Cook Saddle Cafe & Saloon - Fox Glacier

7th & 8th Dec 2007 / Dinner

This Wild West setting cafe was the place we headed for dinner after Lake Matheson's scenic trekking, fell in love with it and went back the next evening. See how "cow-boyish" the place looks .......Yee-ha!! (we managed to dine inside the cafe on our 2nd day dining). Great taste, great value & great portion!

First evening we dined by the veranda, next to Billy The Kid garden, because there was no table available inside the cafe. It was a cool summer evening to have a perfect alfresco dining. The Billy The Kid garden was conveniently there to "entertain" the girls with its mini-sized picnic table and bench (The girls played "masak-masak" in the garden while waiting for their Hoki fish...hehehhehehehe)

Hoki Fries (Fish & Chips) How's that for just NZ$12.00? Fish in NZ definitely taste fresher, Variety species of fish were used for this dish. The girls simply fell head over heels over this NZ's speciality. No wonder they kept requesting for fish & chips throughtout our trip. No iodine deficiency during this trip for sure!


Delightful T-Bone Steak - Not sure if its the green pasture where this baby came from that made it so much tastier than those we had in Singapore. Goes so well with the mushroom gravy..see how thick it is. Perfect combination!!



Mouth watering & grilled "to perfection" lamb. WOW!! don't you love the smell of lamb?? Doesn't suit the faint-hearted-hyper-sensitive-fussy-nose folks...i.e. Old man!!!


This is how delightful the dish looked like when it arrived before Old man scrapped them clean with his teeth! Not joking - see the pic below (worth evey penny spent here - hahahahahah)



After savaging the poor ribs - Finished it up with with a glass of COLD SMOOTH Mac's Gold!!

See the SATISFYING look of Old Man!!

Lake Matheson - Fox Glacier

7th Dec 2007 / 4.58pm

Lake Matheson, a.k.a. Mirror Lake is one of the most famous lakes in NZ due to its location (overseeing & reflecting Mount Cook, sheltered from strong winds, hence less ripples) and darker colour water (great for reflection).

While the girls were waiting on higher platform, i was at the lowest, with an eerie looking eel peering out near the surface as my companion.

Well, we waited for about 2 hours for the wind to stop but it didn't, so this is best shot we can get. By 6pm +, we decided to trek out and go for dinner.

Alpine Restaurant - The Hermitage

17th & 18th Dec 2007 / Dinner

Some of the delicacies from the array of buffet spread at the Hermitage, Mt Cook. YUMMY!!!! Could go on and on about the food at Mt Cook...definitely one of our top favourite meals in New Zealand (joining the top list would be the meals we had at Fox Glaciers) Loved the LAMB RACK...tender..succulent...juicy ...need I say more.

The girls loved the spread so much that we had our meals there two days in a row. Must be the vanilla ice-cream that keep them coming!!!

Can't say much for Old man....he had the boring stuff. Old man mah!!!

(I swear that old lady loved the rack so much that she ate the entire right & left ribs of the lamb... a little frightening.)





Having such stunning scenary as backdrop makes your meal tastes a lot better!

Hooker Valley - Mount Cook

Some of the plants & flowers we saw along the trek.



Swinging Bridge

Hermitage Chalet - Mount Cook

18 Dec 2007 / 11.59am

With the low hanging clouds all day, we couldn't get onto the heli ride and Liz decided to create her own game outside our chalet.

Solitary Walk

18^th Dec 2007 / 3.38pm

This is the part old lady was talking about in earlier post. We have trekked for about 2-3 hours from the village to Hooker Valley’s first swinging bridge.

Instead of normal trek or using the road, I chose to walk the unbeaten path, cutting across the pampas plains and 2 shallow streams.

Walking alone, without the noises of people talking, sound of automobiles, frequent requests of this and that from the kids, orders from old lady, the long deeply buried solitary instinct was awaken.

There were only clouds, mountains, grass, cool fresh air, occasional sights of wild rabbits and rustles from my footsteps - only nature and me-self. That was almost the best 30min of my life.

Then I began to miss the yakety yaks again, and the urgency to get the car was beginning to press harder. The last thing I want is to have 3 voices calling out together “What took you so long?!!”

When I got the car, I gave the 4WD a test run, to see what this baby is made of. For a moment, I felt like a world rally champ, high speed and sharp turns on the unpaved road, sending up high trails of dusts. Showing off me Pajero’s diesel power to others… Then I reached Hooker Valley car park just like that, and asked myself why did I drive so fast for??? Back to reality…

Btw, Nell, Liz & Old Lady were still taking some pics by the stream… Judging from the absence of horse faces (long & black), I must say they haven’t felt that the wait was too long… Phew!

Mount Cook - Aoraki

Click on picture to enlarge panoramic image

18th Dec 2007 / 8.29pm

Ahhhh.....Mt Cook (aka Aoraki)....What can I say about the magnificent Mt Cook...the chalet we stayed has a very unique structure, cosy and clean. The buffet spread was awesome......would have gained a few kilos if not because of the trekking we did around Mt Cook.

Old man saw wild rabbits while doing a short cut to retrieve the car for the "ladies".. that’s what we called a Gentlemen. Well...he was desperate for some peace anyway from us, the girls.

Was a big treat for him on the solo trekking....him, his footsteps, the wild rabbits, the mountains... ahhhhhhh... peace.

No helicopter ride though.....clouds were too low!!!...What a BUMMER!!!

Swimming in Lake Wakatipu

Lake Wakatipu - Queenstown - New Zealand

Click on picture to enlarge panoramic image

12th Dec 2007 / 6.40pm

The water level of Lake Wakatipu rises and falls for about 12cm every 5 minutes, Maori legend has it that this is the beating heart of giant Matau (Actually, it is cause by the fluctuations of atmospheric pressures).

Facts
Lake Wakatipu is 290 square km (Singapore is 704 Sq M), 399m at its deepest point, 84km in length & 5km at its widest.

Who cares anyway, this is one of the most beautiful lakes in NZ and the water is crystal clear! You just want to jump in & have a good swim.

Check out this short clip of kiwis swimming in Lake Wakatipu, HERE.

Hokitika Beach - Hokitika - New Zealand

5th Dec 2007 /6.45pm

Arrived at Hokitika chalet after 6 hours of drive from Christchurch.

The sky was still bright and with the beautiful view of Hokitika beach in front of our chalet, Nell & Liz wasted no time - changed, grabbed the beach toys (yes we actually packed the beach toys in our luggage) and off to the soft sandy beach.

The waves from the Tasman sea were wild and rough...so no swimming only sand castle making..or rather mud pie making.

The girls and the old man had a ball of time rushing to the subsiding wave to scoop up some water for the "mud pie" – before the next advancing wave makes its way in again.

The water was so COLD!!!!!! Old man's feet felt pins and needles from the icy water.

As for old lady, as usual, sitting nearby and bossing around.