On the way to Queenstown!

I wasn’t going to post today but it ended up being a pretty interesting day. We left the glacier area and headed towards Queenstown, which was a lot further away than we expected.

We drove a few hours and were almost there when they stopped us for a 10-15 min road delay. Apparently helicopters were collecting water from the river in front of us and we couldn’t cross. But right when we stopped, a construction truck going the other direction handed all the cars a little bag of COLORING SUPPLIES and road safety stickers to keep us occupied while we waited. Even traffic delays are fun here! So I colored a picture and fashioned a tiny cardboard bus, and by the time I was finished, we were ready to go again.

We made it to Queenstown around 4. So far I’ve pretty much hated all of New Zealand’s other big cities but I love Queenstown. It reminds me of Vail and it’s a really good walking town; everything is close. It’s right on a lake and the rest is surrounded by mountains.

We went souvenir shopping for a little bit and then went over to a wine tasting place we had read about. The wine tasting place was GENIUS. It’s completely automated. They give you what looks like a credit card, you stick it in the machine of the wine you want to taste and it spits out either a taste, a half glass or a full glass. All of the prices and descriptions are on each wine and you just keep going until you’ve had enough, you’re drunk, or you’ve spent too much money. Then you just turn in your card at the end and pay out. The wines are behind a glass thing in a chiller so they’re exactly the right temperature and you never get cheated on a pour (I HATE that). Katy and I got the name of the machines they use and we’re going to open up one of these wine tasting places in Austin. Investors welcome:) I love New Zealand wine, excuse me, any wine, so I bought 4 bottles to take home. I’ll be carrying them around with me until Katy’s family comes to Australia and I can send it home with them. I’m going to try not to drink it right away and save it for special occasions or when I have people over. We’ll see how long that lasts.

After we got a little tipsy wine tasting, we walked across the street to the place we planned on going for dinner. I got some bluff oysters and seafood chowder. Both were amazing. Bluff oysters are known as the best oysters in New Zealand. We haven’t been to Bluff yet but now I can’t wait because they were the best oysters I’ve ever had, by far. Totally melt in your mouth.

Now we’re back at our campsite and someone turned on Lord of the Rings in the TV room. Spare me. EVERYTHING here is about Lord of the Rings. I get that it was filmed here and a lot of people come just for that reason, but NOT ME. On almost every tour we’ve been on they’re like, “Oh! On your right is the jewelry store where the ring from Lord of the Rings was made” or “Oh! The bird that just flew by was featured in Lord of the Rings”….who cares. Finally one of our tour guides was like, “hey see that rock…it WASN’T in Lord of the Rings’…at least someone realizes that it’s getting ridiculous. But umm, no offense if you actually like Lord of Rings.
Tomorrow is the rest of Queenstown ;) and then moving on! We only have about a week or so before we have to turn in our van in Christchurch.

Glaciers...Brrr!

Well, we went from the beach to glaciers. Yesterday we drove about 2 hrs to the Fox/Franz Josef Glaciers. We got here early afternoon so we did a short walk out to look at Fox Glacier. Franz Josef can only be reached by guided walks so that was for the next day. It was about a 30 min walk each way and we stayed there for a little bit to look at the glacier...it was really far away though. Also, everyone here pronounces it "glay-c-ah"...it's weird.

When we stopped at the local i-site before walking out to the glacier, they told us that there was a sheep-sheering competition going on that night near where we were staying and that it was a big deal in town. So after dinner we went over there to see some sheep get sheered. Those people were FAST. I think the winner sheered his sheep in about 26 seconds. And they wear really cute sheep sheering shoes. They kind of look like lace-up moccasins...I really want some. I asked one of the ladies and she said you can get them at farm supply stores. They didn't look like they had any tread on the bottom though so I think I would have to wear them as slippers.

Today we had our guided tour of Franz Josef Glacier. We weren't allowed to wear jeans, they recommended wearing shorts, and also said to wear lots of layers. Hiking boots and rain jackets were provided for us. We put on all of our gear and took a bus up to the glacier walk. The guides walked really fast...I don't see how some people would have kept up with them if they weren't in decent shape. There were about 38 people in our group and we divided into 3 smaller groups to do the actual hike. We walked about 2.5 km to the path where it was "guided walks only." Then we walked through the woods, across some streams and over a bunch of rocks until we got to the bottom of the glacier. A guide had been there earlier chiseling out ice steps for us to climb on. We were on the ice for about 2 - 2.5 hrs, which was PLENTY of time to be on a glacier. We were really glad we decided on the half day trip, just like we were glad we decided on the shorter tour of the cave rafting. A couple hours on a glacier and a couple hours in a cold, wet cave is long enough. Rich people take a helicopter tour up to the top of the glacier and then climb around on it.

