Paapu in Kiwiland – II

Hi there,

Sorry, sorry..am late late. Amma is to be blamed, okay? I always try to open the laptop and she quickly distracts me away from it.

You guys liked my post last time, didn’t you? I knew it Now, Let me tell you what all we did in the ‘South Island’ of this Newzee…umm..New Zealand. Ready?

Once we got out of the plane here, Appa promptly went and rented a car for us. They buckled me up in that stupid car seat again and off we went. Now, I have to be honest here. The ‘North Island’ was great, but the ‘South Island’ was so much more beautiful! It was like walking into those postcard pictures. Nature at its best. Gorgeous and Pristine ( Ok, I borrowed these words that Amma kept saying all the time).

We got down so many times at so many spots for pictures I was tired of posing, so I just bolted out into the road whenever they took me out

The first day in South Island, Appa took us to this place which had a BIG BIG boat. Amma told me it is called a ‘ship’ and that we were going on the ‘Milford Sound Cruise’. I liked it with any name anyway and got in cheerily.

The cruise ship had so many uncles and aunties. But, unfortunately no little ones my size. I was the only one Anyway, I sat up on Appa’s shoulder and got to the top most deck. The ship starting moving and then the view got so awesome! I have never seen anything like that anywhere before. Everyone seemed to feel the same too. So many waterfalls, cascading down the cliff faces – I watched around with my mouth open.

Everyone clicked their cameras like crazy.Appa was the craziest though. When the ship moved close to one of the waterfalls, he went and stood right under the roaring mist. He came back to the deck all drenched and shivering and Amma made fun of his dripping state.But, but..I was hungry and grumpy by then. So, no laugh, only cry.

Soon, hot soup and warm biscuits arrived and all was well.

I know my Appa-Amma are ..umm..loony sometimes. They do scary things and scream their lungs out , but still do it anyway. I don’t understand them some days. The next few days were such.

First, I was with Appa and Amma got into this red color boat ( they called it ‘Shotover Jet’) with a bunch of others. The driver took off at great speeds, and I heard the people shouting so loud! The boat swirled and took 360 degree turns many times, jumped with sudden jerks and all that looked very scary to me.

However, Amma came back smiling and thrilled. Then, when I thought it was done, Appa handed me over to Amma and got into the same boat to do the same too! Why? Beats me.

After that, the next day, we went to this place where they did this thing called ‘Bungy Jumping’. Appa held me while Amma went in to do it first. She stood on top of the bridge ( 140 feet above a flowing river).

That spec of blue up on the bride is Amma

Those professional people tied a rope to her legs and brought her close to the edge. I was watching it all from a distance. It looked way too dangerous for Amma to be standing at the edge on the bridge like that. Amma looked scared too, she never waved or smiled well either. And then, she jumped!!!!

Thank God for that rope, she did not fall into the river. Instead, she kept swinging by the rope hung upside down.

I wanted to cry, but Appa was happily cheering for her. So, decided to wait and see what happens next. A raft came on the river and pulled her into it, untied the legs too. She was safe and free now. Phew! How I was worried.  I went running to her the moment she came back. Crazy Amma! But, I must say..she is brave and I am kind of proud of her

And then, Appa went up the bridge to do the same. Sigh.

The next day we drove down on a long road for hours and reached a place surrounded by mountains – snow mountains! The special place ( called “Mt.Cook”) had some really special weather to offer.The winds blew at such speeds, I could hardly walk! I was almost blown over when Appa grabbed me tight and wrapped me up in a sling. Then, they started walking on a hike trail. The wind almost pushed them against the faces, but they still kept walking. I held on snugly, didn’t complain. However, Amma looked annoyed and grumbled how stubborn Appa was on deciding to take the hike in that weather. Anyway, the views were fantastic and worth the effort I guess

The next morning the wind gods had quietened down. The place looked so much more appealing.  After a scrumptious breakfast at an amazing place facing the snow mountains, we got into the car for our last and final destination – ‘Christ Church’.

Views Enroute..

Hours before we reached the place, I overheard Amma-Appa talking about how guilty they feel about not having taken anywhere specific to entertain me. Hehehe. They had no idea how much fun I was having anyway. But, the talk about something exclusively for me sounded great! So, I kept my spirits high and waited.

As I walked into that gate, I saw pictures of so many birds and animals and instantly knew – It was a Zoo! Yay!

The big white swan followed me, the little Kangaroo ( or was it wallaby) came close and nudged me, The Kiwi pecked with its long beak and stared right at me, monkeys jumped and giggled at me. Oh, what fun..! But, you know what was my favorite part? Being chased by a group of tiny ducklings! They sneaked under the fence, slid behind the bars and somehow made their way to where I was walking..really! I was amused at first, but quite scared later. That is when I clung on to Appa and never let go

I came out clapping and cheering from there – still cannot get out the ‘duckieee’ and the ‘Kiwiii’ from my head.

The last day, we went to this place called the “ International Antarctic Centre”. New Zealand being the closest to the South pole ( I am just saying what I heard, don’t ask me more), has a fantastic place to showcase it to visitors. We saw penguins feeding on fish…

…watched a 4D movie on them, experienced a fake snow storm and generally had a nice time. I didn’t quite like it though. Especially because Amma brought me back to square one, whenever I tried to escape and run in those huge corridors

The big adventure was all done, though I wanted some more. But, by the time we got into the big plane that evening, I was tired and sleeping sound.

Which reminds me..I am tired and sleepy now..

Thanks for reading okay?

Tata and Take care.

Oh, and keep smiling ..like this, see?

Love,

Paapu

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