On the morning of the 27th, Thomas, Sparrow and I said goodbye to Jackie as she was getting ready to leave for her "vacation from her vacation" to her brother Ryan's wedding in Mexico! The three of us girls were all going different directions, and after spending every day for the past month with them it felt pretty weird to be splitting up.
That morning, the boys and I began our little journey up to the Northland in our little rental car - a Toyota Corolla we nicknamed Godzilla. We made our way up highway 1, going over the Auckland Harbour bridge. Our first major stop was at Whangarei Falls - apparently one of the most photographed waterfalls in New Zealand - or so the sign said. Definitely a stop worth making if you have some time on your way up the North Island.
After we got back onto the road, I passed out for a while and Sparrow took over as navigator. Next thing I know, I wake up and we're on some windy flipping road in the middle of no where along the east coast. We made a stop at Lang's Beach to stick our feet in the Pacific, and I got us back on track onto the main highway.
We ended our travels for the day in Paihia - had fish and chips for lunch and checked into a hostel. Paihia is in the Bay of Islands - there are over 144 islands in the bay. And of course, like everywhere also in New Zealand the scenery is incredible! Our day finished off with a fine NZ steak supper we cooked up at our hostel, and a few too many Tui's.
The next morning we were up bright and early at 6:00 am because for some reason, we let Thomas convince us to go King fishing with him out in the bay. To tell you the truth, I'm sure glad we went! At 7 am we boarded our beauty of a boat, named the Major Tom II, met our skipper/fishing guide Jeff and one of the coolest dogs in the world: Poppy, a little Jack Russell terrier "fish hunter".
We headed out into the bay to catch some live baitfish - some yellowtail. Our baitfish lines had a few hooks on them, and we could catch multiple fish at one time. Thomas and Sparrow were catching up to 4 fish at a time, and I was helping to take the hooks off and throw them in the tank at the back to keep them alive. I'm not trying to brag (well, I am sort of, haha) but my first line I put out for baits had 4 fish on it, and my second had 6 fish. Yea, for my first time fishing you could call me a damn lucky angler!
After catching a mess of yellow tail, we headed out to the bay to find a good spot. On our way out, Jeff saw some bottle nose dolphins and cruised on by so they would jump into our wake. Three dolphins cruised in our wake for about 10 minutes, only a couple short feet away from the boat. One of the most incredible animals I've ever seen, these dolphins were huge. They had to be close to 1000 pounds and around 7 or 8 feet long. Absolutely beautiful!
Anyways dolphins are great, but they are bad for fishing so we made our way away from them and anchored the boat above a reef, hoping to find some Kingies!
I'm not going to tell you what exactly we caught, because I fear the boys may have a different story than me for bragging purposes, but all in all the fishing wasn't great. We caught some snapper for a good feed, and the day involved too many bait fish getting stolen, too many sharks and barracudas and not enough King Fish. It was still an incredible experience, the ocean was calm, the sun was shining and we saw some beautiful boats go past us.
When we made it back to the harbor, got back into Godzilla and headed up north! Our destination: Cape Reigna.
The drive up north is through some pretty rough country, definitely would be a little bit difficult to farm some of the land up there, but as for scenery the rocky hills and hilly landscape is beautiful to look at. Our first stop along the way was past Kerikeri at Cooper's Beach for a swim in the ocean and a lie in the sand. We continued up north, stopping at Rarawa Beach - a white silica beach on the east coast. Beautiful white, squeaky sand ran for miles, we dipped our legs into the ocean and ran back to Godzilla.
Back on the road, we reached the Ninety Mile Beach sand dunes around 7 pm, and for a bargain of $15 bucks got some sand boards and went sliding down some steep sand dunes. A face full of sand and a couple tumbles later we found our way back in the car and ended at Cape Reinga at sunset. My breath was taken away by the view walking down to the light house right on the edge of Cape. From the light house, you can see where the Tasman Sea meets the Pacific Ocean, and the waves crash against each other. This area is very special to Maori culture, as spirits who have passed on return to the homeland of Hawaikii from Cape Reinga.
