SO the car didn't sell but the good news was that Kate Schafer and her boyfriend BJ managed to get off Great barrier island- something we thought would never happen- and we gave it to them for its next set of adventure.
Cassy and rich got us drunk on sat, or really it was just that the horse races were BYO so it was all down hill from there. After the races we went to the blues game which none of us really remember very well, but i know it was good and that they came back to make it a five point game after being behind by like 30 points. the rest of the day was mostly a hang over.
having nine people in the apartment for two days turned out to be fun, probably because it was only for two days, but having other travelers around gives some level of normalcy to life, or at least made us feel less like vagabonds.
the rest of our time in NZ was spent mostly hanging out enjoying being in an apartment with friends, cooking, watching old weeds and simpsons episodes on rich's computer and finally seeing Kate after being in the same country for almost a month.
They dropped us off at the airport on thurs night at 9pm and we reached LAX Thurs. morning some six hours before we left.
Landing on American soil felt almost as good as getting through customs and finding our luggage in less than 15 minutes. Our first meal back was tex mex at Chevy's followed by 12 hours of straight sleep, well Aaron is going on 14.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Northland
After two quiet days in Auckland Aaron and I decided to have one last trip before selling the car, so we got up Tuesday morning and headed for the Northland. The Northland is the long stretch of twin coast beaches north of Auckland and its beautiful. We went up on a hot sunny day and planned to stay there laying around on various beaches until Friday, but lucky us a storm blew in Wednesday morning and we only lasted out there until the wind kept us up all Wednesday night and headed back to Rich and Cassy's Thursday morning. There were good parts in between though.
Tuesday we drove all the way up to the Bay of Islands which turned out to be a longer drive than we expected, but beautiful winding through rolling hills and coastline. The towns around the bay of islands are the most populated and touristy of the Northland. The bay itself is just as it says, big and full of little islands and the marina was busy with ferries and helicopters taking loads of people out to the different islands for swimming, fishing, bird watching and other tours. We explored the downtown area but decided not to bother with ferries and drive further up the coast instead to find a less populated area. We found this camp site about half way up the east side of the twin coasts called Rarawa right on the beach. The sand was bright white and velvety soft and the water was crystal clear with nothing in it except for the odd shell. The dunes were marked off because several families of oyster catches were nesting, something we didn't notice until one of them came flying at our heads screaming, once we noticed we enjoyed looking at the chicks from a distance. When the sun began to set the clouds were bright purple and orange and they reflected in the long tide of the beach like a mirror. It was probably one of the best photo opportunities we have had this whole trip so it was a good thing we forgot the camera. Oh well. The water was so warm and clear though we walked around in it until the sun went down. The tides are so long and flat here that you can walk out a really good distance into the water and have it barely reach your knees.
We got up the next morning to go swimming but the first gust of the storm were blowing clouds in and even the warm water wasn't enough to get us in. Instead we drove up to the cape, Cape Reinga. Cape Reinga was originally important to the Mauri because it is the place spirits fly from on their way home to the place of their ancestors. Later a Mauri man looking for enlightenment went there to hear the spirits leaving and made a prophecy that one day a light would shine on the world from that point, and two hundred years later or so a lighthouse was built there. There are also crazy views of amazingly long beaches and sand dunes and straight out from the light house you can see the swirls and torments of water where the Tasman Sea collides with the Pacific ocean.
The sand dunes looked so fun from the distance that we drove out to them next. After crossing a stream and climbing the steep side of the huge dune that blocks the rest, we were sand blasted from head to toe so we ran across to get a view of the ocean and then jumped back down the side to escape the wind.
We realized that a lot of 4 wheel drive cars had gotten to the sad dues by driving along 90mile beach, which is more like 65miles long, because its faster at low tide so we decided our next stop should be there. The water was clear and beautiful like Rarawa except it was mainly used for fishing and so many people were driving up and down looking for good fishing spots and four wheeling that it felt more like a long wet highway than a beach. Rich and Cassy had said that if we drove down to the town at the southern point it was much nicer. There were still a lot of cars but the weather had warmed up enough that we got about a half hour of body surfing in before it started raining.
We decided to try another beach camping area that night because it looked nice, but ended up driving much further than we thought we would have to and when we got there found out that the water was contaminated and you couldn't swim in it. That was also when the storm really started to roll in and we were kept up all night by loud swirling wind that pulled our tent stakes out of the ground making out tent breath around us with the wind waking us up every half hour or so.
Oh well, at least it was nice for two days, I just wish we could have taken advantage of some of those beaches a little more.
Tuesday we drove all the way up to the Bay of Islands which turned out to be a longer drive than we expected, but beautiful winding through rolling hills and coastline. The towns around the bay of islands are the most populated and touristy of the Northland. The bay itself is just as it says, big and full of little islands and the marina was busy with ferries and helicopters taking loads of people out to the different islands for swimming, fishing, bird watching and other tours. We explored the downtown area but decided not to bother with ferries and drive further up the coast instead to find a less populated area. We found this camp site about half way up the east side of the twin coasts called Rarawa right on the beach. The sand was bright white and velvety soft and the water was crystal clear with nothing in it except for the odd shell. The dunes were marked off because several families of oyster catches were nesting, something we didn't notice until one of them came flying at our heads screaming, once we noticed we enjoyed looking at the chicks from a distance. When the sun began to set the clouds were bright purple and orange and they reflected in the long tide of the beach like a mirror. It was probably one of the best photo opportunities we have had this whole trip so it was a good thing we forgot the camera. Oh well. The water was so warm and clear though we walked around in it until the sun went down. The tides are so long and flat here that you can walk out a really good distance into the water and have it barely reach your knees.
We got up the next morning to go swimming but the first gust of the storm were blowing clouds in and even the warm water wasn't enough to get us in. Instead we drove up to the cape, Cape Reinga. Cape Reinga was originally important to the Mauri because it is the place spirits fly from on their way home to the place of their ancestors. Later a Mauri man looking for enlightenment went there to hear the spirits leaving and made a prophecy that one day a light would shine on the world from that point, and two hundred years later or so a lighthouse was built there. There are also crazy views of amazingly long beaches and sand dunes and straight out from the light house you can see the swirls and torments of water where the Tasman Sea collides with the Pacific ocean.
The sand dunes looked so fun from the distance that we drove out to them next. After crossing a stream and climbing the steep side of the huge dune that blocks the rest, we were sand blasted from head to toe so we ran across to get a view of the ocean and then jumped back down the side to escape the wind.
We realized that a lot of 4 wheel drive cars had gotten to the sad dues by driving along 90mile beach, which is more like 65miles long, because its faster at low tide so we decided our next stop should be there. The water was clear and beautiful like Rarawa except it was mainly used for fishing and so many people were driving up and down looking for good fishing spots and four wheeling that it felt more like a long wet highway than a beach. Rich and Cassy had said that if we drove down to the town at the southern point it was much nicer. There were still a lot of cars but the weather had warmed up enough that we got about a half hour of body surfing in before it started raining.
We decided to try another beach camping area that night because it looked nice, but ended up driving much further than we thought we would have to and when we got there found out that the water was contaminated and you couldn't swim in it. That was also when the storm really started to roll in and we were kept up all night by loud swirling wind that pulled our tent stakes out of the ground making out tent breath around us with the wind waking us up every half hour or so.
