Flight home

We're home - it's good to be home. I didn't sleep much on the flight from Auckland to San Francisco - so I'm tired. Its back to work tomorrow - and dirve on the other side of the road again. It's also raining here too. We think the rain followed us from Christchurch - which isn't really possible but it sure feels like.

Shona is glad we're home - we're all glad we're home.

Wed - Last day

It is still raining in Christchurch. It rained most of the night – we could hear it on the roof and the windows of our room. But, we still woke up early and went for an early morning run to Christchurch city center and then back. Even at 7:00 am, there are few people out moving around and the cafes-coffee shops are not even open.

We modified our plans to explore the city center more, because of the rain, & decided to go to the Canterbury Museum by Hagley park. Since the museum wasn’t open until 9, we had a very good breakfast Le Café, across from the Canterbury Museum and the Christchurch Art Gallery. It was excellent, and probably the best java I’ve had here.

The museum is a pretty decent museum, with several exhibits on the ancient Maori tribes that inhabited the island and the how the settlers came to the island. It was a good way to spend a rainy morning in Christchurch, given that we only had a few hours to spend before leaving for the airport. And, then we walked back out into the rain, walked to a shop before decided we’d had enough of the rain. We then headed disappointingly left for the airport.

I cannot believe our holiday is over. Greg still is trying to convince me to eat a meat pie at the Auckland airport (when we get there)… but interestingly, he doesn’t seem to offer that he’ll have a meat pie. He just wants me to eat a meat pie.

Extra note – do you know it cost $25.00 NZ to leave the country? You would think they would want us to leave without paying some tax/duty to leave. They complain about immigration and welcome tourists… but will charge you $25 NZ pp to leave the place.

Tues. - Arthur's Pass

We tried a different route to the train station – there is just no easy way to get there from the city center and it still took us an hour to walk there. Did I mention that it was still raining? We finally reached the train station, and realized that there is a ton of free parking at the station. We should have just drove – ugh.

We bought our boarding passes (which were the most expensive thing we’ve done while here), and headed off through the Canterbury plains toward Arthur’s Pass. It was either raining or drab and cloudy most of the ride there and all the time in Arthur’s Pass village. I’m sure it’s a spectacular sight when the weather is clear, but the clouds and mist obscured the views the whole time we were there. We still did 2 different walks while in the village and had a good lunch at the ‘The Wobbly Kea’ where we listened to Elvis’ greatest hits & I had some fish & chips (and some okay ice cream at the café across the street). (As a side note, a Kea is a large green parrot/hawk here that is endangered here in NZ – one exhibit at a DOC office said there were less than 5000 on the island, but Greg & I both swear that we’ve seen more than 5000 trying to pick at the possums that have been killed by traffic.)

Greg continued in his efforts to try to get me to eat a meat pie, which looks like a pot pie with all kinds of meat (steak, lamb, or chicken). I resisted – but I swear, there are meat pies in every café, convenience store, and bakery. When they say, pie – they do not mean fruit pie – they mean a little pie with meat, meat, and more meat.

Anyway, it was a nice day overall considering that it rained and we would have otherwise been stuck in Christchurch in the rain. Being at Arthur’s Pass in the rain was more our style – at least we were among the trees and waterfalls.

We also discovered ‘the deal’ with the possums – for those curious, they were imported from Australia in the 1800s sometime and apparently eat the rata flowers, which prevents the rata (NZ Christmas tree) from pollinating/reproducing. However, in recent years, possum fur has become in demand so the population has been controlled.

However, something called a skout and rat pelts are not in demand, and since there are NO natural predators here on the island, NZ takes active efforts to poison and set traps for these animals since they destroy the natural bird population. Interesting… huh?

Not as much as the deer – there were originally 20 deer imported in 1800s or so, and they thrived here. While there are deer farms and deer reserves here (they serve venison on almost every menu & in meat pies), they also shoot wild deer from helicopters to minimize or eliminate the wild deer population.

Well, enough of the flora & fauna lesson…

We reached Christchurch shortly after 6:00, and managed to walk back to the Old Countryhouse hostel in 45 minutes – in the rain. We then walked a block or so to a great little pizza place called “The Memphis Belle.” It was excellent, even though the music overhead was the same song played over & over.

