We took an early bus (arrived by 9:30am) on Wednesday to Franz Josef, located on the west coast of NZ. With nothing planned, we decided that a hike and trip to the supermarket were all we needed to fill our day. As you can see from the pictures, the hike gave us a good chance to see the glacier from a distance before we would conquer it the following day.
The trail had lots of roots and rocks to be wary of, and while looking down to watch our step we noticed this:
What is it? It was about 3-4 inches tall and hairy. Can someone research and please identify this UGO (unidentified growing object)?
After about 3 hours we came upon this great pond where we relaxed for about an hour.
Today we took the full day hike up the glacier. We left at 9:15 and returned at 6:00 and were very, very sore! It was a strenuous hike, but very beautiful and exciting. We wore crampons and had to go from shorts and short-sleeves to 3 layers plus rain jacket, hat and gloves. Our guide would cut out the trail on the way up to help clear the stairs and fill any crevices.
It was such an intense day of climbing and hiking that we don't really know what else to say about it besides it was a ton of fun and we'd highly recommend it. Please enjoy these photos and post some questions if you want to know more!
Had enough of the ghost writer? Yeah, me too. Alarm set for 5, Michelle and her ears were up at 4, so after some good email banter with Melissa what's the use in trying to get 15 more minutes of sleep? We made our sandwiches for the day and packed the daypack and set off at 6:15 on the bus for Abel Tasman National Park. Three hours later we were crusing the coast in a water taxi headed to beatiful, remote Barks Bay. The itinerary today was simple, start hiking, stop occasionally, make it back to the bus pick up 7 hours later.
The coastal track winds its way along the coast (surprise there) often going inland to guide us through beautiful ferns, palms, waterfalls, rock formations and under a fairly dense canopy. There was a surprising amount of elevation change early in the hike and with the exertion we quickly shed the long sleeves that accompanied us for the morning chill.
Our fist major landmark was a suspension bridge over Falls River, always good for a little stomach queaziness. From there we pressed on to Torrent Bay, which I think is a site I get illegal movies and music from, someone can chime in here to confirm. This is a very large bay that allows crossing at low tide, but must be bypassed at high tide, and because the tide was in we were heading around. This did allow us to get some great views from the back of the bay and a side trip to another waterfall we would not have otherwise seen, so we'll take it.
After a stop for lunch we pressed on knowing that the high tide diversion would leave us a bit tight on time, but still fine for swimming further down the trail as long as we kept up a good pace. One of the highlights of the hike was the abundance of beautiful views of the islands and bays. There was a new and dramatic scene everytime we emerged from the forest, I must admit seeing the sail boats off in the distance lazily cruising along made me pretty envious.
Once we knew that we would make it back in time we parked ourselves at Apple Tree Bay for some rays and a dip in the frigid ocean for Evan. After 30 minutes it was back to the trail and on the home stretch. We made it to the bus parking lot with 20mins to spare and were very happy to rest our bones and write this blog on the bus ride home.
That's all for now, we are heading down the west coast tomorrow for our adventures at Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers and on to Queenstown. Sorry it's been so long between posts, we've been busy and cheap internet has been hard to find! We'll update you more as there is more to tell, please pass the blog on to friends as we want to provide a little summer time fun for all you snow bound sinners.
Michelle had been dreading that flight. 45 minutes from Wellington to Nelson, 15 seater, no pressurized cabin, one ear on the mend, another still in pain. The adventurers were not seated together for this flight, so Evan didn't get to see her pain first hand, but he knew what she was going through.
Coming in a little high on final meant the plane descended fairly quickly and the pressure was really something, even for the healthy passengers. Michelle was not amused.
6 tangerine altoids and plenty of pain later they were on the ground and happy to be out of the air. With no buses or taxis in sight, our travlerers felt a bit out of sorts.
"You guys have a ride into town?"
'Nope'
"Hop in"
Not to worry, the chauffer was none other than Evan's seat mate on the plane and a bit of a traveler herself just racking up some good karma..