Oh well, at least it was nice for two days, I just wish we could have taken advantage of some of those beaches a little more.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
We left Art Deco weekend with a serious itch to do another backpacking trip so we headed straight to lake Waikaremoana. The drive was one of those two hour windy dirt roads that likely began as a logging road and dropped us off at a harbor with a holiday park. That night I thought the wind was going to blow our tent into the water with us in it and even after putting the rain fly on at 3:30am to try and soften it, the sound kept us up most of the night. The next morning we boarded a water taxi with all the people that were to be our bunk mates for the next three days and headed to the start of the track. The first day appears to be a short one, only 8km or so, but it is straight up a hill and took us four hours to reach the summit. 
Once on the top though you are walking along sandstone cliffs looking down on the whole lake, then from the hut you can see the lake on one side and the ocean in Hawks bay -Napier- on the other. It was really spectacular! We stayed in the hut with three girls probably a few years younger than us, a man from Auckland, an Australian couple that avidly hike in retirement, an older pair of ex-palm ladies who left their husbands in the camper van while they took off on this trip, and a lake 20's IT guy from DC on his first overnight tramp. It was quite the crew. All us young ones got up around 9 or 10 the next morning because the second days hike was only supposed to take four hours, and everyone else had gone. It turned out to be almost entirely downhill to the hut in a beautiful bay with a beach, and we ended up reaching it much faster. It rained pretty hard the rest of the afternoon though so it was good we decided not to press on, however that poor group of girls had decided to camp so they were stuck in the rain. Day three was a long one, we decided to finish instead of take four days and pay he extra $50 in hut fees. It was 8 hours of undulating hills- up and over, down to a beach, up and over down to a river crossing etc. with views the whole way, birds everywhere and no other people in sight. We reached our taxi pick up spot an hour and a half ahead of schedule and before we could even think about how to spend the time, a nice retired kiwi couple on a sailboat docked near by and invited us aboard for tea and biscuits. It was one of those moments where nothing better could have possibly happened- hot chocolate with chocolate biscuits, boots off relaxing with great company. Before we knew it our water taxi arrived and we were back to the car and off to Gisbourne for the night.
In Gisbourne we stayed at this hippie compound/holiday park on the beach with community gardens, compost for the pigs and camp sites as close to the beach as you can get with out getting wet.
The following day was a driving day- we explored the whole East Cape, the farthest east point, Hicks bay, a whole series of beautiful beaches and hill top views. Somehow that was more exhausting than than the tramp so we headed in early and camped by a lake in Cambridge on the road to Hamilton. As luck would have it this campsite was also NZ National Rowing Headquarters and they were preparing for a high school rowing regatta. Aaron was like a kid in a candy store looking at all the crews, their equipment and watching them practice. I don't think he was very impressed, but it made for a fun evening and following morning.
Saturday morning we drive to Hamilton and met up with Daniel French, a fellow camp councilor who just got to NZ about a week ago for a semester at Waikato University. He showed us around campus and downtown, and we went out for Fish and Chips in the rain. It rained all day really, harder than anything we had seen our whole time in NZ, but for Aaron it meant going back to the dorms and watching an NBA game so it wasn't a total loss. The real fun was that night when we got student $10 tickets for the Waikato Cheifs super 14 game against the SA Sharks. The rain stopped and we got a double rainbow over the field starting right below the tower holding the mascot with a chainsaw. The sharks totally dominated until the Cheifs finally decided to start playing the last fifteen minutes or so to make it a close game, and they really should have at least tied too, but the ref called two of their tries back in the last ten minutes of the game and they just couldn't put in a third.
No camping for us that night, we made it all the way back to Rich and Cassy's in the Newmarket neighborhood of Auckland.
Once on the top though you are walking along sandstone cliffs looking down on the whole lake, then from the hut you can see the lake on one side and the ocean in Hawks bay -Napier- on the other. It was really spectacular! We stayed in the hut with three girls probably a few years younger than us, a man from Auckland, an Australian couple that avidly hike in retirement, an older pair of ex-palm ladies who left their husbands in the camper van while they took off on this trip, and a lake 20's IT guy from DC on his first overnight tramp. It was quite the crew. All us young ones got up around 9 or 10 the next morning because the second days hike was only supposed to take four hours, and everyone else had gone. It turned out to be almost entirely downhill to the hut in a beautiful bay with a beach, and we ended up reaching it much faster. It rained pretty hard the rest of the afternoon though so it was good we decided not to press on, however that poor group of girls had decided to camp so they were stuck in the rain. Day three was a long one, we decided to finish instead of take four days and pay he extra $50 in hut fees. It was 8 hours of undulating hills- up and over, down to a beach, up and over down to a river crossing etc. with views the whole way, birds everywhere and no other people in sight. We reached our taxi pick up spot an hour and a half ahead of schedule and before we could even think about how to spend the time, a nice retired kiwi couple on a sailboat docked near by and invited us aboard for tea and biscuits. It was one of those moments where nothing better could have possibly happened- hot chocolate with chocolate biscuits, boots off relaxing with great company. Before we knew it our water taxi arrived and we were back to the car and off to Gisbourne for the night.In Gisbourne we stayed at this hippie compound/holiday park on the beach with community gardens, compost for the pigs and camp sites as close to the beach as you can get with out getting wet.
The following day was a driving day- we explored the whole East Cape, the farthest east point, Hicks bay, a whole series of beautiful beaches and hill top views. Somehow that was more exhausting than than the tramp so we headed in early and camped by a lake in Cambridge on the road to Hamilton. As luck would have it this campsite was also NZ National Rowing Headquarters and they were preparing for a high school rowing regatta. Aaron was like a kid in a candy store looking at all the crews, their equipment and watching them practice. I don't think he was very impressed, but it made for a fun evening and following morning.Saturday morning we drive to Hamilton and met up with Daniel French, a fellow camp councilor who just got to NZ about a week ago for a semester at Waikato University. He showed us around campus and downtown, and we went out for Fish and Chips in the rain. It rained all day really, harder than anything we had seen our whole time in NZ, but for Aaron it meant going back to the dorms and watching an NBA game so it wasn't a total loss. The real fun was that night when we got student $10 tickets for the Waikato Cheifs super 14 game against the SA Sharks. The rain stopped and we got a double rainbow over the field starting right below the tower holding the mascot with a chainsaw. The sharks totally dominated until the Cheifs finally decided to start playing the last fifteen minutes or so to make it a close game, and they really should have at least tied too, but the ref called two of their tries back in the last ten minutes of the game and they just couldn't put in a third.
No camping for us that night, we made it all the way back to Rich and Cassy's in the Newmarket neighborhood of Auckland.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Napier
After a few days of relaxing and enjoying the amazing company and hospitality of Jenny and Bob once again we headed for Napier. Little did we know Napier is the Art Deco capitol of NZ and my birthday weekend is their annual Art Deco festival!
We really came down here to enjoy free wine tasting at the 20 or so wineries in the area but the frenzy of the festival really pulled us in.
On Friday we went to the National aquarium and watched them feed the sharks. They also had two tanks of the largest sea horses in the world which were fascinating and weird.
The whether was drizzly so we spent the rest of the day wine tasting until it cleared up in the evening for the opening ceremonies of the weekend.
There were fifty or so cars from the 20's and 30's all in amazing condition and a big band was playing in the band shell so loud you could hear they all over downtown.
