We climbed Mount Doom. Because we are crazy.
Okay, it's not actually called Mount Doom. It's Mount Ngauruhoe (pronounced Nare-a-hoo-ee). And it is part of the Tongariro Crossing which is apparently considered the best day hike in New Zealand. But it is the volcano that acted as Mount Doom in Lord of the Rings. And if Elijah Wood and Sean Austin (Frodo and Samwise) actually climbed it, they certainly have my respect.
So here's the story. We booked it to Picton to catch the ferry on Monday and then got stuck in traffic leaving Wellington. Their rush hour extends along the major state highway leaving town for like an hour. It's pretty crazy. We stopped to visit a Kiwi friend of our parents' and her daughter who had picked us up at the airport. Lovely people - I wish we'd had more time to visit with them. After our visit we still had a few hours drive to our lodge. We got there around 11 which wouldn't have been too bad if we didn't have an 18 km hike planned for early the next morning. We caught the sleep we could and then we were off to do the Crossing. It was originally something we'd planned to leave out of our itinerary until every single traveller we met said it was their favourite thing they'd done on their holiday. Back into the itinerary it went.
Anyway, true to form we hadn't really read any of the brochures or found out anything about it except that it wasn't a loop and we needed transport. While driving to the start of the track our driver described a couple of the side trips (New Zealand is all about the side trips) and said that if we did any of them we'd need to make up time on the "easier" parts because we only had 8 hours before he'd be at the other side to pick us up. There were 2 other older couples in our van and none of us figured we'd do any of the side trips as they were fairly difficult scrambles up the summits of two of the volcanoes and took about 2-4 hours each.
I don't know what gets into me and Jess. We are 2 hours into the hike, having just completed the Devil's Staircase (the hardest part of the regular track). Because the area is all volcanic it really does look a bit like what one would imagine Hell might. (Very Mordor-ish for you LOR fans). Anyway, it was a good 50 minutes of climbing for us. Everyone stops for lunch at the top of the staircase which is also the spot where you can veer right and climb straight up Mount Ngauruhoe. It's all loose shale and volcanic rock. And there is steam coming out of the top. It takes 2 to 3 hours to climb and 30 minutes to descend. Because you basically scramble down the loose shale. The thought completely terrified me. But for some reason I'm like, "Hey Jess, we should do this" and she agreed. I would have chickened out about 10 minutes in if she had not been ahead of me. It was probably the hardest most terrifying hiking thing I've ever done. With every step up you slide 3/4 of a step back. And I was so petrified of the scramble down that my whole body was shaking. And you'd grab a rock and sometimes it would hold and sometimes it wouldn't. At some points, I was basically crawling (you should have seen how covered with dirt I was by the end - hilarious). It took us just under 2 hours to get to the top. We could smell the sulphur and see the steam. We sat to eat half our sandwhich. My bottom was quite warm, and kept getting warmer and warmer and warmer. When I finally stood up, there was steam coming from where I'd been sitting. Incredible experience.
The scramble down took about a half hour and was way less scary than I had been expecting and other than sheer exhaustion and 6 more hours to hike (with only 3.5 hours to do it). I can't believe we did it. We caught up and passed the other 2 couples (who weren't as crazy and hadn't done the extra climb) and made up a lot of time in the next hour and a half. At the "2 hours left" sign, Jess ran the entire rest of the way down because she was determined to make it within the 8 hours. And she totally did. I was about 20 minutes late (still mighty respectable) but still caught a ride. The other two couples were 2 hours behind us by this time. Everyone in New Zealand asks "are you fit" to us all the time and we are never sure how to answer (obviously we don't look it). After that day, we felt we could say that we are definately reasonably fit.
Anyway, we spent today in the Coromandel Peninsula at Opoutere Beach (beautiful) and now tomorrow we go to Fiji. My time is up so that's all I can write. Talk to you all when we get home.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Seals, seals and more seals
We finally saw seals to our hearts content. We are in Kaikoura which is on the east coast of the southern island and known for its marine wildlife. We did a bit of a jaunt over some rocks (that are covered at high tide) to a seal colony and saw dozens and dozens of seals up as close as we wanted. DOC tells you not to get within 10 metres and for a good reason. The bull fur seals could do some serious damage. I got a big closer than I meant to at one point and got yelled at by three of them. Oops.
So we no longer feel cheated and can go on with the rest of our holiday. Still no penguins for me though and no dolphins for Jess. Big huge sigh about that, but otherwise we are happy campers.
I ate crayfish and it's fantastic. But super expensive. As much as lobster. But it (crayfish) tastes better (to be fair, Jess disagrees on that point).
Tomorrow we catch the ferry from Picton back to Wellington. I have a charged iPod and 2 gravol tablets waiting for me. I'm going to find a spot at the back of the boat and try to sleep my 3 hours of seasickness away. And, it will get me out of driving for a couple hours afterward! I hate driving in Wellington so in this case, the seasickness actually helps me out. Jess is going to wonder why I'm taking so many gravol and she won't know the truth until she reads this post someday.
So we no longer feel cheated and can go on with the rest of our holiday. Still no penguins for me though and no dolphins for Jess. Big huge sigh about that, but otherwise we are happy campers.
I ate crayfish and it's fantastic. But super expensive. As much as lobster. But it (crayfish) tastes better (to be fair, Jess disagrees on that point).
Tomorrow we catch the ferry from Picton back to Wellington. I have a charged iPod and 2 gravol tablets waiting for me. I'm going to find a spot at the back of the boat and try to sleep my 3 hours of seasickness away. And, it will get me out of driving for a couple hours afterward! I hate driving in Wellington so in this case, the seasickness actually helps me out. Jess is going to wonder why I'm taking so many gravol and she won't know the truth until she reads this post someday.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Tramping* it up - New Zealand style
Well, Jess and I have now tramped. We just completed the Routeburn Track which amounted to three fairly full days of hiking. We even did what they call a side trip which is where you ditch your pack (unless you are crazy and "like a challenge" as the one guy said as he passed us for the second time) and do a more difficult and treacherous trail for an hour or two to get to some amazing view.
