The Far South

Tuesday July 21
We woke up to pouring rain. It slightly threw off our plans to spend the afternoon on the beach, but was worse for everyone trying to get to Milford Sound for the next week or so- the rain caused a bunch of rock and tree avalanches and closed the road. We were really lucky we saw it when we did!

Apples, our guide for this trip, expressed us down to Invercargill which is a good sized city that is the furthest south. We went to the museum and got to see tuataras, creatures that are left over from dinosaur times. They have an invisible 3rd eye in the middle of their heads and will hibernate in winter and breathe once an hour. The museum has a breeding pair, Mildred and Henry who are 94 years old and just had a clutch of 11 babies. Invercargill was also home to Burt Munro, the man who built the World's Fastest Indian (a motorcycle he took to the States and set all sorts of records with). The bike itself is on display in the department store in town.

7 of us made the trip down to Stuart Island, the third island of New Zealand and the last port of call before Antarctica. The ferry took about an hour and was pretty rough- I slept the whole way and woke up feeling fine- much improved over my last ocean going experience!

Our hostel was very cute. It centered around a kitchen/dining area and living room with a big fireplace. They also offered free Internet which was amazing and we all took advantage of it. There was one German couple and 2 guys from West Oz and we all hung out and chatted the whole night. We wanted to go looking for kiwis at night, but there was thunder and lightening and we figured the kiwis were probably staying inside too.

The morning was a bit exciting- the guys heard the ferry wasn't running and we all wondered what was going to happen if we were stranded on the island and the bus left us. Luckily the weather continued to improve and we were told the ferry would depart on schedule.
It rained off and on but we got to explore a fair bit of the area. There were a couple of nice lookouts and a lot of forest to walk through. Nicki, Laura, Tif and I found a few amazing beaches- the water was so clear we couldn't resist going for a paddle. It was actually freezing. Typical. We got a delicious pub lunch- blue cod is a specialty of the area and it was awesome.

We successfully got the ferry back and made it up to Queenstown for a couple more big nights and a long journey back to Christchurch where the last few of us had to say goodbye. Tiffany and I got 1.5 hrs of sleep before catching a shuttle to the airport at 3:30am for our flight to Melbourne. Saying goodbye to Stray and New Zealand was really sad- neither of us wanted to leave at all.

Queenstown and Milford Sound

Monday July 20th

We arrived in Queenstown and the night was a blur of Fergburger- delicious burgers (vegi of course!) that are massive and amazing. Tiffany and I split them, which was a good idea because we ended up eating them every night we were in town! Queenstown is supposedly the adventure capitol of the world- and party capitol of New Zealand. We made the most of it, which may not have been the best idea before getting on a bus at 6:20 the next morning, but some of us fared better than others.

Monday was the start of a 3 day Stray trip into the "deep south". Tif and I decided to do it last minute and got a really good deal on the package. We got to stay with Nicki and Laura changed the dates of her trip so she could come with us. Benni and Coco from the bus were also on the same trip so it was a lot of fun. Our guide for this portion was called Apples and we had a mini version of the Stray bus. Luckily it handled hills (and 2nd gear) much better, since it was mountainous and snowing and raining!

Milford Sound is actually not a sound at all (which is a valley carved out by a river) but is a fiord- a valley

 of water carved by a glacier. The whole area is called Fiordland and is spectacular. We made a lot of photo stops and saw more mirror lakes, lots of snow, mountains, more keas, and a tunnel carved out by hand in the 1930s.When we got to Milford we did a boat tour of the fiord. It was amazing to see just how big the whole thing is- it made me feel very small. Tons of waterfalls, some seals and plenty of rainbows. It was a clear day, but quite cold.

When we finished our cruise we went back up the road to Gunn's Camp, a 

little camp consisting of huts that

 were built to house the men who carved out the tunnel in the 30s. And they really haven't changed anything since then. 6 of us shared a little cabin that had 2 small rooms with bunk beds off a central room with a table and coal burning stove that provided the heat and was where we cooked our food. Talk about getting off the beaten path! 

The camp had a funky little museum with old tools and newspaper clippings, a tiny store that sold dehydrated peas and a few books, and a gas pump that was still actually pumped by hand. There were no refrigerators and the whole place was powered by a generator that was switched off at 10pm. After that we sat around in candlelight. Everyone was pretty skeptical in the beginning, but it turned out to be really nice. Benni was nominated to keep the fire going and he did a really good job. Our cabin was nice and cozy and we just enjoyed hanging out.

3,2,1... BUNGY!!!