We were totally under dressed, part of the minority of people dressed in garb from the wrong time period but it was top notch people watching! there were large displays of old generators and farm equipment from the time as well as a wood fire fueled tractor and steam roller!
On Saturday we went to the two farmers markets in the area and then tasted at five or so different wineries. After a pic-nic in the park we headed back over to the band shell for more music. Their walking mall had a different band on each block for different styles of dance and on the main stage was the royal Navy big band! they played a lot of Gershwin and other old favorites and hen swing and all the old couples were up dancing around! it was so cute!
today was the last day of festivities and we started it with a visit to the soap box derby. There were some amazing vehicles and the kids were all dressed up like newsies and flappers!
There was a fancy pic-nic in the park where everyone was judged on the decorations, food and costumes at their individual awnings and soon they will all be off to the dry boat races where people in costume stand in home made boats and run down the beach!
We really came down here to enjoy free wine tasting at the 20 or so wineries in the area but the frenzy of the festival really pulled us in.
On Friday we went to the National aquarium and watched them feed the sharks. They also had two tanks of the largest sea horses in the world which were fascinating and weird.
The whether was drizzly so we spent the rest of the day wine tasting until it cleared up in the evening for the opening ceremonies of the weekend.
There were fifty or so cars from the 20's and 30's all in amazing condition and a big band was playing in the band shell so loud you could hear they all over downtown.
We were totally under dressed, part of the minority of people dressed in garb from the wrong time period but it was top notch people watching! there were large displays of old generators and farm equipment from the time as well as a wood fire fueled tractor and steam roller!On Saturday we went to the two farmers markets in the area and then tasted at five or so different wineries. After a pic-nic in the park we headed back over to the band shell for more music. Their walking mall had a different band on each block for different styles of dance and on the main stage was the royal Navy big band! they played a lot of Gershwin and other old favorites and hen swing and all the old couples were up dancing around! it was so cute!
today was the last day of festivities and we started it with a visit to the soap box derby. There were some amazing vehicles and the kids were all dressed up like newsies and flappers!
There was a fancy pic-nic in the park where everyone was judged on the decorations, food and costumes at their individual awnings and soon they will all be off to the dry boat races where people in costume stand in home made boats and run down the beach!
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Rugby!
We booked a ferry in the middle of the day to cross cook straight so that we could take in the views. Lucky for us its been covered in a rain storm for the past few days and our afternoon on the ferry was no exception. The good news was that the bar was open and the New Zealand International 7s tournament was on TV.
We got in late evening- well after 5pm everything is closed in NZ so it felt late- and decided to stay at a DOC camp site just outside of wellington. The rain didn't stop until morning and the notorious Wellington wind persisted all night and in to the next day so we decided to get a hostel for the weekend instead. It was a good idea too because the first three games of the super 14 were on back to back all day in the bar. Not the most productive day for us but quite fun to sit around and watch good rugby. 
Molly got in on Saturday and we spent the day wondering around trying to find tickets to the Wellington Hurricanes game on that evening before showing Molly around what little we know of the city and basking in the glory of their horrendous capital for a few hours. The game that night was awesome! After years of playing rugby it was the first time both Molly and I got to see a professional team in a stadium setting and it was glorious! Their stadium is called the cake tin because it looks exactly like one and they only served Tui beer – a ridiculously light and sweet thing that comes in a plastic soda bottle style packaging- but the crowd was drunk and screaming at the ref the whole time and our seventh row center field seats were only $40 and it was one of my happiest moments. The Hurricanes played an ok game- obviously a season opener for them- and even though they managed to come back strong towards the end of the second half, the Australian Warritahs were just much better.
Late Sunday morning we left Wellington for Wanganui to stay with Bob and Jenny once more before finishing our last few weeks in NZ.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Bye-bye South Isle
Arriving back in New Zealand was a bit of a shock. We had gotten so used to living in a house again, cooking in a kitchen and generally not worrying about where we were going to sleep each night that by the time we reached ChCh at 11pm we had no idea what we were going to do.
We found a camping spot and slept in the car on the way towards the west coast near Hamner springs. Our intention was to stay just long enough to get groceries and gas but the faithful steed that is our station wagon decided it no longer felt like starting. Lucky for us the gas station had a garage attached operated by the most helpful little man of a mechanic. He squeezed us in just long enough to figure out what was wrong and promised to work on it the next day between calls even though Friday was Waitangi day.
Waitangi day, also New Zealand day, is the celebration of the signing of the treaty between the chiefs and the white people in New Zealand. I guess if you don't have independence you need some excuse for a drunken holiday with fireworks in the middle of summer. The real news about that is that nothing is open in NZ on Sundays or holidays and if they are they usually charge 15% surcharge. Well it turned out one of our fuses went out because of an old alarm that had been removed and somehow it kept our fuel relay from working. $80 in labor and 24hours later we were out of there and on the west coast in Karamea.
Karamea is awesome- likely the place in NZ with the most sand flies ever- but beach for miles and really just postcard beautiful. We camped again at the end of the road on the beach near the beginning of the Heaphy track-a NZ great walk. We spent two days there. The first walking the long-seemingly endless beach and the second walking the last day of the Heaphy. The last day is the best really- apparently there are good views from the second day- just outside of Abel Tasman – then the last day is all beach. We saw no one on the track the whole time and besides the sand flies it was a perfect day.
From there we drove to Nelson Lakes.
Nelson lakes seem to be one of those forgotten areas of New Zealand, looks over for the difficulty of their tracks and the fact that their lakes have less dramatic views than Queenstown – our guide book didnt even mention them. Here we spent a day and a half or so. The hikes were steep and beach forest- which seems to be the norm here- and when we finally reached tree line the views were forever reaching. The rest of our time was spent resting by the water. Aaron jumped off the dock while I waded in by the rocky beach unwilling to risk coming in contact with the eels that swim under the dock for its shade. A woman swimming near us even had one nibble her toe! That was the end for me – HELL NO was I going to risk that happening.
The drive through Takaka and Collingwood up to farewell spit was windy and long and we thought that the clouds would never lift. By the time we reached the end of the road and the little cafe that marks the end of society there the views were lengthening and we decided to go for a walk. We had to walk through farm land among the cows- and of course their poop- before reaching the outside of the spit. The beach along there was that of dreams! Flat white sand for 30 or more Km, a tide on one side that goes out at least the length of three football fields
leaving behind more gorgeous flat white sand, and awesome rolling sand dunes on the other. The dramatic tides attract tons of birds to the area so walking along we got to see many different species, but still no spoonbills : ( Crossing the sand dunes was one of the most enjoyable things I have done in a while. We sunk into the sand knee deep climbing the tall dunes, and after taking in the view from the top we would jump down the steep side and start over. The beach on the inside of the spit was less exciting but the tides no less dramatic. The beach was covered with shells and instead of sand there was mud, but we were able to amuse ourselves by getting stuck in the mud so that our “jandals” flicked it up when we stepped out, and crushing the shells into new sand under our feet. That evening after dinner at the holiday park we went for a sunset walk to Whaririki beach- the eye of the kiwi. It was another walk through farm land- sheep this time- and then a long stretch of sand dune before the beach. 
The sunset was poppy colored setting behind the hills and the wind blew so that only the sand was sent flying flat across the beach. On the way back we must have passed 8 different girls all trying to catch the sunset, sprinting past us on the sandy path- we didnt want to tell them but they all missed it.