We got up to a high point on the glacier and ate our lunch and took pictures. Then we climbed all the way back down and hiked all the way back to the bus pick up. When we were on the ice, we added crampons to our boots so we didn't slip. They were fine on the ice but made a terrible noise if you stepped on the rocks. Nails on the chalk board.

It was a REALLY cool experience...literally, ha. We were lucky to have a sunny day. Our guide told us that it rains in this town about 260 days of the year. And Katy asked our guided if there was a chance there was a dinosaur frozen under the glacier. He informed her that New Zealand was completely under water in dinosaur times...haha.

Oh! And I got to talk to Jackie for while tonight on Skype, yay!

Tomorrow we're going to Queenstown, which is famous for...certain things:)

Greymouth

Yesterday we left Westport and headed south towards Greymouth. On the way to Greymouth, we stopped about half way to look at the Pancake Rocks. They're a bunch of rocks that look layered like pancakes. There was supposed to be some blowhole/geyser thing but of course it didn't go off while we were there. Nature hasn't really cooperated with us so far.

Around dinner time, we went on the Monteith's brewery tour. We got to taste all of their beers...I think there were 7 of them. Then after we tasted, we could have as much as we wanted of our favorite. I'm usually not crazy about dark beers, but I really liked theirs called Monteith's Black so when I signed the guest book, in the comments section I wrote "once you go black, you never go back." I was talking about the beer I liked so I'm not sure why Katy was embarassed.

Anyway, today we got up early to go to our knifemaking class. A couple gives the class at their house/farm and takes you through the whole process of making your own knife. We got to do everything from heating and pounding the steal, the sanding the blade and the handle, and shaping it how we wanted. In between knife stuff we got to play with their farms animals, throw axes and throwing stars, and swing on the giant swing. It was a really fun day and our knives turned our really nice. AND the wood on my handle was from an old New Zealand mental institution...AWESOME!! Steven, our instructor, said "it was from the dormatory of a mad woman"...haha.

Knifemaking is a full day activity so we just came back to our campsite tonight and we'll head out to the glaciers in the morning.

Abel Tasman National Park

Yesterday we drove the rest of the way up the peninsula to Abel Tasman National Park. All of the tourist centers here are called “i-sites.” There’s one in almost every town, even small ones, and they are SO helpful. They have loads of brochures on things to do in the area and they even book tours and make reservations for you. We stopped at the one in this area to ask about the best way to see the park and they recommended doing a boat trip to see the entire coast of the park and then kayaking our favorite parts the next day.

We dropped our car off at a lot across from the beach where we would be picked up by the boat. The beaches at this park are known for their orange sand. It’s a really pretty contrast against the bright blue water. In the parking lot we noticed a guy about our age walking around carrying a fish, asking if anyone wanted it. We overheard him saying that he kicked it and it died. We thought it was probably more likely that he just stepped on a fish that was already dead…and we thought he might be a little bit special. Turns out he was a little special, and he was on our boat. Our boat stopped every once in awhile to let people on or off if they were walking portions trail or just finished walking. He asked every single person who got on the boat where they were from and what they were doing there. There was also a lot of woo-hooing and clapping. It made for a fun/interesting ride, haha. It was a fast boat, (which is a good thing because I don’t get sea sick on fast boats) and it took us past things like split apple rock which is huge round rock that’s, you guessed it, split in half. The boat captain, who had a lazy eye, said they think it split because a pocket of water somehow got in the middle of it or something like that. In the pictures we saw before the boat trip, it looked really small and lame so we were pleasantly surprised that it was huge and actually really awesome.

The boat trip was 3 ½ hrs and took us all the way up the coast and back. There weren’t any opportunities to get out and do anything…it was just a boat ride to see the scenery, which is all we were really interested in anyway. We saw a couple seals and some birds, but no dolphins:(

Today we got up early (blah!) because we had to be at the kayak rental place at 8:30 for our seminar where they determine if we’re “fit” to have a kayak for a day. Even if you’ve kayaked before, you still have to take the class. It was actually pretty informative, but it was after 10 before we were actually on the water. We kayaked about an hour and a half around a small island and then to a private beach. Since the whole area is national park, everything is open so you can stop at whatever little beach you see along the coast as you’re kayaking. We stopped at one small enough to where we didn’t think anyone else would want to stop there if we were already there. We ate lunch and hung out there by ourselves for a couple hours. The sand is orange and white, and it’s made of granite so it’s super sparkly. And the shells on these beaches were really pretty too. They all seemed to color coordinate with the sand and with one another.