Sunday July 19

Our last day on Mambo's bus and we had to make it count. The final stop before Queenstown was at the site of the first ever commercial bungy jump- the Kawarau Bridge. The whole group watched a video on the history of bungy and the guy who started it all- AJ Hackett. After he and all his friends jumped off bridges all over New Zealand and he perfected the technique, he gained world wide recognition when he bungyed off the Eiffel Tower. He came back to NZ and set up a legit site at the bridge. All the footage looked like a lot of fun, and Mambo had given us a long talk about how bungy can change your life by having a near death experience in a safe, controlled environment. I still didn't think I would do it, but we watched a few people from our group jump and I thought "I could totally do that" which was a slightly surprising reaction to watching people throw themselves off a 43m (112 ft) bridge! I knew Tiffany had been debating it, so I grabbed her and Cleodha who was also on the fence and we ran up to the counter and threw our money atthe guy before any of us could change our minds.

Once we were on the bridge we got harnessed up. We had to waddle to the end of the platform with our feet strapped together. It was kind of freaky, looking down at the river below and thinking- "ok, I'm actually going to dive off this platform and go all the way down there". But it wasn't terrifying like I had imagined- I took a couple deep breaths and was actually pretty relaxed about it, and when he said 3,2,1-BUNGY! I just... Jumped.

It was all over really quickly. The bungy part was really smooth, and I remember bouncing higher than I expected. You end up dangling upside down just over the water, and two guys in an inflatible boat come paddling over and hold a stick out to you. You have to grab the stick then they lower you into the boat and unstrap you and pull you into shore. There are a bunch of steps back up to the viewing platform. Tif was going right after me so I hustled up to see. By the time I got to the top my heart was pounding out of my chest after running up a steep hill and erm, jumping off a bridge. I got a bunch of hugs and hi fives at the top and got to watch Tiffany jump.

I wouldn't say that bungy changed my life (but thanks for the talk anyway Mambo) but it was certainly nothing I EVER thought I would do. And hey, how many times will I be young and healthy and in New Zealand? Carpe diem!

(Tif has the pink hood here)

On The Road Again

Saturday & Sunday July 18-19

The Trusty Stray Bus

Lake Matheson

West Coast Beach/Lake/Rimu Forest

Blue Pools

Karaoke at Macarora

Lake Wanaka

45 Parallel (really down under!)

Glacial Goodness

After Barrytown we said goodbye to a few of the crew and picked up a couple more in Greymouth. We stopped through the town of Hokitika which is the source for most of New Zealand's greenstone (jade). We got to see how it is fashioned into the intricate patterns- it looks like a very involved process!

We pulled into Franz Joseph and tumbled off the bus to sign up for the following days adventures- glacier hikes! Glaciers are responsible for carving out the landscape of southwest New Zealand, and Franz Joseph and Fox are the most famous in NZ because of their size, speed (by glacial standards) and accessibility. They also descend into temperate rainforest, the terminal face being only about 12 km from the Tasman Sea.
Most of us opted for the full day guided tour of the glacier to maximize our time on the blue ice- the terminal face picks up all sorts of boulders and dirt and isn't that pretty to look at.

Friday was our hiking day and it was really dreary- cold and wet and grey. We arrived at the shop at 8am to get kitted out with "waterproof" pants and jacket, hat and gloves, and most importantly boots and crampons, the spiky bits you strap over your boots so you can walk on solid ice. It was pretty legit!

There was a 10 min bus ride and about a 2km walk before we even got close to the ice. We were split into groups of about 10- Tif and I opted for the fast medium group and Scooter and Ann Marie from the tour were also in our group. Our guides were Nick and Rob, who carried big ice axes and had to help carve out steps and screw in hand lines along the way. Because the ice is constantly moving- up to 1.5m at the face, sometimes as much as 5m in the middle every day!- guides are constantly cutting new paths and finding different routes.

Walking on the ice was pretty weird at first. You had to "step aggressively" to get the crampons to sink in. It was a pretty constant hike for the 6 hour day, and the rain barely let off, but the views of the valley from the glacier were amazing and the ice itself was incredible. It looks blue because all the pressure of the ice on top forces air out and it absorbs all the other colors and only reflects the blue.

As the ice shifts it also forms crevaces and caves, tunnels and

 holes. Our guides were keen to get us crawling through these and taught us the shuffle step. We slid

 and shimmied our way through the first crevace- and all of us got a bit

 wedged in there. The ice walls were well over our heads and it was so narrow your feet had to face forward but you had to turn your

 body sideways and squeeze through. They say people with

 claustrophobia have issues with the hikes, and this made me understand why! After (barely!) making it through the first crevice we moved on t

o a tunnel and were crawling on hands and knees through a tiny passage and climbing a verticle tunnel to get out. The w

hole thing was pretty mindblowing, but spectacular. 