I felt very humbled by the scenery, and at that moment so thankful to be there, and to be living the life I have.
Brandon, Thomas and I enjoyed a bottle of red wine and watched the sunset, then headed to our hostel to cook up our catch from the day, red snapper in dill and lemon, and enjoy a few beers.
Our next day's adventures took us to Ninety Mile Beach on the west coast of the North Island, where Godzilla ventured out onto the sand and drove into the ocean for a bit... Pretty crazy little monster! The beach is glorious, and appears as if it goes on forever.
We headed down the island, stopping to see a bit of the Puketi Forest. Then back on the road again along the west coast to see Tane Mahuta - the largest Kauri tree in New Zealand. The tree is 51.5 meters tall and 13.5 meters in circumference, and it is estimated to be over 2000 years old. Very neat.
Muriwai Beach was our last stop of the day, and we arrived to run into the ocean just at sunset. We checked out the gannet colony near the beach. Gannets are large white birds that dive into the ocean for fish, and they are incredible athletes. I've heard that they can dive up to 40 meters deep, however don't quote me on that, haha. Anyways, still very cool.
We ended up back in Auckland, grabbed some late supper and ended our journey.
The next day was January 30th, Thomas left us for his flight home to British Columbia to get back to pulling tits. Sparrow and I wandered around downtown Auckland and checked out some stuff, hung out in the hostel and got organized for the next few weeks. On the 31st, Sparrow got onto the Kiwi Experience bus to finish his tour of New Zealand, and I was about to begin my next Kiwi adventure on my way to Matamata to work on Kauri Glen Holsteins for a couple weeks! Stay tuned for my next post!
Tuesday, 31 January 2012
Thursday, 26 January 2012
Auckland - January 25/26
Our first full day back in Auckland was spent by doing a day trip out to Rangitoto Island - a 20 minute ferry ride from the downtown ferry terminal. Rangitoto is a scenic reserve that is completely pest free - meaning no mice, rats, possums or stoats remain on the island, making it a reserve for native birds and plants.
The island is volcanic, and lumpy dry hardened lava covers the majority of the island, along with bush and trees. Thomas, Sparrow and I walked up to the summit of the volcano and checked out some caves formed by lava flows. It was really neat seeing volcanic evidence so close up, very unusual scenery for us Canucks. It was a gorgeous sunny day, and from the summit it's quite easy to see the CBD and harbor, as well as see Waiheke Island and the Coromandel Peninsula off in the distance. Very neat.
That evening back at our hostel, we met a guy from Alabama and a couple from Gatineau, Quebec. We enjoyed several beers and talked about all sorts of things from traveling, food, agriculture, hiking, nature and culture. One of the great parts about staying in hostels is meeting people from around the world (even if they are from the same country as you!) and getting to know the differences in perspectives and cultures. I can honestly say that I changed a persons perspective on agriculture and how livestock are handled and managed. The amount of misinformation given to consumers is absolutely mind blowing.
Our next day in Auckland was pretty chill. Judith, our friend from N. Ireland who is working in Auckland as an au pere, picked Jackie, Morgan and I up from our hostel and we cruised out to Piha Beach for a couple hours. Piha is a black sand beach, known for it's strong rip tides and great surfing. The scenery is stunning, the ocean a bright turquoise, New Zealand flax grows along the wide, long beach and the sand is hot on the feet because it's black! A pretty cool as afternoon, I'd say! We had supper that night at Judith's place and that evening Judith and Morgan took off to Parachute Music Festival in Hamilton for the long weekend.
The island is volcanic, and lumpy dry hardened lava covers the majority of the island, along with bush and trees. Thomas, Sparrow and I walked up to the summit of the volcano and checked out some caves formed by lava flows. It was really neat seeing volcanic evidence so close up, very unusual scenery for us Canucks. It was a gorgeous sunny day, and from the summit it's quite easy to see the CBD and harbor, as well as see Waiheke Island and the Coromandel Peninsula off in the distance. Very neat.