We met two couples (one from the Czech Republic and one from Oregon) the first night at the "hut"** and became fast friends the second night as Jess led a game of "up and down the river" with the Oregon guy's deck of cards. We were a bit rowdy and got the "lights out" time moved from 10:00pm to 9:40. Oops. So fun to laugh though.
I can't really describe how lovely the track was. The first and third days were mostly in this ethereal beech forest with moss hanging from trees and a waterfall around nearly every corner. The second day was by far my favourite though. We walked exposed above the treeline for a solid 5 hours (not including our side trip or lunch break) along the side of the mountains. Every turn was a different fantastic view. I absolutely loved it and would definately go again. It didn't hurt that we had three fine days of sun and no rain.
We guessed almost exactly right on how much food to take and came back with only a couple of crackers, a bit of cheese and a bite of chocolate. Our suppers consisted of "Adventure Packs" that someone had tipped us off about. Best freeze dried Honey Soy Chicken and Roast Lamb and Vegetables that I've ever had. Which isn't saying much I guess. But they were actually quite good and reasonably priced and healthy. Some people went all out and had mashed potatoes and sausages and the real adventurous (read: crazy) ones lugged up bottles of wine. Not us though - we went as light as we could. And like I said, guessed exactly right.
On the bus ride back to Te Anua we discussed what we were most looking forward to upon our return. You'd have thought that we'd both say a shower wouldn't you? But you'd be wrong, partly because Jess took a swim in the lake the night before and because I was not nearly as dirty as I've been on other work or pleasure related trips into the wild. I was actually dreaming of trading in my hiking shoes for my flip flops (called jandals in NZ) and Jess was looking forward to a real supper. And when we got here, I put on my jandals and we had the best dinner at a little place in Te Anua called La Via Dolce (or something close to that). I happily paid $40 for my dinner. For those of you who know me and my reluctance to pay a lot at a restaurant (and are sitting there with your mouths hanging open), it was worth it and I would have paid $60 for the fine food I ate. It was chicken and vegetables atop roast potatoes and some kind of Italian sauce which started with an "F" and was heavenly. And our waiter sang to himself (using the word "Amore" quite a lot) as he cleaned off and set other people's tables which made me smile quite a lot. It was the perfect meal to end a wonderful three days.
*Tramping here means hiking in case I haven't already explained that. And it means serious hiking, not just strolling along a paved mountain path (because there are plenty of those if that's your cup of tea).
** Hut is a loose definition in this country. The Great Walk Huts are fairly amazing and nicer than a lot of the hostels we've stayed in (which are also very nice). 10 or 20 stove tops, flush toilets, fantastic views and relatively comfy bunks afford a relaxing evening. You do share a room with 25 other people, but if you have earplugs and a face mask, it's no problem.
We met two couples (one from the Czech Republic and one from Oregon) the first night at the "hut"** and became fast friends the second night as Jess led a game of "up and down the river" with the Oregon guy's deck of cards. We were a bit rowdy and got the "lights out" time moved from 10:00pm to 9:40. Oops. So fun to laugh though.
I can't really describe how lovely the track was. The first and third days were mostly in this ethereal beech forest with moss hanging from trees and a waterfall around nearly every corner. The second day was by far my favourite though. We walked exposed above the treeline for a solid 5 hours (not including our side trip or lunch break) along the side of the mountains. Every turn was a different fantastic view. I absolutely loved it and would definately go again. It didn't hurt that we had three fine days of sun and no rain.
We guessed almost exactly right on how much food to take and came back with only a couple of crackers, a bit of cheese and a bite of chocolate. Our suppers consisted of "Adventure Packs" that someone had tipped us off about. Best freeze dried Honey Soy Chicken and Roast Lamb and Vegetables that I've ever had. Which isn't saying much I guess. But they were actually quite good and reasonably priced and healthy. Some people went all out and had mashed potatoes and sausages and the real adventurous (read: crazy) ones lugged up bottles of wine. Not us though - we went as light as we could. And like I said, guessed exactly right.
On the bus ride back to Te Anua we discussed what we were most looking forward to upon our return. You'd have thought that we'd both say a shower wouldn't you? But you'd be wrong, partly because Jess took a swim in the lake the night before and because I was not nearly as dirty as I've been on other work or pleasure related trips into the wild. I was actually dreaming of trading in my hiking shoes for my flip flops (called jandals in NZ) and Jess was looking forward to a real supper. And when we got here, I put on my jandals and we had the best dinner at a little place in Te Anua called La Via Dolce (or something close to that). I happily paid $40 for my dinner. For those of you who know me and my reluctance to pay a lot at a restaurant (and are sitting there with your mouths hanging open), it was worth it and I would have paid $60 for the fine food I ate. It was chicken and vegetables atop roast potatoes and some kind of Italian sauce which started with an "F" and was heavenly. And our waiter sang to himself (using the word "Amore" quite a lot) as he cleaned off and set other people's tables which made me smile quite a lot. It was the perfect meal to end a wonderful three days.
*Tramping here means hiking in case I haven't already explained that. And it means serious hiking, not just strolling along a paved mountain path (because there are plenty of those if that's your cup of tea).