The following day was our last on the South Island and we made sure not to waste it. In the morning we walked the single street of downtown Takaka. Takaka is a wonderful little hippie town and the main street contains only organic shops, free trade clothing, local artists and bakery/ coffee shops serving environmentally friendly food. All I know is that their pastries were absolutely delightful I could have spent three days just exploring the cakes and pastries.
Next we stopped at Pupu springs- the purest natural water in the world! They wont let you swim in it because now that didymo has been leeked into NZ they are not willing to risk it being brought to this spring. Rightfully so, after seeing in I was enchanted by the dancing sands and constant bubbling flow of 14 cubic meters/sec of water from the spring below.
From there, about half the distance to M
ontueka, we stumbled across some privately owned caves and decided they couldn't be passed up. Right we were. This cave was the first “dry” cave we had seen- meaning it had no water flowing through it- so it has more formations and of different types than we had seen in any other caves, most notably cave coral and calcite crystals as big as a softball protruding from the floor and walls. In the 80's some excavation turned up skeletons from eight different family of Moa with relatives that had fallen down sink holes and died of injuries and starvation in the pitch black cave. While the national museum has taken many for research several, including a full body skeleton, have been left exactly where they were found for the enjoyment of tourists such as ourselves. One tibia bone has even been resigned for the use of being held and felt by people on the tour! So cool!
We stopped in Nelson one last time to see if this deli the guide book suggested would be open and an hour later we ended up eating a flourless almond white chocolate cake and a flourless chocolate cake- they were both rich and decadent and worth every bite. A note on baked goods in NZ; They are served with plain yogurt on the side instead of whipped cream, but it really cuts into the richness of it and I really don't know why we don't do that in the states.
We camped in the Queen Charlotte sound area finishing our South Island adventure the same way we began it. The outgoing tide exposed some of the biggest mussels we had ever seen so we gathered them and had them for dinner. After being kept up all night by the possums eating the trees above our tent and fighting with the weka in the bush, we got up early to board the ferry to the North.
We found a camping spot and slept in the car on the way towards the west coast near Hamner springs. Our intention was to stay just long enough to get groceries and gas but the faithful steed that is our station wagon decided it no longer felt like starting. Lucky for us the gas station had a garage attached operated by the most helpful little man of a mechanic. He squeezed us in just long enough to figure out what was wrong and promised to work on it the next day between calls even though Friday was Waitangi day.
Waitangi day, also New Zealand day, is the celebration of the signing of the treaty between the chiefs and the white people in New Zealand. I guess if you don't have independence you need some excuse for a drunken holiday with fireworks in the middle of summer. The real news about that is that nothing is open in NZ on Sundays or holidays and if they are they usually charge 15% surcharge. Well it turned out one of our fuses went out because of an old alarm that had been removed and somehow it kept our fuel relay from working. $80 in labor and 24hours later we were out of there and on the west coast in Karamea.
Karamea is awesome- likely the place in NZ with the most sand flies ever- but beach for miles and really just postcard beautiful. We camped again at the end of the road on the beach near the beginning of the Heaphy track-a NZ great walk. We spent two days there. The first walking the long-seemingly endless beach and the second walking the last day of the Heaphy. The last day is the best really- apparently there are good views from the second day- just outside of Abel Tasman – then the last day is all beach. We saw no one on the track the whole time and besides the sand flies it was a perfect day.
From there we drove to Nelson Lakes.
Nelson lakes seem to be one of those forgotten areas of New Zealand, looks over for the difficulty of their tracks and the fact that their lakes have less dramatic views than Queenstown – our guide book didnt even mention them. Here we spent a day and a half or so. The hikes were steep and beach forest- which seems to be the norm here- and when we finally reached tree line the views were forever reaching. The rest of our time was spent resting by the water. Aaron jumped off the dock while I waded in by the rocky beach unwilling to risk coming in contact with the eels that swim under the dock for its shade. A woman swimming near us even had one nibble her toe! That was the end for me – HELL NO was I going to risk that happening.
The drive through Takaka and Collingwood up to farewell spit was windy and long and we thought that the clouds would never lift. By the time we reached the end of the road and the little cafe that marks the end of society there the views were lengthening and we decided to go for a walk. We had to walk through farm land among the cows- and of course their poop- before reaching the outside of the spit. The beach along there was that of dreams! Flat white sand for 30 or more Km, a tide on one side that goes out at least the length of three football fields
leaving behind more gorgeous flat white sand, and awesome rolling sand dunes on the other. The dramatic tides attract tons of birds to the area so walking along we got to see many different species, but still no spoonbills : ( Crossing the sand dunes was one of the most enjoyable things I have done in a while. We sunk into the sand knee deep climbing the tall dunes, and after taking in the view from the top we would jump down the steep side and start over. The beach on the inside of the spit was less exciting but the tides no less dramatic. The beach was covered with shells and instead of sand there was mud, but we were able to amuse ourselves by getting stuck in the mud so that our “jandals” flicked it up when we stepped out, and crushing the shells into new sand under our feet. That evening after dinner at the holiday park we went for a sunset walk to Whaririki beach- the eye of the kiwi. It was another walk through farm land- sheep this time- and then a long stretch of sand dune before the beach. 
The sunset was poppy colored setting behind the hills and the wind blew so that only the sand was sent flying flat across the beach. On the way back we must have passed 8 different girls all trying to catch the sunset, sprinting past us on the sandy path- we didnt want to tell them but they all missed it.The following day was our last on the South Island and we made sure not to waste it. In the morning we walked the single street of downtown Takaka. Takaka is a wonderful little hippie town and the main street contains only organic shops, free trade clothing, local artists and bakery/ coffee shops serving environmentally friendly food. All I know is that their pastries were absolutely delightful I could have spent three days just exploring the cakes and pastries.
Next we stopped at Pupu springs- the purest natural water in the world! They wont let you swim in it because now that didymo has been leeked into NZ they are not willing to risk it being brought to this spring. Rightfully so, after seeing in I was enchanted by the dancing sands and constant bubbling flow of 14 cubic meters/sec of water from the spring below.
From there, about half the distance to M
ontueka, we stumbled across some privately owned caves and decided they couldn't be passed up. Right we were. This cave was the first “dry” cave we had seen- meaning it had no water flowing through it- so it has more formations and of different types than we had seen in any other caves, most notably cave coral and calcite crystals as big as a softball protruding from the floor and walls. In the 80's some excavation turned up skeletons from eight different family of Moa with relatives that had fallen down sink holes and died of injuries and starvation in the pitch black cave. While the national museum has taken many for research several, including a full body skeleton, have been left exactly where they were found for the enjoyment of tourists such as ourselves. One tibia bone has even been resigned for the use of being held and felt by people on the tour! So cool!We stopped in Nelson one last time to see if this deli the guide book suggested would be open and an hour later we ended up eating a flourless almond white chocolate cake and a flourless chocolate cake- they were both rich and decadent and worth every bite. A note on baked goods in NZ; They are served with plain yogurt on the side instead of whipped cream, but it really cuts into the richness of it and I really don't know why we don't do that in the states.
We camped in the Queen Charlotte sound area finishing our South Island adventure the same way we began it. The outgoing tide exposed some of the biggest mussels we had ever seen so we gathered them and had them for dinner. After being kept up all night by the possums eating the trees above our tent and fighting with the weka in the bush, we got up early to board the ferry to the North.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
AUSTRALIA
We had two more days to kill before we left to see Heather in Melbourne so we headed back up to Arthurs pass and explored castle hill. Castle hill is like a rock climbers paradise and a wonderland of epic proportions. It runs on the fault line through the southern island and consists of huge limestone formations spanning a great distance. 