That evening back at our hostel, we met a guy from Alabama and a couple from Gatineau, Quebec. We enjoyed several beers and talked about all sorts of things from traveling, food, agriculture, hiking, nature and culture. One of the great parts about staying in hostels is meeting people from around the world (even if they are from the same country as you!) and getting to know the differences in perspectives and cultures. I can honestly say that I changed a persons perspective on agriculture and how livestock are handled and managed. The amount of misinformation given to consumers is absolutely mind blowing.
Our next day in Auckland was pretty chill. Judith, our friend from N. Ireland who is working in Auckland as an au pere, picked Jackie, Morgan and I up from our hostel and we cruised out to Piha Beach for a couple hours. Piha is a black sand beach, known for it's strong rip tides and great surfing. The scenery is stunning, the ocean a bright turquoise, New Zealand flax grows along the wide, long beach and the sand is hot on the feet because it's black! A pretty cool as afternoon, I'd say! We had supper that night at Judith's place and that evening Judith and Morgan took off to Parachute Music Festival in Hamilton for the long weekend.
Tuesday, 24 January 2012
Days Twenty One to Twenty Three - January 22-24 - Last Days on the Kiwi Experience Bus!
The morning of January 22nd, we left Kaikoura and headed across the Cook Strait by way of Interislander Ferry to Wellington.
On the way, we made a quick stop at a breeding seal colony. It was very interesting to see the seal pups play with each other, similar to dog pups. Unlike the seal colony Brandon and I had visited in Kaikoura, this was a breeding colony, and the seals were far more territorial and protective. I wouldn't recommend getting too close to a breeding colony, as they can be very aggressive.
When we arrived at Picton, we got our ferry tickets and headed out of the terminal into town for lunch. Picton is a pretty little town, situated amongst low bush covered mountains, and it has a great beach.
After a 2.5 hour ferry ride, we finally arrived in Wellington. For anyone looking to travel NZ, you should know that the entire CBD of Wellington has free WIFI!
That evening, our bus mates got together for a faiRly historical event - Ben, a guy from Aussie on our bus was allowing a few other guys to cut his hair for $100. Ben's hair is fairly long, and he had it in a pretty cool style. David and Daniel from London, as well as Henrik and Rasmus from Denmark did the honors of giving Ben a horribly awful haircut, which was then fixed and cut pretty short by a girl from Denmark on our bus, Sibene. After the drama, we all headed to the bar for a night out.
The next day Morgan, Jackie, Sparrow and I were getting on the bus, and we were splitting up with a lot of the others we had been on the bus with for a while. From Wellington we made our way up to Taupo, and stayed there for a night. Sparrow and I checked out some thermal hot springs, right near the river. It was really neat, because could sit in a small stream coming from the hot springs, and when you got too hot, you could jump into the cold river flowing past. A very neat experience.
The next morning we made our way up the north Island, through Matamata aka. Hobbiton up to Auckland. It was in Auckland where we met up with our friend Thomas Cuthbert, and did a hike up to Mount Eden that afternoon. Definitely an incredible view of the city. Later that night we headed in to the downtown CBD to a bar called Cassette 9 to meet some friends from the bus that were with us earlier in the trip - Mitri (Brazil), Frances and Leigh (Ireland) and our bus driver, Olly. Great night for partying, that ended similar to any bar night back home - at McDonald's! I had such a fabulous time doing the Kiwi Experience, being able to see so much of New Zealand in such a short period of time (22 days) was mind blowing, and I would absolutely recommend it to anyone traveling to New Zealand for the first time!
On the way, we made a quick stop at a breeding seal colony. It was very interesting to see the seal pups play with each other, similar to dog pups. Unlike the seal colony Brandon and I had visited in Kaikoura, this was a breeding colony, and the seals were far more territorial and protective. I wouldn't recommend getting too close to a breeding colony, as they can be very aggressive.
When we arrived at Picton, we got our ferry tickets and headed out of the terminal into town for lunch. Picton is a pretty little town, situated amongst low bush covered mountains, and it has a great beach.
After a 2.5 hour ferry ride, we finally arrived in Wellington. For anyone looking to travel NZ, you should know that the entire CBD of Wellington has free WIFI!