** Hut is a loose definition in this country. The Great Walk Huts are fairly amazing and nicer than a lot of the hostels we've stayed in (which are also very nice). 10 or 20 stove tops, flush toilets, fantastic views and relatively comfy bunks afford a relaxing evening. You do share a room with 25 other people, but if you have earplugs and a face mask, it's no problem.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
yesterday and today - queenstown and doubtful sound
because i've been questioned about it, the whale rescue i thought i might try to participate it (if it had still been alive) would have involved covering the whale with towels and keeping it wet with buckets of water and helping turn it the right direction to swim out once the tide came in, etc. i was not planning to perform CPR (dad) or pull on its tail to get it back in the water.
it is tuesday january 22 today (which means it's monday back home). i haven't been great about saying which day things were happening. so that clears that up.
yesterday we hung out in queenstown. our hostel was truly awesome. it was called hippo lodge and we paid the most we've paid so far for a private room but it was one of the nicer places (my 2nd favourite). the view of the lake and the rest of queenstown was amazing. which obviously meant we were at the top of a big steep hill. which was unfortunate for me because i'm not great with directions and jess and i split up at the end of the day and i forgot exactly which street to walk up. so i picked the one i thought, got to the top (huffing and puffing), and couldn't see my hostel anywhere. then i walked back down and asked someone. she laughed at me and said i'd actually gone up the right one but just had to go up the staircase. funny but i had absolutely no recollection of going down a staircase in the morning. jess assures me we did. but i am very unobservant about things like that. so back up the giant hill. oh well, good training for the Routeburn. anyway, while in queenstown we did a bit of shopping for the big hike, booked the trasportation (it's not a loop so we start and end in different places), booked our accomodation in Fiji, and booked a day trip to Doubtful Sound. after that we drove the 2.5 hours to Te Anau where we are doing a homestay. nice clean cozy house with a real friendly guy who was so excited about our whale story and wanted to see our pictures. so it's been good.
Doubtful Sound. Stunning.
this morning we got up early and walked to the corner in the rain (our first day of rain since Auckland - we've been very lucky) to catch the first bus (referred to all day as a coach). it took us to the visitor's centre in Manipouri where we caught our first boat and crossed Lake Manipouri. Beautiful ride in the mist and rain. Good news is our raincoats appear to work okay. Once we arrived at the other end of the lake, we did a quick tour of an information centre and then we caught our second bus which took us first on a tour of the power station (we rode a bus for about 20 minutes underground and then had a nice tour - neither jess nor i had fully read the description of the day so this was an enjoyable surprise for both of us). the coach then took us over the 21km Wilmont Pass road (the most expensive ever built in New Zealand. owned by the power company and only accessible by water on both sides) which took about an hour to reach Deep Cove. Tons of waterfalls and trees and plants and moss (my secret weakness - spaghnum mostly. it's harvested here and used for all sorts of interesting things). then we caught our second boat and had a lovely three hour cruise through the fjiords and into doubtful sound. it was all misty and "moody" in the morning and majestic and lovely. it had stopped raining but remained overcast until we turned around at the tasman sea and cruised back. then the sun came out and we had a completely different view of everything. loved it.
we went back to our bus at Deep Cove and back over Wilmont Pass road. caught that boat to cross Lake Manipouri again. rode that bus back into Te Anau. all said and done we had 4 bus rides and three boat rides. long brilliant day.
this evening we've done nothing but eat supper (our favourite meal, pasta with tuna and boiled carrots) and organise our food and packs for tomorrow. we catch our first bus at 7:30 and are back off to queenstown. we've got two hours and then we catch a second bus to glenoarchy which drops us at our starting point, the Routeburn Shelter. we will spend our first night at Routeburn Falls Hut and our second night at Lake Mackenzie Hut. that info is mostly for my dad since he likes to follow along on my trips. to the rest of you, if you were bored you should have skipped that sentence.
so won't be much news from us in the next few days. i've never done a three day hike before. apparently the second day is the hardest. and to make it extra fun, the forecast is rain! we've been told to be ready to walk through a half metre of water if it rains. sounds like fun.
now i shall go and drink tea with the homeowner and another guy staying here (i think the accent is scottish) and then head to bed.
it is tuesday january 22 today (which means it's monday back home). i haven't been great about saying which day things were happening. so that clears that up.
yesterday we hung out in queenstown. our hostel was truly awesome. it was called hippo lodge and we paid the most we've paid so far for a private room but it was one of the nicer places (my 2nd favourite). the view of the lake and the rest of queenstown was amazing. which obviously meant we were at the top of a big steep hill. which was unfortunate for me because i'm not great with directions and jess and i split up at the end of the day and i forgot exactly which street to walk up. so i picked the one i thought, got to the top (huffing and puffing), and couldn't see my hostel anywhere. then i walked back down and asked someone. she laughed at me and said i'd actually gone up the right one but just had to go up the staircase. funny but i had absolutely no recollection of going down a staircase in the morning. jess assures me we did. but i am very unobservant about things like that. so back up the giant hill. oh well, good training for the Routeburn. anyway, while in queenstown we did a bit of shopping for the big hike, booked the trasportation (it's not a loop so we start and end in different places), booked our accomodation in Fiji, and booked a day trip to Doubtful Sound. after that we drove the 2.5 hours to Te Anau where we are doing a homestay. nice clean cozy house with a real friendly guy who was so excited about our whale story and wanted to see our pictures. so it's been good.
Doubtful Sound. Stunning.
this morning we got up early and walked to the corner in the rain (our first day of rain since Auckland - we've been very lucky) to catch the first bus (referred to all day as a coach). it took us to the visitor's centre in Manipouri where we caught our first boat and crossed Lake Manipouri. Beautiful ride in the mist and rain. Good news is our raincoats appear to work okay. Once we arrived at the other end of the lake, we did a quick tour of an information centre and then we caught our second bus which took us first on a tour of the power station (we rode a bus for about 20 minutes underground and then had a nice tour - neither jess nor i had fully read the description of the day so this was an enjoyable surprise for both of us). the coach then took us over the 21km Wilmont Pass road (the most expensive ever built in New Zealand. owned by the power company and only accessible by water on both sides) which took about an hour to reach Deep Cove. Tons of waterfalls and trees and plants and moss (my secret weakness - spaghnum mostly. it's harvested here and used for all sorts of interesting things). then we caught our second boat and had a lovely three hour cruise through the fjiords and into doubtful sound. it was all misty and "moody" in the morning and majestic and lovely. it had stopped raining but remained overcast until we turned around at the tasman sea and cruised back. then the sun came out and we had a completely different view of everything. loved it.