We then decided to try what is a NZ custom & had ice cream treats at “Tip Top.” For those who aren’t in the know, Tip Top are frozen ice cream treats sold at Tip Top stores. They are actually pretty good – they’re like very high quality ice cream bars. Definitely worth a try.

Mon. – Drive from Te Anau to Christchurch

After using the motel’s wi-fi to update our blogs and download pictures, we headed out on a foggy morning toward Christchurch. We knew it was going to be a long day of driving, but we really want to take the train to Arthur’s Pass. We took the road past Queenstown, toward Lake Tekapo. Just before Lake Tekapo, there were some beautiful clear views of Mt. Cook and Mt. Tasman – the views from the road before Lake Tekapo were actually better than at Lake Tekapo. There were a ton of buses and tourists at the Church of the Good Shepard there, and we decided that it looked a little too touristy for us, so we kept on.

We reached Christchurch at 4:30 or so & managed to navigate our way to the Old Countryhouse hostel where we are staying. It’s a nice place (definitely recommend) and we got a room with an en suite bathroom – the shower is excellent and room is a decent size. We then walked to the city center and ate dinner at The My Thai and Monkey Bar – it was good food but the service was lacking. We also had some trouble finding it.

Then again, we had trouble finding everything in the city center the first day – it turns out that the maps are wrong. Christchurch has rerouted some of their major roads – for example, there was Blenheim on the map (which is actually closed) and Blenheim (which isn’t even on the map).

But we didn’t learn this until we spent nearly 2 hours walking trying to find the train station (for tomorrow morning) after eating dinner. It was pouring rain the entire time we were looking for it at times, and we were lost several times during the 2 hours just to get there. We finally found it, and it still took us 1 hour 20 minutes to get back to the hostel. Even though the map looks like it’s just a few kilometers from the hostel, it was still a long walk, particularly in the pouring rain.

I was so cold & wet when we reached the hostel – Greg wanted ice cream; I wanted to crawl under the covers and warm up.

Dolphins in Mildford Sound

During the Cruise in Mildford Sound, Melissa and I spotted a pod of Dolphins. We told the captain and the captain started to play with the dolphins. We spent a good 15 minutes with them. It was AWESOME!!!

Here's the video blog of the dolphins in Mildford Sound.

Haast Bridge Video Blog

We are trying something new this time... Video blogging.

I wasn't intending on video blogging, but... We had some extra time in the hotel room and I figured out how to convert mov video files to mpeg4 video files using VLC. VLC is by far the best video player out there... It not only plays videos, but can convert them to different formats...

Well... Here's the first video blog... Enjoy... btw, the sound and video are off... Sorry 'bout that, I will work on it.

Sunday - Routeburn to Milford Sound (Fiord)

I cannot believe it's Sunday - our holiday is almost over. How can that be??? We woke up early (again) and headed out to do part of the Routeburn track. It was very quiet and beautiful - we crossed 2 swing bridges and watched the sun rise up into the river valley below. (On the trail, there were signs posted that we shouldn't cross 'the trap lines' & there were other signs that NZ was poisoning something.... hmmm... could it be the possums?) We decided to cut the hike short and head back down to get an early start to Milford Sound.

From New Zealand

We stopped in Te Anau for lunch, at this great cafe called The Sandfly Cafe. Apparently, they used to have computers covered in possum fur (what is the deal with these possums, btw?) but those were gone. (I was a bit concerned about the quality of the place from the description, but it turned out to be great!) We were then off to the Milford Sound.

With some incredible luck, we got on the last cruise of the day and it was a 3 hour cruise - no, not on the USS Minnow - but an 'encounter cruise' where they show you more of the nature in the sound. Did you know that Milford Sound isn't really a Sound at all - it's a fiord (because it was carved out by glaciers)? I thought... that would explain why the park is called Fiordland Nat. Park.

From New Zealand

From New Zealand

The cruise was awesome - it was the skippers & the tour director's last cruise, so it was essentially a party barge with a some Milford locals and just a few of us tourists. Two of the crew members jumped into the sound; they also put the nose of the boat right under a waterfall - GP and I were soaked by the end of the tour, but it was just fine with us. The scenery was amazing, and it was probably the best thing we've done on the trip.