They were used in the lord of the rings for a battle scene and aaron and i spent two whole days pic-nicking and running through all the tunnels and bridges, climbing the deformed rock faces and really just acting like children in some weird mix of alice in wonderland and some crazy Dr. Seuss book. even the trees were long and slender with large tufts at the top!
We arrived in Australia on the 21st of jan. our flight left early in the morning so we were in the airport just in time to watch the live 6am broadcast of Obama's inauguration before boarding. Heather and her sister Kate picked us up from the airport and took us to a great "breaky" cafe for the best eggs Benedict!
That afternoon heather took us into town to explore and get a feel for the transport and the lay out of the city. its one of those cities that is so full of stuff that it feels huge but in fact is all walking distance.
Federation square is the main attraction a fairly new complex in the middle of down town. They have this greenhouse exhibit there right now which is a cafe made of entirely recyclable and renewable materials. the walls and roof are gardens to keep the heat out and to grow some of the food they serve inside. everything is served on recycled wood plates, or in old jars or beer bottles with the tops cut off and rounded. the seats were made of old crates and some out of street signs, the light fixtures were chicken wire and the insulation was hay bails. Really cool place.
Outside in the actual square there was a big screen airing all the Australian open tennis matches for those of us too poor or unlucky to get tickets.
Heather scheduled surfing lessons for all of us and we went to this beautiful beach, point addis, in Torquay. We surfed on huge foam boards but all four of us got up and kates boyfriend jay even got in the water to push us along and snicker at our wicked falls (he is a good surfer).
we had fish and chips for dinner - yum and then headed home to be exhausted the rest of the day.
A few days later after we had recovered we went on a wine tour. This was also the first of four days or so of 40 degree Celsius whether- say 104 F. The wine was great and our tour guide crazy! we had this great older British couple with us as well as a Taiwanese family of four that fell asleep at the lunch table after poking heathers food with their hands. They were so drunk after two tastings that they started walking behind the counters and stealing crackers and cheese! awesome entertainment.
At the end of the day Jay's sister Kim picked us up from innocent bystander winery and took us back to her place near by. we weren't there long before word got to us that Kate's cat died, and on top of being her support system Kim is also a vet and was able to take the Ruby to giver her a proper burial in the hills.
The next day could have been nothing but a beach day. we spent it at St. Kilda beach with the hundreds of other people that had the same idea.
The water was awesome and we couldnt be out of it for more than fifteen minutes without scorching from the 45 degree sun. we were so dehydrated after our bike ride home that we laid around the rest of the day.
sometime around then was Australia day, not independence as they are not independent but an equally celebrated excuse for everyone to go out and get drunk all day with crazy flag painted faces and clothes etc. we celebrated by visiting a market downtown before drinking beer and dancing to a local band in this awesome Belgian beer garden. They had typical beer garden food and of course water dipped glasses and even pour your own beer just like you would expect from a European counterpart - only you'll pay the AU price of $7-12 a beer. oh well.
A few day into the trip we found ourselves at an engagement party for one of heathers work colleagues. it was beautiful and they had hand sewn pillows for all the guest to sit on in the sunken gardens of a park while eating delightfull aussie b-b-q and dips etc.
between the engagement party and the Laneway music festival the next day we had quite the introduction to aussie culture. The Laneway festival was one where streets were shut down in the middle of downtown Melbourne and stages were erected at the end for thousands of artsy and indie twenty-somethings to rock their hearts out while showing off their indie culture.
The shows were good - Architecture in Helsinki stealing the show of course - and the resulting dance parties were epic.
the coolest thing for me though were the few bars we went to beforehand. There is this one particular building with several stories that has a bar/cafe called cookie on the first floor, an artsy awesome specialty bookstore and several indie cloths shops on the fourth and a rooftop bar that becomes a cinema on select summer nights on the roof. So cool.
Beyond those main events we spent most of our trip wondering around chapel street - the fashion capitol of the southern hemisphere, also where heather works - and the main city in Melbourne. The city has been wonderful and we have taken in everything from china town, indie/artsy parts of town and art galleries as much as possible. After visiting i have no doubt why heather wanted to move here.
tonight we head back to NZ getting in around eleven in the evening and hoping we find somewhere better than our car to sleep for the night.
They were used in the lord of the rings for a battle scene and aaron and i spent two whole days pic-nicking and running through all the tunnels and bridges, climbing the deformed rock faces and really just acting like children in some weird mix of alice in wonderland and some crazy Dr. Seuss book. even the trees were long and slender with large tufts at the top!We arrived in Australia on the 21st of jan. our flight left early in the morning so we were in the airport just in time to watch the live 6am broadcast of Obama's inauguration before boarding. Heather and her sister Kate picked us up from the airport and took us to a great "breaky" cafe for the best eggs Benedict!
That afternoon heather took us into town to explore and get a feel for the transport and the lay out of the city. its one of those cities that is so full of stuff that it feels huge but in fact is all walking distance.
Federation square is the main attraction a fairly new complex in the middle of down town. They have this greenhouse exhibit there right now which is a cafe made of entirely recyclable and renewable materials. the walls and roof are gardens to keep the heat out and to grow some of the food they serve inside. everything is served on recycled wood plates, or in old jars or beer bottles with the tops cut off and rounded. the seats were made of old crates and some out of street signs, the light fixtures were chicken wire and the insulation was hay bails. Really cool place.
Outside in the actual square there was a big screen airing all the Australian open tennis matches for those of us too poor or unlucky to get tickets.
Heather scheduled surfing lessons for all of us and we went to this beautiful beach, point addis, in Torquay. We surfed on huge foam boards but all four of us got up and kates boyfriend jay even got in the water to push us along and snicker at our wicked falls (he is a good surfer).
we had fish and chips for dinner - yum and then headed home to be exhausted the rest of the day.
A few days later after we had recovered we went on a wine tour. This was also the first of four days or so of 40 degree Celsius whether- say 104 F. The wine was great and our tour guide crazy! we had this great older British couple with us as well as a Taiwanese family of four that fell asleep at the lunch table after poking heathers food with their hands. They were so drunk after two tastings that they started walking behind the counters and stealing crackers and cheese! awesome entertainment.
At the end of the day Jay's sister Kim picked us up from innocent bystander winery and took us back to her place near by. we weren't there long before word got to us that Kate's cat died, and on top of being her support system Kim is also a vet and was able to take the Ruby to giver her a proper burial in the hills.
The next day could have been nothing but a beach day. we spent it at St. Kilda beach with the hundreds of other people that had the same idea.
The water was awesome and we couldnt be out of it for more than fifteen minutes without scorching from the 45 degree sun. we were so dehydrated after our bike ride home that we laid around the rest of the day.sometime around then was Australia day, not independence as they are not independent but an equally celebrated excuse for everyone to go out and get drunk all day with crazy flag painted faces and clothes etc. we celebrated by visiting a market downtown before drinking beer and dancing to a local band in this awesome Belgian beer garden. They had typical beer garden food and of course water dipped glasses and even pour your own beer just like you would expect from a European counterpart - only you'll pay the AU price of $7-12 a beer. oh well.