we went back to our bus at Deep Cove and back over Wilmont Pass road. caught that boat to cross Lake Manipouri again. rode that bus back into Te Anau. all said and done we had 4 bus rides and three boat rides. long brilliant day.
this evening we've done nothing but eat supper (our favourite meal, pasta with tuna and boiled carrots) and organise our food and packs for tomorrow. we catch our first bus at 7:30 and are back off to queenstown. we've got two hours and then we catch a second bus to glenoarchy which drops us at our starting point, the Routeburn Shelter. we will spend our first night at Routeburn Falls Hut and our second night at Lake Mackenzie Hut. that info is mostly for my dad since he likes to follow along on my trips. to the rest of you, if you were bored you should have skipped that sentence.
so won't be much news from us in the next few days. i've never done a three day hike before. apparently the second day is the hardest. and to make it extra fun, the forecast is rain! we've been told to be ready to walk through a half metre of water if it rains. sounds like fun.
now i shall go and drink tea with the homeowner and another guy staying here (i think the accent is scottish) and then head to bed.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
long post about the last few days...
i saw a beached whale. we went back up the golden bay coast to farewell spit on friday and because of lack of time skipped our return trip to the beach you have to hike to and instead did another hike out to a different beach (not as wild but still lovely - no seals though). we "improvised" our way back to the carpark (of course jess was loving it and i was so worried we were lost) and saw a bull sperm whale that had beached itself a couple of days previously and died on the beach. it was sort of sad but the DOC (Department of Conservation) officers that were there said it was an old whale that had likely done it on purpose to die. t'was his time i suppose. when we first came around the corner that let it be in our sight i thought it might still be alive and we took off running the 3/4 kilometre or so to get to it. we knew we had a 6 hour drive with no stops to get to Punakaiki and we had to be there by 9 to get our room and if we were late he'd still charge us even though we'd be sleeping in the car. and we were already running behind but the thought of participating in a whale rescue was more than i could bear. so off we ran. we got such interesting information about whale rescues from the DOC guy (because of the length of the sand spit in that area it does happen on occasion). he even said that they once managed to rescue 100 pilot whales that beached themselves a couple of years ago. thousands of volunteers came out to help. so cool.
anyway, we now had 5 hours and 45 minutes to make a 6 hour drive (and that's 6 hours with no stops - our stops don't tend to be quick). i will not tell you how we did it on those windy roads, only that we did it and got to watch the sun set from about 20 feet in front of our hostel. it was a great day because we really packed in the absolute max of what we could do.
saturday (yesterday) we woke up early to get to the blowholes at the pancake rocks that were about a 10 minute walk from the hostel (although i'm embarassed to admit that we drove - we were scared we'd miss it). these funny looking layered rocks, thus the name pancake, have holes where the water bursts forth at high tide. there are pictures of them all over NZ. while it was not quite as dramatic as the pictures, it was pretty cool. after that we drove to westport, about an hour north (stopped to do a quick 30 minute hike) to get gas, batteries and go for lunch. we then went to a seal colony so as to ensure that we would see them. we hit the pay dirt and stood and watched them for about an hour. we were fairly far away but it was still pretty neat to see, especially since there are baby seals right now. we have another hope of seeing them up close when we travel back to the north island up the east coast past christchurch. after our seal watching we returned to punakaiki to do a 3 hour river walk that included a river crossing at the end. i was pretty nervous, having never done one, and had my waterproof bag for my camera, extra shoes to change into so i wouldn't have to walk in my hikers and warm clothes in case i fell in and had to warm up after. i'd also let someone at the hostel know where were going in case we didn't come back. so picture me, all prepared for the worst, at the side of this river getting ready to cross. jess went first and we decided I would take a picture of her. she seemed to do it with no problem (but i was still a little nervous). by the time i sat down, put my camera into my waterproof bag, took off my hikers and switched to sandals she had crossed back over and back again. so, a little red faced, i crossed my first river (without a bridge). we got back to the hostel, ate dinner and crashed.
this morning (sunday) we arose early and were on the road by 7:15. our goal - queenstown. that is about a 10 hour drive without stopping. in new zealand, i think they consider us a bit crazy for even considering it (but we are canadian girls - we know driving). it was a really nice drive actually. we made several stops. the first was in hokitika to look for jade. then we stopped in fox glacier to meet up with our dutch friends for lunch (which was so fun). we visited the information center in haast (which is an area we really really wish we could have spent some time in) and did a bunch of short walks as we drove through haast pass. stopped for dinner in wanuka and made it to queenstown around 9.
tomorrow is preparation day. we need to buy all of our food for our three day Routeburn Track. exciting.
anyway, we now had 5 hours and 45 minutes to make a 6 hour drive (and that's 6 hours with no stops - our stops don't tend to be quick). i will not tell you how we did it on those windy roads, only that we did it and got to watch the sun set from about 20 feet in front of our hostel. it was a great day because we really packed in the absolute max of what we could do.
