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!

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.

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 Montueka, 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.

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.

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.

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.