From New Zealand

Then, at 6:45, we docked & PG & I decided to head out and get a 'head start' on the next day's travel. So, we got back to Te Anau and decided to find a place to sleep. We first tried a Youth Hostel, but it looked full. Then we tried to find the Barnyard Backpackers place but it felt too far out of town & too remote, so we turned back to town before even finding it. We then tried a couple of motels here in the center of town and all of the offices were closed (it wasn't even 9:00). It seems like everything closes down around 7:00 in this country...

But, we found a place called the Arran Motel, that is pretty nice - nice shower, nice owner, and fairly good sized room. And, we have unlimited wireless Internet for $5 NZ. SCORE.

And, tomorrow/this morning, we're off to the north toward Christchurch. We're trying to get there in time to catch the train to Arthur's Pass, so we'll be driving a lot today.

Saturday - on the road to Queenstown

We were on the road most of Saturday, trying to reach Glenorchy and Kinloch before nightfall. We stopped in Arrowtown (and as PG mentioned, what happens in Arrowtown, stays in Arrowtown) and then at Queenstown for the gondola ride. On the way down, a Melbourne, AUS couple with matching tour jackets jumped on our gondola at the last minute, even though PG was trying to block the entrance so we could ride down alone. Rather than waiting 30 seconds for the next gondola, this couple decided to sit in front & ruin the view on the way down and any possible romance of the ride. And people think Americans are rude?!!?!

But, the day was redeemed by the drive to Glenorchy & Kinloch, the start of the Routeburn track. It was incrediblely beautiful, and the Kinloch Lodge was great. I saw a 'possum,' this huge rat/racoon like creature walking to the bathroom in the middle of the night, which scared the crap out of me... but other than that, it was great.

Day 5: Queenstown and onwards…

We woke up in Fox Glacier, it was a clear morning and we had plans to take a helicopter tour of the Glaciers and Mt. Cook. We decided to find a nice place for a picture of Mt. Cook and Fox Glacier while the sun rose over the mountains. As we waited, the fog and clouds moved in. The change in weather ruined the photo moment, and a good chance at a helicopter ride, so we took off for Queenstown.

We stopped off at a small town called Arrowtown just outside of Queenstown. It’s a very nice, small, cute, tourist trap of a town… We didn’t have a good stay there… In fact, Melissa is censuring anything I say about it… But, I can talk about my hamburger. It was a “Meat Lovers burger”, consisting of steak, ham, bacon, and of course a hamburger patty. It was amazing… I would say more about Arrowtown, but “What happens in Arrowtown, stays in Arrowtown…”

After Arrowtown, we quickly drove to Queenstown to take the gondola to the top of a mountain. The views are amazing. The lake is huge… The day was clear and we could see for miles. We didn’t spend much time at the top, since we weren’t done traveling for the day. We wanted get out of Queenstown and stay at an old Chalet at the end of the lake called Kinlock Lodge (built in 1868). It’s just about 90km up the lake (yes, the lake is that big…)

We drove to Kinlock that afternoon; it was a longer drive than expected… The road was twisty, and we spent 9km on a dirt road to the Lodge. The Lodge was awesome. The views were great, the mountains and lake both were beautiful. The bed in the hostel was very comfortable, besides being a king size bed. We ate dinner at the lodge, it was wonderful. Just about everything about the place was great. In fact, the two fishermen on the wharf we saw catch two salmon… It was an experience.

The day was long. We drove most of the day, but ended up in a great hostel. We needed the rest, since the next day was even bigger…

Kiwi Culture

We’ve been in New Zealand for 4 days and that makes me an expert on New Zealand Culture. I have noticed a couple of really odd things about these people, besides the toilets. First, the national parks are extremely clean. They don’t litter. It’s really nice when compared to Yellowstone or other US National Parks. Second, they love their music. They really enjoy a good Phil Collins, George Michaels, Wham, Genesis, Elton John, or even Michael Jackson song. I think we have heard “Thriller” about 10 times on the radio, and every other song is from Phil Collins. I am going to break out my “moon walk” soon… Lastly, they really enjoy their TV. Our hotel has about 20 channels of TV. On about 15 channels is the same program. I don’t understand why you would need 15 channels with the same program, but down in New Zealand it’s obvious to them.