A few day into the trip we found ourselves at an engagement party for one of heathers work colleagues. it was beautiful and they had hand sewn pillows for all the guest to sit on in the sunken gardens of a park while eating delightfull aussie b-b-q and dips etc.
between the engagement party and the Laneway music festival the next day we had quite the introduction to aussie culture. The Laneway festival was one where streets were shut down in the middle of downtown Melbourne and stages were erected at the end for thousands of artsy and indie twenty-somethings to rock their hearts out while showing off their indie culture.
The shows were good - Architecture in Helsinki stealing the show of course - and the resulting dance parties were epic. the coolest thing for me though were the few bars we went to beforehand. There is this one particular building with several stories that has a bar/cafe called cookie on the first floor, an artsy awesome specialty bookstore and several indie cloths shops on the fourth and a rooftop bar that becomes a cinema on select summer nights on the roof. So cool.
Beyond those main events we spent most of our trip wondering around chapel street - the fashion capitol of the southern hemisphere, also where heather works - and the main city in Melbourne. The city has been wonderful and we have taken in everything from china town, indie/artsy parts of town and art galleries as much as possible. After visiting i have no doubt why heather wanted to move here.
tonight we head back to NZ getting in around eleven in the evening and hoping we find somewhere better than our car to sleep for the night.
More Places!
After Stuart Island we were at a loss. We had a little over two week before we left for Australia and no real plan. Queenstown was fairly close so we went there. Lucky enough for us so did the New Zealand National Rugby 7's tournament. We spent 2 days sitting in the wonderful sunshine watching Rugby and drinking beer. There was not a better way for my money to cool down after a crazy couple of weeks. 
We never bothered to look a a program (even though we bought them) so it took us all 15 hours of Rugby watching to figure out how the tourney worked, but we saw it end. North Harbour beat Counties Manukao for the grand final, but don't ask me to explain how they got there. We camped on the shore of Lake Wakitipu, which is deep, clear, and flanked by big mountains. I guess there really is a reason Queenstown is so popular.
We never bothered to look a a program (even though we bought them) so it took us all 15 hours of Rugby watching to figure out how the tourney worked, but we saw it end. North Harbour beat Counties Manukao for the grand final, but don't ask me to explain how they got there. We camped on the shore of Lake Wakitipu, which is deep, clear, and flanked by big mountains. I guess there really is a reason Queenstown is so popular.
The Routeburn Great Walk starts just a little ways from Queenstown and since we were too late to get spots in the huts we figured one day was better than not seeing any of it. Our day was a bit bigger than what they suggest, but we had no packs and fresh legs so we hiked what our guidebook would call the first day and a half then turned around and came back.
32 km by my count. Absolutely beautiful, worth almost every step. The track follows the Routeburn river all the way to it's source at the Harris Saddle with a little side trip up Conical Hill for a stunning view all the way out to Fiordland NP. On a truly clear day I would not be surprised if you could see both the Pacific and the Tasman Sea.
It was a little bit hazy for us unfortunately (I make the weather sound poor though there wasn't a cloud in the sky).
We got off the track and limped through much needed showers and laundry at holiday park in Glenorchy that night and went back to Queenstown in the morning.
We had intended to kill a day then go to Mt. Cook the next, but got antsy around noon and left around 2. I'm not sure how we missed it, but I think we crossed an international border on that drive, although then again we could have just been on a different planet. The lush green hills and water went bye-bye. We might as well have driven through Wyoming. Everything was brown. It was dry as a bone. Nothing but sheep, cattle and dry land wheat as far as you could see. What you could always see was the high part of the Southern Alps with Mt. Cook right in the middle. 
The village of Mt Cook is a fairly despicable place.It is all owned by one exorbitantly priced hotel that is run under the watchful eye of the Dept. of Conservation. The one bright spot to that arrangement is that there is a campsite 5 minutes from town for $10 a night. Plus the views. In the evening you can stare straight up at Mt. Sefton and watch ice avalanches fall off sheer cliffs every 30 to 40 minutes.
We hiked up and spent the night at Muller Hut which is supposedly where Sir Edmund Hillary first decided to climb Mt. Cook, and the hut sits just below Mt Ollivier which was his first official climb.
Loads of history, even better views of Sefton and the delta of glaciers that flow through the park, but you pay the price to get there. Its a 5k hike with 1100 meters of elevation gain. I was lucky enough to be carrying all of our stuff as well (I volunteered cause I'm a jackass). We spent the next couple days trying to walk off the overnight trip, the massive sunburns and heat stroke that came standard before driving back north toward ChCh.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Rakiura
Whew... 2 weeks (and I think a certain few freshly returned folks will agree) is not nearly enough time to even make a dent in all there is to see here. So, after a night in Christchurch we turned right round and started the whole trip over again. We took care of a few lingering details in ChCh – mainly just the Sunday market at the arts center – and struck off south again. Our handy little DoC campsite book had a nice stopping point near the previously mentioned/visited Moreaki Boulders so we stayed the night at the mouth of __ Gorge (I'll find the name later). We were a tad bit surprised to find a 
about a dozen cows munching and defecating about the campsite, as DoC generally frowns upon the grazing of cattle in their nature reserves. Steve was quick to shed some light on the situation.
about a dozen cows munching and defecating about the campsite, as DoC generally frowns upon the grazing of cattle in their nature reserves. Steve was quick to shed some light on the situation. Steve pulled up asking if anyone had seen any cows. By this time, they had all scampered off up a trail which we explained to Steve and he drove off. He seemed just a grizzled 40 something farmer that we would never see again, but Steve came back to chat. Several times. Turns out Steve owns most the land in the gorge we were camping in – including the only house as he was proud to point out -- and keeps some cattle for a friend of his. Steve is probably the most spectacular version of a kiwi we have come across here. Imagine a Mr. Brian Pierce if he had been sitting out in the sun for 30 years or so then raided the free bin at the Goowill trailer. He talked to us about what happened to his cows then left. Then came back and talked about his life in the gorge and his car restoration hobby then left. Then came back and showed us pictures of the totaled Jag that he rebuilt and sold off as almost new having redone almost the whole car. He talked almost constantly with a hand rolled cigarette bouncing in his lips the entire time which he had to re-light 7 or 8 times. After about an hour of chatting he ended up inviting us to his house for a warm up (we decided it was best to not to take him up on the offer and keep him from turning too weird in our eyes). As he left his last question was “How old do you think my wife is?” The woman in question who we had briefly met earlier was this tiny little woman who I would ask for ID if I were a bouncer. We conservatively guessed 30, but Steve had hit the jackpot (and he knew it judging by the smirk on his face when he told us) with a 42 year-old woman who didn't look a day over 25.
I know I drone on about silly things, but it was quite the experience. Like we were really in New Zealand the country and not the theme park.
Now for what this post is actually supposed to be about! Rakiura. Stewart Island. The smaller bit off the southern tip of the South Island. We took the ferry over across the notoriously bumpy Foveaux Strait. Turns out I don't get sea sick and Lieschen does. HA! We got off the boat and started the track. And it rained. Hard. For a long time. I have never been so wet in my entire life. We reached the first hut in about 4 hours. There could have been a lot to see, but truth is I have no idea. My glasses fogged up instantly so I had to go without and all I could focus on was Lieschen's back. Lucky for us there was a woman that had decided not to leave the hut that day in the rain so we were greeted by a nice warm fire to dry ourselves and all our stuff (we never bothered to buy pack covers). We weren't the only miserable ones though. A family of 5 (11 y-o twin girls and 9 y-o boy) from Australia were there minutes ahead of us in the same state. The kids were definitely the highlight of the tramp. We had a blast playing cards and talking to them since we stayed in the same huts with them both nights. Of course by the time we all felt dry and warm, the rain stopped and a bit later another family waltzed in bone dry asking why all our stuff was so wet.