saturday (yesterday) we woke up early to get to the blowholes at the pancake rocks that were about a 10 minute walk from the hostel (although i'm embarassed to admit that we drove - we were scared we'd miss it). these funny looking layered rocks, thus the name pancake, have holes where the water bursts forth at high tide. there are pictures of them all over NZ. while it was not quite as dramatic as the pictures, it was pretty cool. after that we drove to westport, about an hour north (stopped to do a quick 30 minute hike) to get gas, batteries and go for lunch. we then went to a seal colony so as to ensure that we would see them. we hit the pay dirt and stood and watched them for about an hour. we were fairly far away but it was still pretty neat to see, especially since there are baby seals right now. we have another hope of seeing them up close when we travel back to the north island up the east coast past christchurch. after our seal watching we returned to punakaiki to do a 3 hour river walk that included a river crossing at the end. i was pretty nervous, having never done one, and had my waterproof bag for my camera, extra shoes to change into so i wouldn't have to walk in my hikers and warm clothes in case i fell in and had to warm up after. i'd also let someone at the hostel know where were going in case we didn't come back. so picture me, all prepared for the worst, at the side of this river getting ready to cross. jess went first and we decided I would take a picture of her. she seemed to do it with no problem (but i was still a little nervous). by the time i sat down, put my camera into my waterproof bag, took off my hikers and switched to sandals she had crossed back over and back again. so, a little red faced, i crossed my first river (without a bridge). we got back to the hostel, ate dinner and crashed.
this morning (sunday) we arose early and were on the road by 7:15. our goal - queenstown. that is about a 10 hour drive without stopping. in new zealand, i think they consider us a bit crazy for even considering it (but we are canadian girls - we know driving). it was a really nice drive actually. we made several stops. the first was in hokitika to look for jade. then we stopped in fox glacier to meet up with our dutch friends for lunch (which was so fun). we visited the information center in haast (which is an area we really really wish we could have spent some time in) and did a bunch of short walks as we drove through haast pass. stopped for dinner in wanuka and made it to queenstown around 9.
tomorrow is preparation day. we need to buy all of our food for our three day Routeburn Track. exciting.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
...and on that farm there was a rooster
a very effective rooster who took his job extremely seriously.
WE ARE ON THE SOUTH ISLAND! and we love it so much that we have changed almost all our informal plans so we can stay here for the majority of the holiday. monday afternoon we arrived in picton which is the cutest little harbour town. i wish we had more time because i would have loved to stay there. but both of us have this urging to keep going to the next place because we don't want to miss anything. so on to nelson we went. fabulous. our favourite city/town so far. if i moved to NZ, i'd move there. the best beach we've been to was there and was called something like taranui, but that might be slightly off - i am having more trouble remembering maori names than i thought i would.
our evening and tuesday day were spent doing a bit of planning. we have found that phoning and booking takes so much time so we booked for the next 5 nights and feel so relaxed now. we also booked our 3 day walk down in fjiordland. milford track and abel tasman were full (as we'd expected) so we are taking a recommendation and doing the routeburn track. both a little nervous about hiking 3 days with packs since we've been so posh-ish-ly leaving everything in our car and the longest i've walked with my pack was through the MAF line at the airport. but whatever - we've booked it now so we are doing it. tuesday afternoon we went to the beach and then drove to marahau where we stayed in a shared room at a hostel called "old mcdonald's" with some dutch twins (whom we loved - first people since Auckland that we clicked with). in the morning (wednesday) i awoke to a rooster who takes his job very seriously. the twins and i ate our breakfast in the outdoor kitchen and laughed as this rooster crowed again, and again and on and on. there was also a duck that hung around our little area just following us around. erik and anareaka (the twins) started feeing it a bit of bread and then the rooster came for his share. then the hen and and chicks came running. then the turkeys. it was hilarious. we gave the duck the most though, because she had been been the most persistent and, we felt, the most deserving. the best part was, jess slept through all the noise. i really do not know how she made it through that rooster.
we had pre-booked a kayaking trip on wednesday up to tonga island marine reserve. we enjoyed our day of kayaking the seas very much. the story is too long to tell here, but just know it was lovely. and we even saw seals although talked to others later (who didn't pay for an expensive tour) that just saw them at the beach and swam with them. we felt a bit cheated. that evening we had booked at another hostel (long story) so we had to move over from "old mcdonalds" to "the barn". a barn it was not. we got there already knowing that her "dorms" are tents. but they are the kind you set up at a field camp somewhere with cots and rooms and stuff so we weren't too worried about it. but wouldn't you know she had actually booked us in the Seaview Cottage. it was amazing. the view was stunning. i am slightly embarassed to admit that i liked it so much, i took a video so as to give a virtual tour to people once home. we quickly ate supper and ran back to our new dutch friends (still at the farm) to invite them for a lovely evening of watching the sea from our deck. we stayed up late laughing and talking and planning to meet again later in our trip.
yesterday we stayed as long as we could in our beautiful cottage before heading to takaka. on the way we spent more than hour trying to find the harwood hole - the biggest hole in new zealand. the lonely planet guide does a much better description. anyway, you drive 11 km to the carpark (that is the part that took us over an hour - it's not as easy as it sounds) hike 45 minutes through a forest (used as chetwood forest in lord of the rings) to this 180 meter deep hole with no barriers around it. scary but very cool. i loved the forest - it was so eerie and beautiful. anyway when we got to takaka we checked into our next hostel and drove part way to collingwood to stop at the recommended "mussel inn" for dinner. ate an exquisite mussel chowder. best thing i've eaten so far here in NZ (jess says for her it ties with pizza that we had in auckland and at nelson). bronwyn, if you ever come here you must plan to go to mussel inn for dinner or drinks or something. and you must drink a lot of fluid so you have to go the washroom at least 4 times because you will die when you see the stall walls. someone has taken hours and hours to collage them - and not in a cheesy way, in a "so cool i don't understand it" (which obviously means it is good art) way. i thought of you immediately. afterward we drove up to wharariki beach which you have to actually hike to after driving to the ends of the earth (it feels like). lots of sand-dunes (reminds me of leader). we barely got to see another seal. three other people found it in a cave and were trying to call us for like 15 minutes but we didn't hear them until just as the seal was swimming out. cheated again! we plan to go back today (and are determined to see some seals up close) before driving to punakiki where we are staying 2 nights on the beach. there are cool "geological formations" there and rocks where the ocean shoots through like a blowhole. very excited.
having a great time. finding that when we take a recommendation from someone local that it is worth it.