That evening, our bus mates got together for a faiRly historical event - Ben, a guy from Aussie on our bus was allowing a few other guys to cut his hair for $100. Ben's hair is fairly long, and he had it in a pretty cool style. David and Daniel from London, as well as Henrik and Rasmus from Denmark did the honors of giving Ben a horribly awful haircut, which was then fixed and cut pretty short by a girl from Denmark on our bus, Sibene. After the drama, we all headed to the bar for a night out.
The next day Morgan, Jackie, Sparrow and I were getting on the bus, and we were splitting up with a lot of the others we had been on the bus with for a while. From Wellington we made our way up to Taupo, and stayed there for a night. Sparrow and I checked out some thermal hot springs, right near the river. It was really neat, because could sit in a small stream coming from the hot springs, and when you got too hot, you could jump into the cold river flowing past. A very neat experience.
The next morning we made our way up the north Island, through Matamata aka. Hobbiton up to Auckland. It was in Auckland where we met up with our friend Thomas Cuthbert, and did a hike up to Mount Eden that afternoon. Definitely an incredible view of the city. Later that night we headed in to the downtown CBD to a bar called Cassette 9 to meet some friends from the bus that were with us earlier in the trip - Mitri (Brazil), Frances and Leigh (Ireland) and our bus driver, Olly. Great night for partying, that ended similar to any bar night back home - at McDonald's! I had such a fabulous time doing the Kiwi Experience, being able to see so much of New Zealand in such a short period of time (22 days) was mind blowing, and I would absolutely recommend it to anyone traveling to New Zealand for the first time!
Saturday, 21 January 2012
Day Twenty - January 21 - The Day We Swam With DOLPHINS!!!
We started the day early, heading to Dolphin Encounter to gear up in wet suits, snorkels and flippers for our swim with the dolphins. After a video and a short bus ride out to the bay, we boarded our boat the Delphinidae and headed out on the ocean to find dolphins!
The ocean was quite rough - with large swells and a "sea sickness warning" - and the ride out seemed quite long. Unfortunately Jackie got a bit seasick on our way out to the dolphins, but she's a trooper and didn't let it spoil her swim.
There are a few different types of dolphins at Kaikoura, but the main species in the area is Dusky dolphins. There are several pods of Dusky dolphins that stay around Kaikoura year round to take advantage of the canyon and fish population. Dusky dolphins are black and white, range from 165-195 cm in length and can from 60 - 90 kilograms.They are very impressive creatures, as they are very acrobatic and like to show off.
Our skipper finally spotted the dolphins, we got our snorkels and flippers on, sat on the back of the boat and when he turned off the propellers, we jumped into the water. We were surrounded by over 300 Dusky dolphins!
We swam out to be amongst the dolphins and as we were told, made high pitched noises and tried to swim like the dolphins to get their attention. And it worked! Each one of us had a unique experience because the dolphins are wild, and each one reacts differently with each person. It was amazing! The dolphins swam alongside and underneath us, sometimes less than a foot away. Occasionally a dolphin would circle you, which happened to me a couple times. I made eye contact with the dolphin and tried to swim along side it, and it would circle again. It was pretty cool that a wild animal would swim with you in this was.
After hopping off the boat 3 times to swim with the dolphins while the pod moved around, we finally finished and started heading back to shore. Lucky for Jackie and I, we were both sea sick the entire way back to shore. You could definitely tell that these Saskatchewan girls don't have sea legs! Haha. It was well worth it though, as the dolphin swim was one of my favorite things I've done in NZ. I'm not gonna lie, I was almost questioning my career path.
Later that day, Brandon and I did a hike out to the Peninsula Seal Colony to see some New Zealand fur seals. This seal colony is non-breeding seals, so they are less aggressive than other seals on the coast, and we were abel to get up a little closer to them than usual. It was pretty neat, and definitely a good end to the day. Not only did I swim with dolphins today, but I also found out that I was the album cover picture for Chive Everywhere on theChive! Such a great day!
The ocean was quite rough - with large swells and a "sea sickness warning" - and the ride out seemed quite long. Unfortunately Jackie got a bit seasick on our way out to the dolphins, but she's a trooper and didn't let it spoil her swim.