The second day was much nicer. A little windy, but dry with blue skies. We burned through the walk anyhow. I think it was probably just the thought of rain that kept the pace high, although we went inland across the island so there wasn't much to see. There was a nice overlook where you could see the whole of Patterson Inlet (the inhabited portion of Stewart Island). We took our 3 pictures from the track and moved on. That night was more fun meeting people from all over the world. Ex-pat couple from Indiana living in Auckland were really nice and provided some much needed adult conversation after chatting it up with the twin girls for most of the afternoon.
The third day, right before we left in a bit of a sprinkle, I remember thinking, “there's no way it could possibly rain more than it did the first day” ...
Long story short (would have been a good policy for this whole post) the Rakiura Track tu
rned into the Rakiura River, which was knee deep in spots, complete with shin deep mud on the shoreline and we spent the night in a hotel.
Forth day on the island was back to nice weather. We caught a water taxi over to Ulva Island which after some monumental killing spree was declared rat free and opened up as a bird sanctuary. Lots of very pretty birds in very pretty bush with lots of goofy tourist toting binoculars and telephoto lenses. Best birds though were the albatross who paid a little visit to our water taxi and the ferry as we left Stewart Island later that evening.
We hope everybody returns to / remains in good health. I'm finishing this a couple weeks late from Melbourne so I hope everybody had the time they devoted to reading the ramble post, now I'm going to go eat ice cream and watch movies with Heather.
Friday, January 2, 2009
whirlwind tour
We just got done dropping My Mom Robert and Bob off at the airport after two weeks with them circling the bottom of the South Island.
We began the journey by driving west into Aurthur's pass national park. That drive had some of the most amazing scenery I have ever seen. The mountains tower and seem to come out of no where. Then in the middle there is a large valley cut by the fault line that runs through the islands. You can see where the plates are coming together and how one plate is being pushed up over the other tilting large flat pieces of earth upwards right in the middle of the flats. The whole park is an amazing bright green colour spattered with fields of these tall purple flowers that smell like grape jolly ranchers. We went for a short hike, or rather a stair climb, to some beautiful waterfalls. the water was crystal clear and the falls were huge and just spectacular to look at. Aaron ran around on the rocks and we all filled our water bottles with this fresh river water.
That nigh we camped at a free DOC camp sight next to a field of those flowers and the river that those falls connect to. While setting up our tents we had several visitors, Kia, up in the trees just above our head. Kia are these parott like green birds with terribly strong beaks. They are known for ripping the rubber off car windows and sharpening their beaks on canoes and public benches. They watched us and tried to get us to feed them and we chased them away until they started watching from a safe distance.
The next day we hiked the first hour or so of the avalanch peak trail. The trail itself was steap and more like rock climbing at points but the waterfalls were beautiful and if the water handn't been so cold we would have been in it.
From their we traveled to Greymouth on the coast. It was a larger town- by NZ standards anyway- and we stayed at a holiday park on the beach. The beaches on the west coast in the south tended to be a bit rocky and this one was no exception. The rocks were all polished by the water and they were in every colour from white and black to orange, green and purple. Not to mention all the gnarly driftwood- The only negative was NZ worst enemy, the southern wind.
Our next adventure was further south at the Franz Joseph glacier. This is a glacier that sits amid rainforest only 300m above sea level and 12km from the ocean- glaciers are an amazing sight on their own but in that setting it was breathtaking. It was christmas day and everything was closed but we bumped into an american geology student from UW and picked him up on our way to hike the glaciers. The Weaher was a bit sour so we walked from the bottom of the road up the river bed toward the bottom. Having a geologist with us made it one of the best experiences i have had in NZ. We bounced across little streams and jumped rocks up to the closest poin to the ice you can get safely. Most of the bottom of the glacier is black accept for a large blue spot at the mouth of the river that our friend said indiated a recent collapse and likely the reason we were not allowed much closer. On the way back Aaron balanced rocks and Kendra stood under the waterfalls testing her rain gear under the ice water.
From there we dropped our hiker off in Fox glacier township before driving to the end of the road from the city and finding ourselves at an amazing campsight on a beach that seemed to go on forever. We built a fire pit and had a roaring fire with dinner and aaron dug a fridge into the sand for our beer. We found rockless parts of the beach to camp on and woke up to the roaring waves of the ocean.
The next stop was Wanaka, a lake side town described as Queenstown 20 years ago. Either way it was beautiful. They had great street food and art galleries and the lake was stunning surrouded by mountains. We spent that evening in Christchurch organizing our time in the fjoirdlands national park. Queenstown is natuarally much like a larger Wanaka, a lively town boardering the lake and filled with stunning second homes and people heading for the park.
We had an awesome seafood dinner with local surf acompanied with the west coasts famouse terrible waitstaff and service. But it was mighty tasty and we got to bring our own wine. sweet.
The park was something else. I dont have the words to describe the emensity or the beauty of the towering peaks above the water but you get the idea. We couldnt do the walk but we traveled through milford sound on the water instead. My pictures certainly wont do enought to describe it and obviously my words suck so you will have to go see for yourself.
That night we stayed in Te Anau the gateway to the park. The next day we decided to follow this road that didnt really exist and try and take it to doubtful sound even though everyone said you have to get there by boat. Well we got with in a few Km before it turned into an impossibly steap 4x4 road no longer maintained by the DOC. A day well spent even if it wasnt spen in the sound.
The next day we climbed the first day of the famouse Kepler track one of NZ great walks. We climbed through a creaky forest up to the top of the mountain where the tree line ends in almost a perfect line into a field of grass and rocky peaks. After that little 6 hour hike we headed out over the lake on a boat to the glow worm caves. The boat took us through a series of thimble islands before dropping us off at the cave entrance. This cave was much smaller and more intimate than some of the others we had see on the north island. The waitomo caves were older larger and had more formations and exciting things to see beyond the glow worms, but these had all the focus on the worms and the water and the result is spectacular. The glow worms are right in your face up close like the fullest night sky you have ever dreamed of and the river flows perfectly clear being filtered by the limestone. On he walk to the boat that takes you under the worms there are two deafening waterfalls that you cant take your eyes off of until someone points out the first worms and you get in the boat.
The next day was mostly a driving day taking us on the southern scenic routh through invercarvill towards Dunedin. This is getting long so im going to give you the highlights of the drive. WE SAW YELLOW EYED PENGUINS!!!! and even better they were on a beach filled with petrified wood! We also went to the southern most point of NZ and threw rocks at the south pole because that is just what you do when your that close- well that and jumping pictures anyway.
We drove up to Dunedin for New Years and celebrated with the whole town at a carnival in the octagon which is the center of town. We had dinner and an irish pub with a lively cover band and he best sticky date pudding ever! Then Aaron, Robert Kendra and I ended up drinking a bottle of bubbly at a skatepark while robert used a borowed board at 1am.
