Canterbury

A vibrant heart of the South Island, with sprawling plains, majestic mountains, and charming towns.

Mon, 18 Mar 2025

Honda Fit 1
Honda Fit 2
Honda Fit 3
Honda Fit 4 Honda Fit 5

Car viewings + our first car 🚗💨

We went for 3 car viewings in total, all of which were Honda Fits because that was what we practiced with at BBDC haha. Settled on the 3rd one since it was the most well maintained of the lot, even though it was a little more expensive than the others at 4500nzd.

The seller himself was a mechanic which turned out superrr handy as we had a reliable contact when we ran into car problems 😂 Shoutout to Darshana (recommended him to the YMM chat as well and many people gave him glowing reviews)!!

Sat, 23 Mar 2025

Botanic Gardens 1 Botanic Gardens 2 Happy Parkgoer 1 Happy Parkgoer 2 Happy Feet Monster Chicken Honda Fit

Hagley Park 🌳 + Monster Chicken

Loved the park :) Chicken was decent enough but a little too salty for my liking.

Sun, 24 Mar 2025

Wallaby 1 Wallaby 2 Chicken and Chicks Fallow Deer Bunnies

Willowbank Wildlife Reserve

So many fluffy animals!! 🥹 I want to put them alllll in my pocket 🥹

Tue, 28 May 2024

6°C - 12°C
Before our flight In the air Whale spotted

Wings over Whales

Absolutely phenomenal experience! Got recommended WingsoverWhales by Alistair who knew someone here (Jo) and we were able to get a slot pretty quick!

We spent most of the flight trying to catch wind of where the whales might be and thought we'd return with just memories of the nice scenery... but on the return leg this big boy popped up and made our day 😁

Thu, 30 May 2024

6°C - 15°C
Pedal kayaks Tubby seal Us in kayak

Seal Kayaking

Signed up for seals and got dolphins too! What a sweet deal 🥹 Guide was a real chill guy.

Sat, 1 Jun 2024

6°C - 15°C
View of Kaikoura Ranges 1 Kaikoura Ranges 2 Kaikoura from above Somewhere on Mt Fyffe Ice Me with Signpost Visitor Log Book

Mt Fyffe

First mountain climb in NZ and this really got me questioning my life decisions.

Couldn't reach the peak due to ice but I think I made a pretty valiant attempt for a couch potato... Est made it up to ~1300m/1600m

Sun, 14 Jul 2024

-1°C - 8°C
Selfie at Conical Hill

My favourite place

Hello from Conical Hill :))

Sun, 22 Sep 2024

6°C - 16°C
Waiting for ski bus Ski bus ticket Selfie on the slopes Selfie on the slopes

Skiing at Mt. Hutt - Day 1

First day on the slopes! Forgot how much of a PITA ski boots are 😪

My instructor was Luis, tbh I can't sing his praises but at the same time I'm not exactly the most well-coordinated person around... Out of an entire class of noobs, I can confidently say I was the noobest, so that's an achievement in itself for the day.

Tue, 24 Sep 2024

4°C - 15°C
Enchanted Forest post Gnomes and bunnies Me Sheeps

Enchanted Forest

A very nice Tuesday morning spent with the gnomes, bunnies, toadstools, and fluffy mehmehs.

Wed, 25 Sep 2024

4°C - 15°C
Lower gorge lookout Rakaia Gorge Doggo The Fantail Trust

Rakaia Gorge

Really stunning milky blue reminiscent of the Hokitika Gorge, but with Mt Hutt looming in the background! Gorgeous, gorgeous.

Sat, 28 Sep 2024

0°C - 15°C
Methven Methven

Skiing at Mt. Hutt - Day 2

Got an amazing instructor! Improved so much and upgraded from carpet to green slope :)

Sun, 29 Sep 2024

3°C - 18°C
Methven Methven

Skiing at Mt. Hutt - Day 3

Another great instructor today. I finally managed to stop faceplanting the ground 🥹🙌

Sat, 5 Oct 2024

3°C - 18°C
Methven

Skiing at Mt. Hutt - Day 4

Graduated from ski class and flying solo today! Went down the usual Highway 72, but also tried Back Paddock and Broadway (first blue slope!) under very intense peer pressure courtesy of the bro 😒

Was seriously scared at Back Paddock (harder green) and thought I wouldn't survive Broadway, but Broadway's actually easier because of well, how broad it is.

Sat, 15 Feb 2025

12°C - 20°C
Otira Viaduct
Otira Viaduct Rock
Devil's Punchbowl Falls
Bridal Veil Falls Lookout Walk
Bridal Veil Falls

Arthur's Pass

This was the first mountain pass we drove through in NZ, and I remember how nervous I was about it. One year on, I'm still nervous af but determined to take the drive this time - and I managed to get us through it without any mishaps yay! ✌️ Always really wanted to come back to Arthur's Pass since we zoomed through it to Haast last year, and I'm so glad we made the stop.

Got a few pics of the famous Otira Viaduct, and we see why the Devil's Punchbowl Falls is so popular now. It's majestic! Made a quick stop at the Bridal Veil Falls Lookout since we are already in the area, but that one's really skippable.

Sun, 16 Feb 2025

17°C - 24°C
Approaching Castle Hill
Me sitting on a Castle Hill rock
Castle Hill rocks
Castle Hill rocks Me looking at Castle Hill rocks
Me sitting on a Castle Hill rock pt.2

Castle Hill

This served as the backdrop to Aslan's Camp in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. I rewatched the movie once again before coming here, and it still holds a very special place in my heart. There's something about fantasy movies I watched as a kid that I just don't outgrow no matter how old I get. 🥺

Sun, 23 Feb 2025

15°C - 19°C
Mount Sunday Mount Sunday Mount Sunday

Mount Sunday / Edoras ⛰️

I contemplated visting Mt Sunday when I was staying at Methven, but never did wake up early enough to make the trip before work. Big regret! It's a ~1h 10min drive one-way from Methven, but 2h+ from Christchurch. 😩 I was approaching the end of my work holiday and didn't want to leave with any regrets, so I made the drive nonetheless. It was all grey, cloudy and drizzly when I left Christchurch at 1pm. Weather was not looking good, and the traffic wasn't any better ://

I must have been blessed, because by the time I reached Mt Sunday and began the trek up at 3.30pm, the weather had cleared up and it was vast beautiful blue skies, accompanied by fat white puffy clouds in the distance. My definition of perfect weather! 🥹

The trek itself is short and easy - it only takes about 30min to reach the top and the payoff is enormous. You get unparalleled 360° views of the surrounding mountains and plains. Apparently, many tour groups visit in the day (this is a relatively accessible film location for LOTR fans), but since it was getting pretty late, there weren't many people around.

I found a quiet spot to sit with my snacks, and in that moment, life felt absolutely perfect. This remains one of my favourite moments in NZ, partly because I'm so proud of myself for making the 4h solo drive (and braving the 40min stretch of gravel road...) given how anxious I get about driving.

Here's to buying a house at Methven, getting my own Ford Ranger, and tailing someone else's ass down the gravel road to Mt Sunday every weekend! 🤞 Jk... or am I.

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