There were some serious stairs and ridges to navigate, a 

hesp more crevacies, and a lot more ice! We reached the high point for some more 

brilliant views. On the hike back down we saw some keas, mountain parrots that are very mischevious and will pull windshie

ld wipers off cars or open backpacks if left unattended. Apparently if they're desperate

 they'll also land on sheeps backs and peck until they can eat their insides, but that's just gross. 

After what felt like forever we made it back down off the ice, through the valley and the woods and onto the bus. I had thought the whole thing was amazing and Tif and I 

were pretty excited about it all. Everyone else, however, found it to be one of the most miserable experiences. All that high tech clothing really paid off- so thanks REI for helping me part with all that money!

After an exhausting day we had a big night at the local that included "horse races" and a lot of group bonding. 

Straying

Wednesday July 15

Today was a solid travel day getting to the top of the wild West Coast. We stopped at a few beautiful spots including a walk at Cape Foulwind with spectacular scenery and a seal colony.  There were a few more beaches and we watched the sunset at Punakaiki, also known as the pancake rocks which are 35 million year old limestone and mud formations created by the waves pounding against the cliffs and creating strange, twisted forms. There are areas that become blow holes at high tide, but while we were there the water just surged in and out. Our stop that night was Barrytown, or Barry-no-town as the locals call it (no one else has a nickname for it because no one else knows it exists). Because the whole place is just a pub and a backpackers we had a Stray dress up party and amply amused ourselves for the evening.

Some quality links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdVHZwI8pcA&feature=related

(Beached As)

http://www.straytravel.com

Cape Foulwind walk

The weka, an endemic New Zealand bird, not to be mistaken for a kiwi

Mambo, bus driver and tour leader extraordinaire! 

Stormy beachPancake Rocks

Able Tasman

Monday- Tuesday, July 13-14
We dropped off the illicit Jenny II at the ferry terminal and met up with the rest of the Stray bus group who came across the ferry from Wellington. Mambo was our trusty bus driver and tour guide and was full of history lessons and local legedns and all sorts of random trivia. Our bus was a bright orange 24 seater that never wanted to get into second gear, which made climbing the many narrow, windy mountain passes especially, erm, exciting. I think we only ever fully stalled once, but there was always a lot of jerking and shaking and coming to a full stop before crawling off in first again. Apparently the bus will me retired after our trip.

The first stop of the day was at... the Marlborough wineries! A lot of the guys who stayed in Picton went on a wine tour the day before as well (sounded the same as what Tif and I did, but ours was free!) and a few of us opted to do a liquor tasting instead. Nice, but possibly not the best idea before a day on the bus!

We had a quick stop in the town of Nelson and picked up another girl and fresh mussels for the BBQ that night. As we were driving we played different "get to know you" games like international speed dating. People on the bus were from England, ireland, Germany and there was the "token Aussie dude", with tiffany and me representing "team America".

Our destination was Able Tasman National Park, which is in the far north of the South Island. We stayed at a place called Old Mcdonalds Farm, which had little cabins and a central kitchen and grill where we had a big group bbq and tasted some more mussels. The ones out here are enormous and beardy- good, bit also kind of oogy.

In the morning we got to explore the park. A group of us opted for a half day hike and anafternoon sailing trip. We did 12.5 km from Marahau, where we were staying, up to The Anvhorage. It was a beautiful walk, partly through forests and over waterfalls, some of the time along beautiful goldenbeaches. We were told that a few days before some of the beaches were white because they had inches of ice on them. They were frosty, but luckily not that cold! The water everywhere was so so clear and varying shades of blue. I don't know what New Zealands secret is to their amazing water! It's always so clear that I think it'll be warm and tropical and want to jump in. Luckily no one has let me yet!

It started drizzling early in the afternoon, and by the time we met the sail boat it was cold and really dreary. It was also very still- good if you are walking, not so much if you want to be sailing. We ended up motoring everywhere, which was still good fun. Darell was our skipper and Scotty was his crew. They were both real characters and we were entertained- albeit freezing- all afternoon. I got to steer the boat for a bit and didn't crash into anything! Good job me, I know. We saw some seals, shahs, a grey heron and a few intrepid kayakers.

The boat poked into a bunch of little bays and inlets, around islands and up a few streams. We ended the day seeing split apple rock, a big round rock that's cracked in two, hence looking like a split apple. We spent the rest of the evening huddled together under the heater at the fatm thawing.