We spent a day at Otago Peninsula and went to the albatrose center. They were out flying in the morning when we arrived and when we took the tour of the center we got to see sevral nesting on the hill incubating their eggs. We learned a lot of amazing things about those birds and i wont bore it with you now but ask us some time, they are really intersting creatures.
We Then drove up to Timaru and then to Boulder beach, a beach with these large perfectly round rocks just sitting on the beach. They are said to be the spilled bounty from the fisherman Maui's boat when he fished up the North island. Aaron and Robert skimped down to their skivvies and went for a swim and a body surf while the rest of us combed the beach for shells.
skipping a little forward the last full day of the trip was spent in Akaroa, an area where three volcanoes onces stood but now forms a mountainous peninsula filled with bays and beautiful views. The town is very visibly the hot vacation spot for wealthy Christchurch people on the weekends and vacations but no without reason. The hills, the views, the water, the bays its all just wonderful to look at and play in.
Today we did some final shopping and watched street performers and people playing chess on a near lifesize board in the town center.
hope you all had amazing holidays and dont feel too bad if ours sound better ; )
We began the journey by driving west into Aurthur's pass national park. That drive had some of the most amazing scenery I have ever seen. The mountains tower and seem to come out of no where. Then in the middle there is a large valley cut by the fault line that runs through the islands. You can see where the plates are coming together and how one plate is being pushed up over the other tilting large flat pieces of earth upwards right in the middle of the flats. The whole park is an amazing bright green colour spattered with fields of these tall purple flowers that smell like grape jolly ranchers. We went for a short hike, or rather a stair climb, to some beautiful waterfalls. the water was crystal clear and the falls were huge and just spectacular to look at. Aaron ran around on the rocks and we all filled our water bottles with this fresh river water.
That nigh we camped at a free DOC camp sight next to a field of those flowers and the river that those falls connect to. While setting up our tents we had several visitors, Kia, up in the trees just above our head. Kia are these parott like green birds with terribly strong beaks. They are known for ripping the rubber off car windows and sharpening their beaks on canoes and public benches. They watched us and tried to get us to feed them and we chased them away until they started watching from a safe distance.
The next day we hiked the first hour or so of the avalanch peak trail. The trail itself was steap and more like rock climbing at points but the waterfalls were beautiful and if the water handn't been so cold we would have been in it.
From their we traveled to Greymouth on the coast. It was a larger town- by NZ standards anyway- and we stayed at a holiday park on the beach. The beaches on the west coast in the south tended to be a bit rocky and this one was no exception. The rocks were all polished by the water and they were in every colour from white and black to orange, green and purple. Not to mention all the gnarly driftwood- The only negative was NZ worst enemy, the southern wind.
Our next adventure was further south at the Franz Joseph glacier. This is a glacier that sits amid rainforest only 300m above sea level and 12km from the ocean- glaciers are an amazing sight on their own but in that setting it was breathtaking. It was christmas day and everything was closed but we bumped into an american geology student from UW and picked him up on our way to hike the glaciers. The Weaher was a bit sour so we walked from the bottom of the road up the river bed toward the bottom. Having a geologist with us made it one of the best experiences i have had in NZ. We bounced across little streams and jumped rocks up to the closest poin to the ice you can get safely. Most of the bottom of the glacier is black accept for a large blue spot at the mouth of the river that our friend said indiated a recent collapse and likely the reason we were not allowed much closer. On the way back Aaron balanced rocks and Kendra stood under the waterfalls testing her rain gear under the ice water.
From there we dropped our hiker off in Fox glacier township before driving to the end of the road from the city and finding ourselves at an amazing campsight on a beach that seemed to go on forever. We built a fire pit and had a roaring fire with dinner and aaron dug a fridge into the sand for our beer. We found rockless parts of the beach to camp on and woke up to the roaring waves of the ocean.
The next stop was Wanaka, a lake side town described as Queenstown 20 years ago. Either way it was beautiful. They had great street food and art galleries and the lake was stunning surrouded by mountains. We spent that evening in Christchurch organizing our time in the fjoirdlands national park. Queenstown is natuarally much like a larger Wanaka, a lively town boardering the lake and filled with stunning second homes and people heading for the park.
We had an awesome seafood dinner with local surf acompanied with the west coasts famouse terrible waitstaff and service. But it was mighty tasty and we got to bring our own wine. sweet.
The park was something else. I dont have the words to describe the emensity or the beauty of the towering peaks above the water but you get the idea. We couldnt do the walk but we traveled through milford sound on the water instead. My pictures certainly wont do enought to describe it and obviously my words suck so you will have to go see for yourself.
That night we stayed in Te Anau the gateway to the park. The next day we decided to follow this road that didnt really exist and try and take it to doubtful sound even though everyone said you have to get there by boat. Well we got with in a few Km before it turned into an impossibly steap 4x4 road no longer maintained by the DOC. A day well spent even if it wasnt spen in the sound.
The next day we climbed the first day of the famouse Kepler track one of NZ great walks. We climbed through a creaky forest up to the top of the mountain where the tree line ends in almost a perfect line into a field of grass and rocky peaks. After that little 6 hour hike we headed out over the lake on a boat to the glow worm caves. The boat took us through a series of thimble islands before dropping us off at the cave entrance. This cave was much smaller and more intimate than some of the others we had see on the north island. The waitomo caves were older larger and had more formations and exciting things to see beyond the glow worms, but these had all the focus on the worms and the water and the result is spectacular. The glow worms are right in your face up close like the fullest night sky you have ever dreamed of and the river flows perfectly clear being filtered by the limestone. On he walk to the boat that takes you under the worms there are two deafening waterfalls that you cant take your eyes off of until someone points out the first worms and you get in the boat.
The next day was mostly a driving day taking us on the southern scenic routh through invercarvill towards Dunedin. This is getting long so im going to give you the highlights of the drive. WE SAW YELLOW EYED PENGUINS!!!! and even better they were on a beach filled with petrified wood! We also went to the southern most point of NZ and threw rocks at the south pole because that is just what you do when your that close- well that and jumping pictures anyway.
We drove up to Dunedin for New Years and celebrated with the whole town at a carnival in the octagon which is the center of town. We had dinner and an irish pub with a lively cover band and he best sticky date pudding ever! Then Aaron, Robert Kendra and I ended up drinking a bottle of bubbly at a skatepark while robert used a borowed board at 1am.
We spent a day at Otago Peninsula and went to the albatrose center. They were out flying in the morning when we arrived and when we took the tour of the center we got to see sevral nesting on the hill incubating their eggs. We learned a lot of amazing things about those birds and i wont bore it with you now but ask us some time, they are really intersting creatures.
We Then drove up to Timaru and then to Boulder beach, a beach with these large perfectly round rocks just sitting on the beach. They are said to be the spilled bounty from the fisherman Maui's boat when he fished up the North island. Aaron and Robert skimped down to their skivvies and went for a swim and a body surf while the rest of us combed the beach for shells.
skipping a little forward the last full day of the trip was spent in Akaroa, an area where three volcanoes onces stood but now forms a mountainous peninsula filled with bays and beautiful views. The town is very visibly the hot vacation spot for wealthy Christchurch people on the weekends and vacations but no without reason. The hills, the views, the water, the bays its all just wonderful to look at and play in.
Today we did some final shopping and watched street performers and people playing chess on a near lifesize board in the town center.
hope you all had amazing holidays and dont feel too bad if ours sound better ; )
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