After the scenic tour of town Evan and Michelle were dropped off at the Nicest Hostel Ever. Granted, they were paying about $10 more US per night than usual, but it was worth it. It goes by the name of Accents on the Park, and it makes many hotels pale by comparison. Following a good meal at the hostels own bar, a trip to the grocery capped off their evening. Rest was vital to prepare for the 5am alarm and 21km (12.5mi) hike the next day.
As we strolled towards the bus station Sunday morning we couldn't help but comment on what a great place we had just visited and how perfect everything had gone. Noticing that no one was outside waiting for our bus due to leave in 15 minutes we figured, hey even the bus station has a nice waiting room!
Nope, our 9:15 bus had departed at 8:00 that morning, leaving us high and dry. The bus line claimed they had emailed us, however we know this not to be the case, but this was not a time to point fingers, we had to get to Wellington in 7hrs for our next flight. We ran through the options...a later bus, no, we would miss our flight, the last of the night....rent a car, $288 plus gas, doable, but we have yet to drive here and it would be 4hrs and under pressure... taxi, nope $600...fly, $460, way too expensive, but doable....so what do we do???
Well after worrying way too much for about 30 minutes we realized this was why you have insurance, and maybe they can help. Long story kinda short, we called them, they put us on the flight, reimbursable because we were not notified about the change in bus times, and we received a refund on the bus. So the moral of the story here is you can solve a lot of problems by paying for a little insurance up front. We have already saved over 1/2 of our entire premium in 2wks with an ear infection and one missed bus.
In case you're wondering, the next two flights were without incident and we arrived in Nelson safe and sound on Sunday night.
Cafe culture is going strong in Napier, and it seemed like everyone in the city was out and about Saturday morning. This made for great people watching until it was time to head for the vineyards. Our group consisted of 2 Americans, 3 South Africans, and 2 kiwis, so we had a diverse (accent wise) group, and that made for some fun conversation, especially as the day went on.
We went to 4 wineries and a brewery and tasted a large variety of wines, our favorites included... Matariki- Chardonnay, dessert Reisling Ngatawara-Merlot/Cab Askerne-Cabernet Sauvignon, dessert Cab
The wineries were all very nice, and the cheese plate half way through came at just the right time to soak up some of the quickly setting in alcohol. I think our driver was the only one who spit any wine out(legally obliged), the rest of us went along drinking, it's not like we were judging a contest or anything!
Our final stop was at a local brewery where Michelle enjoyed a really tasty pear cider and Evan tried a ginger beer, I know it's not alcohlic, but it was so good! We chatted with our group for a good while and receieved a primer on the rules of cricket for our upcoming match in Melbourne.
More random thoughts... People walk around without shoes everywhere - the grocery, airport, etc. Stores all around NZ close at 5:30 on weeknights. Towns feel deserted especially since it's summer and bright out until after 9pm. Hostels have been very nice here. I have a feeling that we're getting spoiled. Everything has been very clean and the people are very friendly. We have our own cubbies in the kitchen to store our food and access to all kitchen amenities.
Anyone who knows me (Evan) knows I have a bit of an interest in the game of golf. With only one round scheduled for the next 4 months, I knew that the only way to stave off withdrawl was to play the most memorable course possible, and this I have done.
www.capekidnappers.com
Cape Kidnappers is a Tom Doak designed course built in 2003 at the behest of American billionaire Julian Robertson. Robertson already had made a name for himself with the stunning Kauri Cliffs www.kauricliffs.com in the northern part of NZ, and wanted to follow that up with another masterpiece. As you will see from the photos and videos the setting is unparalled, and the course plays very well within the geography.
Our ride to the course saw us link up with the previously mentioned Gannet safari bus which was headed to the breeding ground, but dropped us off on the way. It is an 8km drive from the front gate through forest and over beautiful rolling hills just to get back to the course. The clubhouse is designed to look like an old sheep shearing barn, and is very understated, but gorgeous inside. A couple of minutes spent on the practice tee after checking in and we were off, carry bag on my shoulder and my trusty caddy Michelle "trooper" Gilbert manning the yadage book.