There are a few different types of dolphins at Kaikoura, but the main species in the area is Dusky dolphins. There are several pods of Dusky dolphins that stay around Kaikoura year round to take advantage of the canyon and fish population. Dusky dolphins are black and white, range from 165-195 cm in length and can from 60 - 90 kilograms.They are very impressive creatures, as they are very acrobatic and like to show off.
Our skipper finally spotted the dolphins, we got our snorkels and flippers on, sat on the back of the boat and when he turned off the propellers, we jumped into the water. We were surrounded by over 300 Dusky dolphins!
We swam out to be amongst the dolphins and as we were told, made high pitched noises and tried to swim like the dolphins to get their attention. And it worked! Each one of us had a unique experience because the dolphins are wild, and each one reacts differently with each person. It was amazing! The dolphins swam alongside and underneath us, sometimes less than a foot away. Occasionally a dolphin would circle you, which happened to me a couple times. I made eye contact with the dolphin and tried to swim along side it, and it would circle again. It was pretty cool that a wild animal would swim with you in this was.
After hopping off the boat 3 times to swim with the dolphins while the pod moved around, we finally finished and started heading back to shore. Lucky for Jackie and I, we were both sea sick the entire way back to shore. You could definitely tell that these Saskatchewan girls don't have sea legs! Haha. It was well worth it though, as the dolphin swim was one of my favorite things I've done in NZ. I'm not gonna lie, I was almost questioning my career path.
Later that day, Brandon and I did a hike out to the Peninsula Seal Colony to see some New Zealand fur seals. This seal colony is non-breeding seals, so they are less aggressive than other seals on the coast, and we were abel to get up a little closer to them than usual. It was pretty neat, and definitely a good end to the day. Not only did I swim with dolphins today, but I also found out that I was the album cover picture for Chive Everywhere on theChive! Such a great day!
Friday, 20 January 2012
Day Nineteen - January 20 - Christchurch to Kairkoura
Today was a sad day: Judith, Phil and Martin left us in Christchurch. We spent our last morning with them walking around the Botanic Gardens across from our hostel, and it was pretty difficult to say goodbye. Kiwi Experience allowed us to become friends, and we were so lucky to be able to share our trip together.
Phil and Martin flew home to England, and Judith flew back to work Auckland. Such a sad day to lose such great friends. The bus is definitely not the same without them. Every time I hear "Good Feeling" by Flo Rida, I almost hesitate for a minute expecting Judith to start singing along. I miss them all very much.
Anyways, our little Canadian family consisting of Jackie, Morgan, Brandon and I continued onto Kaikoura on the Kiwi bus. Kaikoura is just north of Christchurch on the east coast of the North Island and is one of the best kept secrets of NZ. The town is right on the coast, where the mountains meet the sea, and the scenery made it one of my favorite stops in NZ. The ocean area surrounding Kaikoura is rich with sea life - whales, seals, sea birds, fish and dolphins. There is a massive underwater canyon at Kaikoura which located at the meeting place of two ocean currents. It has one of the most diversified underwater ecosystems in the world and was one of the first places in the world to begin ecotourism based around the sea life in the area. This is where Jackie, Morgan, Brandon and I swam with wild dolphins.
Phil and Martin flew home to England, and Judith flew back to work Auckland. Such a sad day to lose such great friends. The bus is definitely not the same without them. Every time I hear "Good Feeling" by Flo Rida, I almost hesitate for a minute expecting Judith to start singing along. I miss them all very much.
Anyways, our little Canadian family consisting of Jackie, Morgan, Brandon and I continued onto Kaikoura on the Kiwi bus. Kaikoura is just north of Christchurch on the east coast of the North Island and is one of the best kept secrets of NZ. The town is right on the coast, where the mountains meet the sea, and the scenery made it one of my favorite stops in NZ. The ocean area surrounding Kaikoura is rich with sea life - whales, seals, sea birds, fish and dolphins. There is a massive underwater canyon at Kaikoura which located at the meeting place of two ocean currents. It has one of the most diversified underwater ecosystems in the world and was one of the first places in the world to begin ecotourism based around the sea life in the area. This is where Jackie, Morgan, Brandon and I swam with wild dolphins.