We kayaked about an hour back to where we started. When you get back to the beach, they come with a tractor and fetch your kayaks for you. The tide goes out SO much while you’re gone that there’s no way you could drag it up by yourself. Since the tide went out, all the starfish were out on the sand. By the time we were done playing with them, the tractor had come to take us back up to the rental place.

Since it was only about 3:30, we got a head start on driving to our next place. Right now we’re in Westport on the west coast of the south island. Tomorrow we’re going to see some famous rocks and take a tour of Monteith’s Brewery…the maker of our favorite NZ beer, Radler. Then on Friday we’re taking a knife-making class. I think “experienced knife maker” will be good to put on my resume when I get home.

Wellington, etc.

Rose gardens in Wellington

Mmm, mussels

Sunset on the coast of the south island

Seals!

Playing with the seals!

We made it to Wellington. Day before yesterday we drove about 3 hours and got here early afternoon. The national museum is here so that’s where we went first. We were hoping it had more basic New Zealand history, things we had been wondering about, but it was more focused on art and nature. There were a lot of exhibits about the natural wildlife and where different animals and bugs came from that weren’t here originally. They also had a preserved giant squid that was caught by a fishing boat in 2008 somewhere between Antarctica and New Zealand. It was a very interactive museum and surprisingly free, which is always good.

Somewhere along the way to Wellington, it got SO cold. And it’s been raining off and on so that makes it feel even colder. I’m going to have to buy some warmer clothes at some point. And it’s too cold to wear flip flops anymore so I have to wear my tennis shoes with jeans…I look like I’m in middle school. And since I’ve been freezing the past couple nights, we stopped at The Warehouse (NZ version of Kmart/Target) and I bought a giant sweatsuit to sleep in and an extra blanket.

Yesterday morning it was drizzly and gross, but we had plans to go to the botanical gardens. It eventually stopped raining and it was still cloudy but we decided to go anyway. Places like that are always less crowded when it’s not sunny so at least that’s a plus. The gardens had a HUGE rose garden with all the different kinds labeled. It was interesting to read all the names. It also had a begonia house and a cool overlook of Wellington.

After the gardens, we drove about an hour and a half outside Wellington to look for a colony of seals that hangs out on the beaches. It is also the most southern point of the North Island. It was still a cloudy day and because of the storms the night before, the waves were really big. These beaches had black sand, which is cool, but also looks kind of dirty. When we got there, we expected to have to look for the seals but they were in the grass right between the road and the water. All we had to go was pull over and get as close as we wanted. Katy told me they would chase me if I got too close but I was pretty sure I could out run a seal, or at least I would hope so. And they don’t even run, they flop around. About 10-15 ft was close enough for me. There was also a lighthouse. So I’ve been to the lighthouse at the northern most point of the North Island and the southern most point of the North Island. I wonder if they have the same deal on the South Island.

We drove back to Wellington in time to have dinner at some Asian-fusion restaurant we read about. I got some mussel fritters that were really good. I think I might turn into a mussel by the time I leave New Zealand.

This morning we slept in a little, packed up our stuff and discovered our cheese was missing. When Katy said it was gone, I said, “Who moved my cheese?”…she didn’t get it. After mourning the loss of our cheese, we got some brunch at a small café near where we ate dinner. Katy and I both got eggs benedict and it was some of the best I’ve ever had…top 3, at least. I also had a lot of coffee because Wellington is known for its good coffee.

Then it was time to catch the ferry…we had to be there an hour early, yuck. I made sure I took my seasick medicine before I got on the boat. I had heard it was supposed to be extra wavy because of the weather. The ferry takes about three hours, and you park your car down below and then go hang out on the top decks and do whatever you want. The ride was AWFUL, it was so choppy. I even got a little seasick with the medicine so I can’t imagine if I hadn’t taken it. I would have been puking over the edge the entire time.

When we got off the ferry, we headed towards Abel Tasman National Park which is at the very top of the island. We thought about skipping this area because we would have to back-track a little bit, but after reading about it we decided it is worth seeing. Since we didn’t get off the ferry until almost 5, we decided to drive to Nelson, which is about halfway there. There was also a little town on the way to Nelson that called itself “the mussel capital of New Zealand”…which is weird because I thought I had already been to “the mussel capital of New Zealand” when I was in the Coromandel Peninsula. I guess anyone is allowed to claim to be whatever they want. We stopped at this particular mussel capital and had steamed mussels…some in white wine and garlic, some in Thai curry with coconut milk…both very good.