Par 71. 7100yds. 76.2/148
The opening tee shot requires the golfer to avoid going right as a canyon awaits any pushed shot. Well, wouldn't you know that's exactly where we went. No worries, first hole so I was using my mulligan and pressed on. The first five or six holes were a bit of a struggle as I only brought 6 balls and I was quickly reduced to 3 or 4 after further miscues, so needless to say I was playing defensively. My trusty caddy jumped to the recue quickly finding 2 new pro v-1s and we were ready to get back on track.
I began to settle down after the fear of running out of balls was now gone and hit some great approach shots on 2, 4, 5 and 8.
Unfortunately, my driving up to this point was total shit, so often times I was just stuggling to make bogey. Other than some beautiful scenery and a bit of a primer in how to chip and putt these greens, the front nine was chalked up as a warm up and we were ready to start anew on the back. 47.
A bit of a hold up making the turn as the group we were following chose to park their carts in front of the green giving the illusion that they were actually in the middle of the fairway. Once they got into their carts we realized what had transpired and Michelle handed me the 3 wood and said let's get one in the fairway for goodness sake. Finally, a drive worth writing about, pounded dead into the wind, slight draw. I can't tell you how much easier a course like that is when you're playing from the short stuff. This drive set up an approach of 200yds to a front pin into the wind, 3 iron 30' past the hole, 2 putts, par....
Ok, we can do something on this back 9 if I can just keep the ball in play.
Followed up 10 with a bogey on 11 after a nice approach that left me only 20' from the hole and about 8' off the green, but a piss poor chip spelled doom. Driving was superb for the first time all day and irons continued to be very accurate, I just couldn't judge distances well enough to drop any birdies. In spite of that I recorded pars on 12...
...13 and 14. One over after five on the back nine had Michelle and I in great spirits and mix in the most incredible scenery and you've got the recipe for a memorable afternoon.
On the fifteenth hole I hit my first poor drive of the back nine and found trouble on the right and I was left with this 5 wood from 225 yds to have a chance to salvage something.
As we approached the green we could tell there was a serious drop off to the left so we went to check it out...
Bogey on 15 followed by a bogey on reachable par 5 16th and my hopes for an even par back nine were dashed. Had a little fun on the 16th tee...
After missing drives on the last two holes Michelle told me that the best route on 17 was a three wood at the maintenance shed and that would leave me the best shot into the pin. Just as she ordered up, a solid three wood left a pitching wedge approach that went long and left me with a par putt that burned the edge for my thrid bogey in a row. Hey, even Tiger had three bogeys in a row on his back nine Sunday! Not to be discouraged, we were playing golf on the edge of the world, with perfect weather, great company and views that rival anything out there.
The closing hole is a dogleg left then right with the green set well below you. The tee shot demands that you don't go too long if you play to the right, so I took the 5 wood out and kept it down the left setting up an 8 iron approach. Once again we had teamed up to choose the right club and it was tracking right for the pin. When we reached the green it had settled a bit past the hole leaving 20' straight downhill which we made quick work of and called it a round. 40, 87
I hope I haven't bored you with this telling of our adventure on this wonderful day, I just felt that a round at a place like this deserves the full treatment. Also, with my obsession for reading about golf (see Mark Frost: The Greatest Game Ever Played and Grand Slam) I wanted to try my hand at rehashing my round the best I could. Thanks for sticking with me on this one and please feel free to leave your comments below.
Special thanks here to Michelle, who in spite of her ear infection walked the whole 18 and never refused to give a yardage or read a putt.
On Thursday we took the bus from Rotorua to Napier and in doing so we crossed the major mountain range of the north island, beautiful scenery and so many sheep. Much of the drive Thursday reminded me of the Nantahala area of western NC.
Arrival in Napier was smooth and we secured transportation to the course for the following day very easily, so the big hurdle was cleared for the evening.
We began our self guided architechtural tour that evening and I will give you the low down here. In 1931 the largest earthquake ever recorded in NZ rocked the area. A subsequent fire destroyed just about everything that was not leveled by the quake, and the town had no choice but to start over from the ground up.
With the Art Deco movement all the rage at the time, the town chose to rebuild almost entirely in the style. What transpired over the next few years was an array of buildings that stand right with Miami as the best examples of the style anywhere in the world.
www.artdeconapier.com
The buildings displayed here range from law offices to municipal buildings to the newspaper, but all reflect the style of the day.