They also enjoy Lamb, it’s on every menu. It’s on the pizza, they have it by the rack, I am sure they have Lamb Jerky too… There are 10 sheep per person here. Everywhere you look, there’s sheep. Btw, the food is awesome. A vegan would stave, but if you like meat, they have lots of it.

Day 4: Glaciers

After a long night of rain, we started the morning off early, about 5am. The hostel we stayed at was the top rated hostel in New Zealand, it was nice and cheap. Since Melissa paid for the plane tickets, I am paying for everything else, I really like hostels.

We got petrol on the outskirts of Greymouth, and headed south towards Franz Joseph Glacier. We arrived at the first glacier (Franz Joseph) around 11 am, and did a fast 2 hour hike to the terminal face. It was a pretty easy hike, but there was a ton of signs talking about how dangerous it was. The glacier is huge, and they say it moves about 1 meter a day. I watched it for a while, but didn’t see any movement. The glacier river is a really cool color, for the color blinded people, its grey. Melissa says it’s blue, but I think she’s wrong.

From New Zealand

Franz Joseph Glacier

From New Zealand

The Pictures...

We are taking tons of pictures, New Zealand is very scenic and beautiful...

We have uploaded a couple to web. To see the all the pictures we have upload, click on the New Zealand link under the picture.

From New Zealand

The sunrise on Sandy Bay in the Abel Tasman National Park

From New Zealand

Running the Abel Tasman Trek, one of New Zealands Great Treks.

Will it ever stop raining?

It rained all through the night - it rained so hard that it woke me up at times. As we left Greymouth early this morning, the attendant at the petrol station said that the weather report on the telly said one thing, the report in the paper said another, and the radio said another thing. As we drove south on SH 6 toward the glaciers, the weather report said "rain with some clearing" today, Saturday, and Sunday. We wondered - does that mean its going to clear up or rain?

From New Zealand

In our search for breakfast in Greymouth, the grocery store was still closed at 7 am, so we went to get petrol before heading south. The bakery next door had lots of cookies with frosting and all different types of meat pies, but nothing we could eat for breakfast in the car (without it ending up on our shirts, anyway), so we stopped in Hokitika and ate a cafe. We made it to Franz Joseph glacier in the late morning, and it had briefly stopped raining. We went for a 2 hour hike to the terminal face & took some excellent pictures. Then, we drove 25 km south to Fox glacier, to find a tour of hiking or flying us over the mountains and glaciers. GP was feeling sick, so we checked into a hotel & he slept for a bit. By 3:00, the clouds moved back in and it began raining again. Ugh. The guide recommended we wait until tomorrow to see if it clears before deciding upon flying up to the glaciers. So, we hiked to the terminal face of the Fox glacier (yes, in the rain), and then we hiked across a swing bridge. (It was a little unnerving).

We are staying the Fox glacier township tonight at the Raintree Motel (which we think is a bit overpriced & would not recommend to friends - nice enough owners though) and will drive south to Arrowtown or Glenorchy tomorrow, depending on what we do in the morning (which of course, all depends on whether it continues to rain or whether it clears.) We had a fantastic dinner at Cafe Neve - Greg had steak and I had the lamb (would definitely recommend to friends).

And, most importantly, we found a wi-fi connection. It isn't free but it's something!

Heading South

We still haven’t found a spot with internet connection – so all of our best laid hasn’t quite worked out right. So, for those friends & family checking in our progress on the So. Island, our apologies. We've learned, after diligent searching, that NZ is about 5 years behind on technology. No one here as wi-fi, and the internet cafes are all big hunker pcs connected to landlines.

This morning, we started the day by running 7 miles in Abel Tasman NP to Apple Tree Bay. It was another beautiful sunrise there…

Then we were off to other parts of the island, with ALL of our precious luggage and gear. By noon, it was raining as we made our way through the Buller River area to Murchison. We stopped at Lake Rotoroa (in Nelson Lakes area) but could barely see the lake or the mountains surrounding it in all of the rain.) It's a good thing we decided to skip the kayaking today.

GP got sleepy about 1 hour into the drive this morning, and I drove on the wrong side of the road for a a couple of hours while he slept. It's an unusual experience, and everytime you have to take a turn - right or left - you have to think about which lane you are going to turn into. It feels so counter intuitive. But, I didn't cause any accidents... and actually drove 100 kph when the roads weren't too windy to do so.