WE ARE ON THE SOUTH ISLAND! and we love it so much that we have changed almost all our informal plans so we can stay here for the majority of the holiday. monday afternoon we arrived in picton which is the cutest little harbour town. i wish we had more time because i would have loved to stay there. but both of us have this urging to keep going to the next place because we don't want to miss anything. so on to nelson we went. fabulous. our favourite city/town so far. if i moved to NZ, i'd move there. the best beach we've been to was there and was called something like taranui, but that might be slightly off - i am having more trouble remembering maori names than i thought i would.
our evening and tuesday day were spent doing a bit of planning. we have found that phoning and booking takes so much time so we booked for the next 5 nights and feel so relaxed now. we also booked our 3 day walk down in fjiordland. milford track and abel tasman were full (as we'd expected) so we are taking a recommendation and doing the routeburn track. both a little nervous about hiking 3 days with packs since we've been so posh-ish-ly leaving everything in our car and the longest i've walked with my pack was through the MAF line at the airport. but whatever - we've booked it now so we are doing it. tuesday afternoon we went to the beach and then drove to marahau where we stayed in a shared room at a hostel called "old mcdonald's" with some dutch twins (whom we loved - first people since Auckland that we clicked with). in the morning (wednesday) i awoke to a rooster who takes his job very seriously. the twins and i ate our breakfast in the outdoor kitchen and laughed as this rooster crowed again, and again and on and on. there was also a duck that hung around our little area just following us around. erik and anareaka (the twins) started feeing it a bit of bread and then the rooster came for his share. then the hen and and chicks came running. then the turkeys. it was hilarious. we gave the duck the most though, because she had been been the most persistent and, we felt, the most deserving. the best part was, jess slept through all the noise. i really do not know how she made it through that rooster.
we had pre-booked a kayaking trip on wednesday up to tonga island marine reserve. we enjoyed our day of kayaking the seas very much. the story is too long to tell here, but just know it was lovely. and we even saw seals although talked to others later (who didn't pay for an expensive tour) that just saw them at the beach and swam with them. we felt a bit cheated. that evening we had booked at another hostel (long story) so we had to move over from "old mcdonalds" to "the barn". a barn it was not. we got there already knowing that her "dorms" are tents. but they are the kind you set up at a field camp somewhere with cots and rooms and stuff so we weren't too worried about it. but wouldn't you know she had actually booked us in the Seaview Cottage. it was amazing. the view was stunning. i am slightly embarassed to admit that i liked it so much, i took a video so as to give a virtual tour to people once home. we quickly ate supper and ran back to our new dutch friends (still at the farm) to invite them for a lovely evening of watching the sea from our deck. we stayed up late laughing and talking and planning to meet again later in our trip.
yesterday we stayed as long as we could in our beautiful cottage before heading to takaka. on the way we spent more than hour trying to find the harwood hole - the biggest hole in new zealand. the lonely planet guide does a much better description. anyway, you drive 11 km to the carpark (that is the part that took us over an hour - it's not as easy as it sounds) hike 45 minutes through a forest (used as chetwood forest in lord of the rings) to this 180 meter deep hole with no barriers around it. scary but very cool. i loved the forest - it was so eerie and beautiful. anyway when we got to takaka we checked into our next hostel and drove part way to collingwood to stop at the recommended "mussel inn" for dinner. ate an exquisite mussel chowder. best thing i've eaten so far here in NZ (jess says for her it ties with pizza that we had in auckland and at nelson). bronwyn, if you ever come here you must plan to go to mussel inn for dinner or drinks or something. and you must drink a lot of fluid so you have to go the washroom at least 4 times because you will die when you see the stall walls. someone has taken hours and hours to collage them - and not in a cheesy way, in a "so cool i don't understand it" (which obviously means it is good art) way. i thought of you immediately. afterward we drove up to wharariki beach which you have to actually hike to after driving to the ends of the earth (it feels like). lots of sand-dunes (reminds me of leader). we barely got to see another seal. three other people found it in a cave and were trying to call us for like 15 minutes but we didn't hear them until just as the seal was swimming out. cheated again! we plan to go back today (and are determined to see some seals up close) before driving to punakiki where we are staying 2 nights on the beach. there are cool "geological formations" there and rocks where the ocean shoots through like a blowhole. very excited.
having a great time. finding that when we take a recommendation from someone local that it is worth it.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Near Wellington
I've got about 5 minutes before I get kicked off so this will have to be quick (having horrible time finding internet or phones).
Friday we got up and did a little hike in Waitomo area. Supposed to be half hour walk (before driving to New Plymouth) but Jess spotted some caves about 12 feet up a easy climb of a rock face and so we dashed back to the car for our headlamps and did some exploring. You know me - all I could think about were the bugs. Some the size of my entire hand (the weta it's called). Brilliant drive to NP after that. Just gorgeous. I drove most of it - getting used to the left hand for the most part. Swam in the Tasman Sea Friday night and went for dinner along their Main Street. Really fun day.
Yesterday did a hike on Mount Taranaki (formerly Mount Egmont). So fun except for the part where Jess decided to do some trail running, tripped, and fell off the side of the mountain. Lots of trees to stop her fall but thankfully she grabbed some roots before that became necessary and pulled herself up. Got away with only a scrape on her knee, some grass (or I guess more acurately shrub) stains and the loss of her totally awesome MEC sunglasses. What a shame, but if you know Jess, well, then you know Jess. And you know she had a great time doing it.
We stayed at a "dodgy" Holiday Park last night right near the Sea in CastleCliff (near Wanganui). We sort of left it till last minute and had no choice but to take it when we arrived. We went for a quick walk on a beautiful beach but as soon as it started to get dark we were out of there. Too few people around for our likes. The Park itself where our cabin was felt safeish but not the beach!