Thursday, 19 January 2012
Day Eighteen - January 19 - Queenstown to Christchurch
We hopped back onto the Kiwi Ex bus and made the journey from Queenstown to Christchurch in a few hours, out of the mountains and into the Cantebury region. We made a quick stop at Lake Pukaki - a brilliant blue lake right beneath Mt. Cook, however the peak was in the clouds so I didn't get any great pics of the mountain. We passed by Twisel - a town near the base of Mt. Cook. There is a lot of area around Twisel featured in the Lord of the Rings movies, and driving past felt pretty neat. We made it into Cantebury, and I realized that it reminds me of home: because it's flat. The region is largely farmland - we passed wineries, fruit and vege farms and tons of dairies.
We ended up in Christchurch around 6 pm that evening. Christchurch is devastating. Since September 2010 there has been close to 10,000 earthquakes and aftershocks recorded in the area, the worst earthquake occurring in February 2011, causing the most damage and shutting down a lot of the downtown core of Christchurch.
We ended up staying at the YMCA, which was a short 10 min walk from the "Dead Zone". We took a walk around the destruction and I was taken aback at the devastation in the area. The downtown core in Christchurch is a ghost town, no one is around, all the shops are closed, huge buildings are falling apart or crumbled and the whole area is fenced off. Police patrol the area to make sure no one enters the dead zone, and basically the only people waling around are tourists. The whole area is very eerie, and it reminded me of a zombie movie - the sense of terrible devastation hangs in the air. Although Christchurch is shut down in many areas and there is not a lot to do anymore, it was worth spending a night there just to see it.
We ended up in Christchurch around 6 pm that evening. Christchurch is devastating. Since September 2010 there has been close to 10,000 earthquakes and aftershocks recorded in the area, the worst earthquake occurring in February 2011, causing the most damage and shutting down a lot of the downtown core of Christchurch.
We ended up staying at the YMCA, which was a short 10 min walk from the "Dead Zone". We took a walk around the destruction and I was taken aback at the devastation in the area. The downtown core in Christchurch is a ghost town, no one is around, all the shops are closed, huge buildings are falling apart or crumbled and the whole area is fenced off. Police patrol the area to make sure no one enters the dead zone, and basically the only people waling around are tourists. The whole area is very eerie, and it reminded me of a zombie movie - the sense of terrible devastation hangs in the air. Although Christchurch is shut down in many areas and there is not a lot to do anymore, it was worth spending a night there just to see it.
Wednesday, 18 January 2012
Days Fourteen to Seventeen - January 15-18 - QUEENSTOWN, BABY!
Queenstown is the "Adventure Capital of the World", and I'm not gonna lie, with the amount of extreme activities that you can do there - it sure lives up to it's reputation! We stayed at Nomads in Queenstown - one of the only hostels that provides breakfast and supper, which was nice actually. Sparrow met us at the hostel and started his travels with us from there. Good to see Burdman down here in NZ, just another addition to our NZ family.
Two of the most extreme things I've done in NZ were in Queenstown: bungy jumping and the Canyon Swing. On January 15th we journeyed to the Kawarau River Bridge to bungy at AJ Hackett. Now this guy AJ Hackett is, to put it lightly, a lunatic. This is the man who invented bungy jumping by, quite literally, attaching an elastic rope to his legs and jumping off stuff. It all started back in the late 80's when hair was wild, fashion was brightly colored, and - I'm assuming - there were some crazy drugs around. But seriously - AJ Hackett is a crazy dude. Originally he and his crew would jump off of bridges and cliffs around NZ including the Auckland Harbour bridge. Eventually that got old and they ventured overseas, and AJ jumped from the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
The Kawarau Bridge is the "World's Home of Bungy" - literally. This bridge is the first commercial bungy jumping location in history. And it is also the place where Jackie, Morgan and I made history and also jumped off of this bridge! I'm not going to lie - bungy didn't seem too scary for me at first. I knew that it was safe and that thousands of people had done it at AJ Hackett with zero fatalities. But when I got onto that bridge and stood in line to get harnessed up to jump with waist and leg harnesses - my brain sure didn't think it was a great idea, my phobia of heights kicked in and I was scared shitless.