We had lunch in Murchison at 2:00, and then made it to Westport around 3:00. We went to Cape Foulwind, and realized that we would need to return to Westport to get some petrol. Compared to the US, where there is a gas station on nearly every corner, there are very few petrol stations here.

After that, we worked our way down to see the pancake rocks and the blowholes at Punakaiki, but it was nearly dark and the tide was going out. So, it was hard to see what was so impressive. (But, GP managed to take some great pictures & we were able to see more in those pictures then we could while we were there.)

We then made our way to Greymouth to stay the night. We are in a hostel called the Global Village - my first night in a hostel. I was a bit unsure at first, but the bathroom is just down the hall and are very nice. There's a kitchen and shared common room, with the tv, which we would never use anyway. We're both exhausted at this point, & could care less about what's on tv. We only care about what the weather will be like tomorrow - btw, it is supposed to rain most of tomorrow too but then be clear for Sat., Sun., and Mon. I hope so - it rained all day today & I feel like we're missing the majestic-ness of the mountains with the clouds and rain.

Tonight, we had pizza (I know, not very kiwi-like) because it was simple, easy to find, and would be low-key. GP is already asleep, and the wind & rain are blowing outside. (I really hope it's nicer tomorrow).

Really - this is a holiday?

The long flight over wasn't as bad as expected - we were delayed in Boise & barely made our connecting flight in San Francisco to Auckland. However, one piece of our luggage did not.

After we learned that Air New Zealand lost our large suitcase, and we then learned how to drive on the wrong side of the road, we headed up north on the coast, stopping along the way. We stopped at a fruit stand along the way to get some snacks, stopped in Kaikoura to have lunch, and then in Picton for bit and walked around the waterfront, but then headed on toward Abel Tasman NP. It was a long day…

And, by the time we reached Marahau and Old MacDonald’s Farm, I was exhausted … but let’s just say, not impressed. It was a small one-room shack with some beds, and the toilets were several ‘meters’ away from the shack. I had to get up & use the toilets 4 times that night (trying to stay hydrated after the long plane ride and running the race on Sat.) & that was not fun. The showers had some hot water, but we showered quick and got on the road.

But, we did have dinner on Tues. night at a little restaruant on the waterfront. PG (Potato Greg) & I shared a rack of lamp, with some apple spice chutney and a salad. It was excellent, but I think the waitstaff were a little annoyed that we walked in just a few minutes before they closed their kitchen. If they were really annoyed, they didn't show it - they were still friendly & service was excellent. A good end to a very long & frustrating day.

PG & I estimated that the bag was lost between San Fran & Auckland, so it would be on the 8:00 am flight arriving the very next day. The lost suitcase had had a lot of important gear (like our underwear), and things we needed to go kayaking in Abel Tasman NP (like our swim suits, underwater cameras, sunscreen, etc., oh, and did I mention, a change of clothing). So, we decided not to try kayaking on Wed., as planned. Instead, we spent Wed. calling the number several times yesterday trying to reach Christchurch Air New Zealand lost baggage, but they had either disconnected the phone (my guess) or it was constantly busy. At 3:30 yesterday in a little town called Takaka, on the other side of Abel Tasman Park, we got frustrated with the lack of cell service & the apparent inemptitude of Air New Zealand at Christchurch, and started calling the 800 numbers for Air New Zealand trying to reach someone.

We reached someone at the Air New Zealand international reservation number, who told me that they had always had problems reaching the Air New Zealand desk in Christchurch & that you had to let it ring forever, but would try to connect me with a different extension. So, while GP was cursing in my ear about Air New Zealand not having a customer support line, a woman in Christchurch answered the phone. Miracles of miracles. With some luck, they had our bag on the flight from Christchuch to Nelson by 5:30, in a taxi at Nelson at 6:45, and here at the Ocean View Chalets in Marahau at 8:00 last night. Yeah!! Yeah!! I cannot express what it feels like to have clean underwear after essentially 3 days.

The Chalets are really nice and I’m grateful for the service (they brought our bag up last night when the taxi got here), and gave us milk & Milo (a form a fortified hot cocoa) to drink for this morning. But, mostly the very nice, hot showers are so great. GP said we should have stayed at the Chalets both nights - I'd second that.