Today was mostly driving. We stopped in Wanganui to try to book our 3 day tramp (hike) in the South Island, make some personal calls, and book a hostel for tonight. We failed abysmally* at all three and ended up spending quite a bit to do so. Wanganui is a river town and reminded me a lot of Saskatoon. Beautiful but we were tired and a little worried about not having a place to sleep tonight (Wellington is more busy and books up faster). We finally arrived here late in the afternoon and jumped out at our first choice hostel. I made a verbal contract for the last double room with the owner and we ran to park the car. By the time we got back, he'd given the room away to some double parked lucky people who stole our room. We managed to book a Holiday Park outside of town (which kind of sucks - our room feels a bit like a cross between an old hospital room and a prison cell but at least it's clean) which should have taken 20 minutes to get to but took 2 hours.
Quick stop at the Botanic Gardens. Very nice.
Getting kicked off now - talk to you all later.
Shannon
** I know that is spelled wrong and I don't care
Friday we got up and did a little hike in Waitomo area. Supposed to be half hour walk (before driving to New Plymouth) but Jess spotted some caves about 12 feet up a easy climb of a rock face and so we dashed back to the car for our headlamps and did some exploring. You know me - all I could think about were the bugs. Some the size of my entire hand (the weta it's called). Brilliant drive to NP after that. Just gorgeous. I drove most of it - getting used to the left hand for the most part. Swam in the Tasman Sea Friday night and went for dinner along their Main Street. Really fun day.
Yesterday did a hike on Mount Taranaki (formerly Mount Egmont). So fun except for the part where Jess decided to do some trail running, tripped, and fell off the side of the mountain. Lots of trees to stop her fall but thankfully she grabbed some roots before that became necessary and pulled herself up. Got away with only a scrape on her knee, some grass (or I guess more acurately shrub) stains and the loss of her totally awesome MEC sunglasses. What a shame, but if you know Jess, well, then you know Jess. And you know she had a great time doing it.
We stayed at a "dodgy" Holiday Park last night right near the Sea in CastleCliff (near Wanganui). We sort of left it till last minute and had no choice but to take it when we arrived. We went for a quick walk on a beautiful beach but as soon as it started to get dark we were out of there. Too few people around for our likes. The Park itself where our cabin was felt safeish but not the beach!
Today was mostly driving. We stopped in Wanganui to try to book our 3 day tramp (hike) in the South Island, make some personal calls, and book a hostel for tonight. We failed abysmally* at all three and ended up spending quite a bit to do so. Wanganui is a river town and reminded me a lot of Saskatoon. Beautiful but we were tired and a little worried about not having a place to sleep tonight (Wellington is more busy and books up faster). We finally arrived here late in the afternoon and jumped out at our first choice hostel. I made a verbal contract for the last double room with the owner and we ran to park the car. By the time we got back, he'd given the room away to some double parked lucky people who stole our room. We managed to book a Holiday Park outside of town (which kind of sucks - our room feels a bit like a cross between an old hospital room and a prison cell but at least it's clean) which should have taken 20 minutes to get to but took 2 hours.
Quick stop at the Botanic Gardens. Very nice.
Getting kicked off now - talk to you all later.
Shannon
** I know that is spelled wrong and I don't care
Friday, January 11, 2008
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Maggot crap
Out of Auckland now. The mom of 2 of my good friends lives in Auckland so we visited with her yesterday for the morning. We will try to do a hike or something with her toward the end of the month. But it was so cool to get the perspective of a Canadian who has lived in New Zealand for 5 years.
We decided to rent a car. With two of us, it was the far more economical way to go. We are thrilled to have it because it gives us so much more freedom. We have the ability to do whatever we want now. And it also means we won't ever have to carry everything on our backs because we can always leave some things in the car. Not at all what we planned but it will work.
We stayed a beautiful hostel last evening in Waitomo. The view was amazing. But we were in a dorm room with 6 other people and it kind of stank. I have a poor sense of smell so it didn't bother me so much, but Jess's sniffer is quite sensitive. So today we moved over to a Holiday Park down the road and got a private cabin for the exact same price! Holiday parks here are sort of like really nice campgrounds. There is a common cooking area, laundry and washroom facilities. Also TV, email, phones, pool, etc. It's a big grassy area with a few gynormous trees and people put up their tents wherever they wish or park a camper van (very popular here). A few cabins dot the landscape and there you have it - a holiday park.
Our big even today was to go through the Waitomo Caves. We did this black water rafting tour on a river that flows through them. Very cool. Awesome guides. Not to mention I got to wear a full wetsuit for the first time. Very sexy. I will have to upload pictures when I return. Inside the caves there are millions of glowing spots that look like stars. It really was terribly cool. Essentially, it is the poop of the larvae of a fly that lives in the cave that glows. Kind of gross, but really cool to see. The "rafting" was fun. I'm really glad we did it.
Oh yeah, driving! It's on the wrong side of the road. So weird. If you've seen "The Holiday" I felt exactly like Cameron Diaz acts when she first drives in Britain. I suspect we will get used to it soon though. Jess drove first which meant she drove in Auckland. We, of course, got lost almost immediately. Our rule is that if we aren't perfectly comfortable or sure of our next move, we follow the car in front of us, even if it goes a way we don't want to. That means we may get lost a few times but honestly, it was pretty fun getting lost. I mean, we were lost in New Zealand after driving on the wrong side of the road. Can't beat that.
And the countryside is stunning.
Absolutely no idea of what we are going to do tomorrow other than continue south. We've got nothing booked or planned and that's absolutely perfect with me.
We decided to rent a car. With two of us, it was the far more economical way to go. We are thrilled to have it because it gives us so much more freedom. We have the ability to do whatever we want now. And it also means we won't ever have to carry everything on our backs because we can always leave some things in the car. Not at all what we planned but it will work.