We set off Friday morning for Cape Kidnappers on a Gannet Safari bus which we had arranged to drop us off at the course. The gannet is member of the booby family and Cape Kidnappers is their largest inland breeding ground in the world.
As you can imagine, the course was unbelieveable and I will be dedicating a seperate post to that experience itself. Absolutely stunning views, great course and it played as fast as anything I've ever played.
That evening we were absolutley zonked and we had to make sure we were rested for lots of wine drinking the following day.
When we last checked in extensively we were headed to a geothermal area and forest in Rotorua, so that's where we will pick it up.
Wednesday was a beautiful day weather wise, possibly the nicest of the trip to that point. We boarded a van about 9am for the drive to Wai-O-Tapu thermal wonderland. The drive was pretty scary as the van wasn't the nicest and our driver tail gated worse than I do (I am working on this). To make matters worse, Michelle's ear hurt like heck and her vicodin on an empty stomach made for a tough go.
Our first stop at Wai-O-Tapu was another crazy bubbling lake which entertained us for about 15mins until we had to rush off to watch the geyser blow at 10:15.
We must admit that we were a bit underwhelmed by the geyser. Maybe it was the fact that they pour soap in it to reduce the surface tension and cause it blow, we know they have a good reason for doing this, but it felt a bit canned nevertheless. Another possibility was this was our first full scale encounter with the American tourist crowd. Ouch! Lots of sandals with socks and fanny packs from that crew. Don't think we're trying to be better than anyone else, but if the Aymonds can represent when abroad why can't the rest of the over 50 set of traveling Yanks???
We spent the next couple hours hiking around and admiring all the different oddities. As you can see from the picture here, some of the mixtures of gases and minerals combine to give us some stunning colors.
Because we had to catch a bus home our last 15mins were a bit hurried, but all in all it was a really cool place.
The afternoon saw us call off the forest hike in favor of a quick curl and some rest for Michelle's aching ear. Our evening highlight was a trip to the Polynesian Spa. The spa is a public bath which has different kinds of pools and baths from 35c to 42c. There are two different types of baths - one that is slightly acidic and helps your aches and pains and the other is slightly alkaline and is good for your skin. Check out polynesianspa.co.nz.
We had a great evening chatting with some folks from Tazmania and comparing constellations. We found out that they have never heard of this so called 'big dipper', but they did show us the southern cross that is on the aussie and nz flags. We also found out that Orion is upside down and in the northern sky! The waters at the spa have unusually high contents of certain minerals, and we found out an interesting effect of one of them when we got home. I realized when we made it back that I never took off my ring, so now it was a dulled out cooper color, a long way from the silver of a few hours ago. Luckily this is my $10 Venice beach ring, so no worries.
Standing at the 10th tee at Cape Kidnappers. Evan is playing and Michelle is the pseudo caddy (Evan is carrying the bag, Michelle is carrying the yardage book and camera). Video and pics to follow later. www.capekidnappers.com
So remember that cyclone we told you about in Fiji? Apparently it has followed us to NZ. Arrival in Auckland was smooth. Nice hostel, dinner at the international food court, and a bus out the next morning.
We are pleased to note that the mobile device is fully operational in New Zealand, so you can expect much more frequent postings from here out. We do not have the new camera yet, so pictures may be delayed a bit, so keep checking back for new surprises.
More rain for the drive to Rotorua, however, it was a pretty drive and we saw lots of cattle, sheep and deer (on farms not wild). The sweet smell of sulphur was evident upon arrival, though not as pungent as we were led to believe. Rainy as it was, we were limited to grocery shopping and some treks out for food, but no bother as we had time to do laundry and get a good nights sleep. We are still struggling a bit with the 'language' barrier, at lunch we were asked if we would like a tall white or a short black, or something like that, and we just looked at him like a couple of foreigners until he said...you want some coffee? I'm not too concerend though because where it gets really dicey you better believe we're hiring a guide!