I’m also looking forward to the south island because the towns have names like “Nelson” and “Christchurch” instead of “Whatuwuiwui” and ‘Manganui.” It will be a lot easier for me to remember where I am and where I’m going.

Today wasn't that exciting but I guess I'll do a short post anyway. We decided to stay another day in Wanganui since we still have a couple days before we have to catch the ferry in Wellington.

We slept in and hung around here this morning. After lunch we went over to a lake and some gardens in town. We walked around the lake and looked at all the pretty flowers and weird water birds. There was a little boy there with his mom, about 3 yrs old...he said Hi to me and I said Hi back. He then came up, held my hand and started walking with me and told me he was going to go home with me to my house, haha. He was so cute...and very forward. "We're going to your house to play with toys"....umm, ok. haha. His mom was so embarrassed.

Later on we stopped by a farm and got some strawberries and then went to a glass blowing studio to look at their gallery. Pretty laid back afternoon. After all that we stopped by the Pak-n-Sav to get stuff for dinner. We're kind of tired of grilling, kind of like we're tired of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch, so we got some Italian sausage and greens and made a pasta sort of thing. It turned out pretty good.

Here at our camp ground there is a goat that roams around and 3 bunnies that hang out in the grass. None of them will let me pet them:(

Pretty boring post but can't say I didn't warn you. We just didn't do anything very exciting today. Tomorrow we're driving to Wellington and doing who knows what. It's a pretty big city so there should be a lot to choose from.

RIP POS VAN

Well, ding dong the van is dead. We got back to Thames and Les, the car guy, was waiting to give us an update. He said the crack in the radiator had been repaired, but the overheating had done so much damage to the engine that it would cost about as much as we paid for it to get it fixed...and a lot of extra time to order parts and that sort of thing. He had more bad news for us later, after he talked to our insurance company and found out that our policy only covers fire and theft, not mechanical damage. I asked him if he would be willing to set the van on fire for us. I was only about 2% kidding and he said no. Soooo that's right...that stupid van only lasted us a week. We abandoned it in Thames with Les and tried not to think about how much money we lost/wasted on it:(

We spent the rest of the afternoon figuring out a new plan...checking on car rental prices, etc. With there being two of us, taking the bus would be a lot more expensive...and I'm not much for public transportation. So we decided we would take a one-way bus back to Auckland, rent a camper van that we could sleep in, return it in Christchurch so we won't have to back-track, and then fly from Christchurch to Auckland to catch our Sydney flight in April.

So back in Auckland, we went to pick up our new van. It's the same concept as the last one, only about a decade newer and with crazy new gadgets like a "radio" and "power windows." Really nice actually...or maybe just A LOT better than before.

We started driving south from Auckland toward the Waitomo Caves. They're famous for glow worms:) It was about a 2.5 hr drive from Auckland. We spent the night at another one of those nice campgrounds...they're a chain. Then this morning we went on our black water rafting cave tour to see the glow worms. It turned out to be even cooler than I thought and definitely one of the more unique things I've done. There was only 6 of us on the tour and we put on our wetsuits (yuck!), got our tubes and followed our guide into the cave. Now that I think about it, this is going to be a really hard thing to describe. There a ton of stalactites that looked like they were dripping off the ceiling of the cave. There were some glow worms on them but most of them were deeper in the cave where it was really dark. It was COLD in there...the water and the air. Some parts of the cave we climbed through, some we floated through in our tubes. There were also 2 small water falls that we jumped off of. The caves are COMPLETELY pitch black so we only had the lights on our helmets and the glow worms to lead us...which they actually did at some points because they're always concentrated in the center of the cave ceilings so it kind of helps to tell where you're going. VERY COOL tour...totally worth it and again, hard to describe. The picture I posted of the glow worms isn't one I took myself, but I wanted to give an idea of what they look like.

After the caves, we kept driving on to Wanganui which is about 3 hrs away from Wellington, where we catch the ferry to the south island in a couple days. Right now we're at ANOTHER one of those campsites. The desk guy told us about a giant swing over the river that was only about 5 km from here so we went and checked that out before dinner. It was fun...and free! I couldn't believe it was just there for anyone to hurt themselves on, haha. There's a lot of that sort of thing here though...go at your own risk type stuff. I think that's funny because everyone here is all about wearing your seat belt ALL the time. Feel free to kill yourself on a giant swing over the river but always wear your seat belt no matter what.

Oh, and for tonight and tomorrow night, I can say that I live in a van down by the river and actually mean it.