We stayed a beautiful hostel last evening in Waitomo. The view was amazing. But we were in a dorm room with 6 other people and it kind of stank. I have a poor sense of smell so it didn't bother me so much, but Jess's sniffer is quite sensitive. So today we moved over to a Holiday Park down the road and got a private cabin for the exact same price! Holiday parks here are sort of like really nice campgrounds. There is a common cooking area, laundry and washroom facilities. Also TV, email, phones, pool, etc. It's a big grassy area with a few gynormous trees and people put up their tents wherever they wish or park a camper van (very popular here). A few cabins dot the landscape and there you have it - a holiday park.
Our big even today was to go through the Waitomo Caves. We did this black water rafting tour on a river that flows through them. Very cool. Awesome guides. Not to mention I got to wear a full wetsuit for the first time. Very sexy. I will have to upload pictures when I return. Inside the caves there are millions of glowing spots that look like stars. It really was terribly cool. Essentially, it is the poop of the larvae of a fly that lives in the cave that glows. Kind of gross, but really cool to see. The "rafting" was fun. I'm really glad we did it.
Oh yeah, driving! It's on the wrong side of the road. So weird. If you've seen "The Holiday" I felt exactly like Cameron Diaz acts when she first drives in Britain. I suspect we will get used to it soon though. Jess drove first which meant she drove in Auckland. We, of course, got lost almost immediately. Our rule is that if we aren't perfectly comfortable or sure of our next move, we follow the car in front of us, even if it goes a way we don't want to. That means we may get lost a few times but honestly, it was pretty fun getting lost. I mean, we were lost in New Zealand after driving on the wrong side of the road. Can't beat that.
And the countryside is stunning.
Absolutely no idea of what we are going to do tomorrow other than continue south. We've got nothing booked or planned and that's absolutely perfect with me.
Monday, January 07, 2008
35 hours later
*** This was supposed to have been uploaded 2 days ago but my internet time ran out before I could hit post*****
I am here in New Zealand! Only have a couple of minutes so just a quick recap so far. Every single flight was delayed and our luggage got lost (sort of - they did find it eventually) and it took 35 hours get here. That is an awfully long time to travel. I did a similar length of trip when I went to Israel in Grade 10 but I don't remember it seeming that long. Anyway, back to the point, I'm here! And overall, it was a lovely, albeit long, trip. Air Pacific is a fantastic airline. The service was exceptional and aside from the planes being old with glitches in the tv (everyone gets their own and mine wouldn't play the games that they had but not as bad as the lady next to us who could only play games and not watch any movies) they were quite comfortable. We had a long layover in Fiji so we went to the beach with a girl we met from Seattle. We paid a bit extra at the airport to get a voucher so that we could be allowed into the Sheraton to use their beach, washrooms, pool, etc. It was absolutely beautiful. We are very excited for our few days there at the end of the trip. New Zealand has strict security about what you can and can't take into the country so it took us an hour to get through the MAF line (which is their Agricultural screening line). About 1000 times more strict then their actual customs it seemed. Seriously, don't ever try to bring a dirty used tent in. Even my brand new hiking shoes had to be clean before I could bring them (which they were since I've only been wearing them in snow).
We had a lovely girl pick us up from the airport who is the daughter of a lady that our moms knew back in the day. It was nice not to have to find a shuttle and we really appreciated that. The hostel is quite nice (City Garden Lodge in the Parnell area of Auckland - I'd recommend it) and we will be here for 2 nights. Then on to who knows where!
I am quite happy that the temperature is 25 degrees and that that is above Zero.
I am here in New Zealand! Only have a couple of minutes so just a quick recap so far. Every single flight was delayed and our luggage got lost (sort of - they did find it eventually) and it took 35 hours get here. That is an awfully long time to travel. I did a similar length of trip when I went to Israel in Grade 10 but I don't remember it seeming that long. Anyway, back to the point, I'm here! And overall, it was a lovely, albeit long, trip. Air Pacific is a fantastic airline. The service was exceptional and aside from the planes being old with glitches in the tv (everyone gets their own and mine wouldn't play the games that they had but not as bad as the lady next to us who could only play games and not watch any movies) they were quite comfortable. We had a long layover in Fiji so we went to the beach with a girl we met from Seattle. We paid a bit extra at the airport to get a voucher so that we could be allowed into the Sheraton to use their beach, washrooms, pool, etc. It was absolutely beautiful. We are very excited for our few days there at the end of the trip. New Zealand has strict security about what you can and can't take into the country so it took us an hour to get through the MAF line (which is their Agricultural screening line). About 1000 times more strict then their actual customs it seemed. Seriously, don't ever try to bring a dirty used tent in. Even my brand new hiking shoes had to be clean before I could bring them (which they were since I've only been wearing them in snow).
We had a lovely girl pick us up from the airport who is the daughter of a lady that our moms knew back in the day. It was nice not to have to find a shuttle and we really appreciated that. The hostel is quite nice (City Garden Lodge in the Parnell area of Auckland - I'd recommend it) and we will be here for 2 nights. Then on to who knows where!
I am quite happy that the temperature is 25 degrees and that that is above Zero.
Friday, January 04, 2008
the beginning
Well here it is. The big trip has begun. I left Canada yesterday for the "vacation of a lifetime" and am now on a quick detour to Phoenix to visit my grandparents. Today my travelling companion Jess and I drove in a convertable with the top down, swam for an hour at a beautiful outdoor pool and had a lovely dinner with my Uncle Rob and Aunt Val. My grandparents have been gracious hosts and now tomorrow we leave for the main event. New Zealand. Knowing no one in New Zealand, we have still managed to scrounge up a ride from the airport and have made plans to meet with some friends of friends for tips on where the best hiking is. I cannot describe to you how surreal it all feels but it is actually about to happen. And I strongly suspect I am going to love it all. Tomorrow we have a 9 hour layover in Fiji so we are bringing our swim suits in our carry on's and plan to enjoy those 9 hours.
Now, it is time for bed.
Now, it is time for bed.
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