Armed with another forecast of rain we took our time getting out today, but when we did our efforts were nicely rewarded with some terrific activity at Kuirua Park, 2mins from our hostel. Most of the choice geothermal spots have been turned into commercial ventures, but this one is right in the heart of the city and absolutely free. This place was straight from a sci-fi picture and quckly answered the question of where that aroma was coming from.
The next item on the agenda was a walk to the governmental gardens, where many of the old bath houses are located. We took time to admire the well maicured lawns of the lawn bowling and croquet clubs, and let the record show that the lawn bowlers have much higher standards. The entire area was popularized around the turn of the centiry when a priest claimed his arthritis was cured thanks to the waters in the various springs about town, and thus was born a tourism hot spot for New Zealand.
As we wandered on along the lake we came to a personal favorite, the laughing pool. Apparently the mixture of sulphur dioxide and something breeds a gas that is essentially nitrous oxide and would make all bathers laugh hysterically while they were in the water. The downside was that occasionally you would pass out and you friends would have to save you. I guess nothings perfect, right?
After getting absolutley drenched on the remainder of our walk, we made our way to the Pig and Whistle from some refreshing NZ ale and a nap shortly thereafter.
Bad news of the day is that Michelle has come down with an ear infection and will be unable to participate in her favorite pasttime, itching her ears, at least until she's better. Be sure to wish her a speedy recovery if you email her, nobody likes an earache, especially not on vacation.
This evening we enjoyed steak cooked by chef evan in the hostel kitchen and a fine NZ cab that was a real treat. It does not appear that we will be getting the pictures or video onto the blog tonight, but we will do our best to get these up right away. Trust me, words do not do these oddities justice.
Tomorrow we will be exploring one of the commercial geothernal sites, as well going hiking in an experimental forest planted 100 yrs ago 'just to see what would happen'. They claim that the redwoods grow 3x faster here than in Cali, so we'll just have to see.
That's all I can think of for now, so we will leave you with some musings...
Driving on the other side of the road is not a big deal except when you (as a pedestrian) have to check for oncoming traffic. We have a system...Left clear, right clear, go! I am saying this, mind you as someone who has yet to get behind the wheel over here, so this could all change.
The kiwis in the grocery, banks, etc. are a bit like Minnesotans in some sort of...great! Ok, yeah, awesome, chatty way I can't quite put my finger on yet, but I will keep you up to speed on this little socio anthropological observation
We picked up a frozen pizza and realized only when we arrived back at the hostel that we will be limited to a microwave and frying pan. Don't worry, I checked yahoo answers and there is a good discussion on ovenless frozen pizza cooking (it will be soggy and not crisp, but edible when microwaved). We will report back tomorrow as to how it turns out. ...Breaking news... The pizza was actually 4mos. past expiry, so we have won a reprieve and will be returning it for some good ol' corn on the cob for tomorrow night.
Still haven't seen Jemaine, Bret or Murray, but I am looking.
Sure enogh we made it into the upper deck. Biggest perk was getting served quickly since there were only 15 rows. Nothing else special about it besides the ratio of toilets to passengers (great on a long flight).
About a half hour before touchdown, the pilot announced the forcast for the next few days...rain, rain and more rain, it is cyclone season after all. Customs was a simple "do you have anything you shouldn't?"..."Nope"..."Carry on please.". We had a connecting flight to our island which was delayed for about 3 hours because of weather. The other family booked on the flight decided to take the boat, but we waited it out and it was worth it. We had a 8 seater plane all to ourselves. It was like a scenic tour you pay a lot of money for.
We stayed at the Funky Fish located on Malolo Island. The owner used to be the coach of Fiji's rugby team and a former All Blacks. Evan snorkled the first day and saw lots of fish and beautiful blue starfish, while Michelle caught up on some much needed sleep. A fun activity that night was a crab race -- they put crabs in the middle of a circle in the sand and the first crab out is the winner. We named our crab Hoof Hearted and he finished second and won us a free drink.
Friday morning we awoke to more rain. We made the best of it by reading and snorkeling in the afternoon. It was great other than a close call with some crazed pirates in speeding boat. The reef we swam around was about 50' past the buoys, so you can imagine our horror when coming up for a quick check of our surroundings we saw a boat headed right towards us. We booked it to safety and not 30 seconds later, it sped right through where we had just been.
