake. It took us four hours though, since we had to walk some distance from our YHA hostel to the start point of the track.

That trek was probably the most exhausting of all the treks I've done while I was in New Zealand because of the bad weather. The wind was so strong and merciless it even broke umbrellas lol.
I remember wanting to give up halfway cause it was starting to get too cold and it was so wet and I only had my hood as shelter but we braved through the storm till the very end!! I am so thankful to have my dorm mates to do the trek together cause we really did push each other to reach the end.







The end point featuring the Hooker lake.

Sadly though, the pictures don't do the Hooker Valley Track much justice ): The rain was so bad I didn't want my 6D baby to get drenched so I didn't take it out much. Plus, it was really cloudy so the colours on camera turned out kind of dull??
Still, it's one of the tracks with stunning views it's worth the while.

We also got a hitch hike from a Taiwanese couple back to our hostel when we went back to the start point. That's our very first hitch hike and omg thank god for them kind souls cause our legs have exhausted themselves for all their worth fighting against the terrible winds.

The night ended pretty early cause it gets really dark up in the mountains. We went out in hope to stargaze but there wasn't any ):

The next morning though, the weather was perfect!! The skies were so blue, and the temperature was at about thirteen degrees which kinda makes it the optimum weather to trek in, but we were bound for departure in the afternoon -__-


Some kiwis (it's only 4 for 90cents in NZ!!!) from the dorm mates for breakfast just because LOL.








Anyway I really loved the photoset taken in Mt Cook and I hope you do too!!

Later in the afternoon, I went on separate ways from the Malaysian friends I spent about an entire day with. Our next destination was different, but we did exchange our contacts in hopes that we could cross paths again if we were to go to the same town in the next couple of days.

While I was back in Singapore, I did come up with an itinerary on the places I wanted to visit, and the days I was going to do so but I hardly followed it at all.
Many of the highly raved spots in New Zealand require you to join tours. I had money constraints, so I decided to give them a pass. But I believe I'll return to New Zealand again so the tours and thrill activities can be for next time when I have more money haha.

I picked a random stop from the list of stops the Intercity buses would drop passengers at to spend the night! I guess I shouldn't have done that especially since NZ could get way too quiet at some places... I sincerely regretted that night when the mountaintop was deafeningly silent HAHA. Still, it made for such a good story so maybe I don't regret it after all.

As to what kind of life-threatening moments I faced from my rash decision (this is probably an exaggeration)... I'll talk about it on my next post which will cover Day 3 (Cromwell) and 4 (Makaroa)!

Check out my other posts on New Zealand:

▶ Backpacking New Zealand (Part 1) - Why I backpacked solo
▶ Backpacking New Zealand (Part 2) - Tekapo
▶ Backpacking New Zealand (Part 3) - Mountain Cook
▶ Backpacking New Zealand (Part 4) - Cromwell & Makaroa
▶ Backpacking New Zealand (Part 5) - Wanaka
▶ Backpacking New Zealand (part 6) - Queenstown & Christchurch