A staple for Fijians and tourists to Fiji alike is kava. This afternoon we participated in the kava ceremony. Results...lockjaw for Evan and numb lips for Michelle. Everyone says it tastes like muddy water and Michelle agrees (Evan was a little more fond of it). You get a bit of a buzz, but we think that our mix was more on the tourist side and not as strong as I (Evan) would have hoped for.
The rain stayed away on Saturday, but it was still overcast. We sat by the pool and got burnt in about an hour. The Aussies we met said there was no ozone down here. Can anyone confirm? The entire afternoon we hiked across the island to a fort from WWII. Views were great -- we could see the island where they filmed Castaway. The best news of the day was an offer on our house!
Our last day in Fiji was greeted with blue skies, so we laid by the pool some more. With a 2pm flight to Auckland, we figured our 11:30am flight off the island would leave us plenty of time. When the plane arrived to pick us up from the island at 1:20pm, we were very nervous. Normally it's only 10 minutes back to the mainland, but we had to pick up more passengers on another island before going back to Nadi. We arrived at 1:45 and tried to check in for our flight. We were initially told that the flight was closed, but luckily they found some seats for us in the back row! That experience took a little of the fun out of "Fiji time" and led to our declaration that "Fiji time" should not be applied all the time.
Note on toilets in the southern hemisphere...all the ones we have encountered flush straight down instead of swirling. And they are also set up with a button for #1 and one for #2 to conserve water. Once we encounter a true backward flushing toilet you can count on hearing it here first.
We're at LAX waiting to board and they just made an announcement that rows 15-28 will board first as they are seated upstairs. We're in row 22 on our flight (a 747)! Hope being upstairs comes with some perks! More than that, I hope we can sleep for the majority of our 11 hour flight!
Sorry for the delay in postings...we've been busy! We arrived in LA on Wednesday and were picked up by Perry and Julie. They whisked us off to Pinkberry. It's a yogurt place with only 2 flavors (plain and green tea) and topping , but has a huge following out here. Evan had the plain with chocolate chips, Cap'n Crunch and blueberries. Michelle chose plain with raspberries and chocolate chips. The flavor is a little strange...a little like lemon, but we can't quite place it.
Thursday, we toured downtown LA. Here's a picture of the Walt Disney Concert Hall:
We also went to the Getty museum. It's the best free museum we have ever been to. It's located on a hill overlooking the city and has a beautiful garden and many famous works of art.
On Friday, we went to Hollywood, Beverly Hills and saw Bill Maher (HBO). Didn't have any sightings of famous people though. On Saturday, Stu took us for a trip up the coast. We drove along the Pacific Coast Highway and saw surfers and beautiful houses and views. We stopped in Pepperdine and told the guard we were prospective students so we could tour campus. How can anyone study there? We ate lunch at a surfers/bikers stop called Neptune's Net and also made it down to Venice Beach and Santa Monica.
On Sunday, we watched the Colts game (ugh) and then took the ferry to Catalina Island. We stayed at the Zane Grey Pueblo Hotel and were the only guests on Sunday night. Here's a view from our room!!
We took a 6 mile hike on Monday and we're still sore! Halfway through our hike, Evan decided to take a detour to try to see LA. It was a very long detour and we kept walking away from the city of Avalon where we were staying. We kept thinking we might see it around the next turn, or the next turn, or the next. But, finally (and luckily for Evan's sake) we made the final turn and could see downtown. About 30 seconds later we looked to our left and saw two buffalo about 30 feet from us. Story goes that they filmed a western movie on the island and brought buffalo over for the shoot, but never brought them back. So, there are wild buffalo on the island. We were a little nervous walking past them, but got some good photos and video (Evan even videotaped the one taking a leak).
Now we're back in LA deciding on whether to go get more Pinkberry or get a cupcake at Sprinkles (we'll probably do both). Our flight to Fiji leaves tonight at 10:30pm. Hopefully we can sleep on the plane because we arrive in Fiji at 5:15am on Thursday!!
You can check out more of our photos online here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/evanandmichelle/