We all waited in line on the bridge to move onto the jumping platform, and my heart was racing. Morgan jumped right before me and Jackie was a couple spots behind me, along with some other fellow crazy people from Kiwi Experience. Watching Morgan jump was insane, at first she was on the ledge standing with her toes on the edge, and then POOF she was gone! And then it was actually my turn. All harnessed up, I was helped to hop to the edge of the platform by, coincidentally, a fellow Canadian from Edmonton who worked for AJ Hackett.
I was so flipping scared I almost didn't let go, but he told me I wouldn't die, and eventually I got enough courage to let myself fall off. The bungy is insane! Such a weird feeling that I can't really explain. I'm definitely glad I did it. At the viewing platform I got to watch Jackie jump - and that girl is a true adrenaline junkie! Her jump was so awesome - she jumped way off the platform and threw her arms out like a pro. Definitely got some great pics of that crazy girl!
The other extreme thing we did in Queenstown was the Shotover Canyon Swing. This swing is the World's highest cliff jump: the cliff is 109 meters high, the free fall is 60 meters, and the swing is 200 meters. Sure doesn't sound like a lot, but if you are about to fall off that cliff it's flipping big. Jackie, Sparrow, Phil, Morgan and I got weighed up, checked in and met our jump guide - Logan - at the office in Queenstown. Jackie, Sparrow and I wore our "Keep Calm and Chive On" shirts for the jump - and they were a HUGE hit with the Canyon Swing guys! We were the first people to do the swing wearing these shirts!
Getting on with this insane story, we headed down on to the swing platform, where we were all geared up in full body harnesses. The Canyon Swing is pretty cool, because there are hundreds of different ways you can do it. Backwards, forwards, upside down, pin drop, starfish, superman, flips... and the list goes on and on! Jackie jumped first, and she chose to jump off the plat form forward. Morgan went next, followed by me. We both chose to do The Chair: which is where you get seat belted into a chair, and lean backwards into the fall.
The guys at Canyon Swing are super fun, and are great at getting you freaked out right before the swing. You sit on the chair with your back to the ledge, and they get you to lean back on your chair with your feet off the ground. You are connected to the swing cable on your chest, and as you lean backwards, they hold on to the cable for a "dry run" - meaning you lean back and then they pull you back in. They did about 3 dry runs with Morgan before letting her go - just screwing with her head and getting her pretty scared, which was funny to watch. When it came to my turn, I was expecting that as well. I was freaking out a bit about how high the cliff was, but the guys just told me to keep calm and chive on, and I felt a bit better. However after I pushed myself back and got my feet off the ground, he pulled me back in and I thought I was safe for a bit - and then he let me go! I did a couple flips on the way down on the chair, watching the rocks and trees fly by me as I plummeted 60 m towards the ground at 150 km/hour and then moving into a swing across the canyon. Definitely one of the most awesome feelings ever - almost as good as skydiving!
The rest of our time in Queenstown was a blast - great bars, great scenery and of course one of the most tasty burger places in the world: Ferg Burger. I may have enjoyed one of these after the bar one night. These burgers are MASSIVE (probably about the size of a one pound Fuddrucker's burger for your Saskatchewan folk), and they are also extremely delicious gourmet with all sorts of toppings or meats - you can get beef, pork, chicken, lamb, venison, fish, falafel or tofo. Definitely a must have when you come to Queenstown, although the lines do get quite long, even at 3 am.
We also experienced the Below Zero Ice Bar in Queenstown, which is a straightforward concept - a bar made of ice where they give you boots, gloves and a parka, and you stand around and drink in -8 degrees Celsius! It was pretty damn cool (ha ha!) and it sure reminded me of home!
The last day we were in Queenstown, we took a day trip out to Milford Sound- which is easily the most beautiful place I have seen in my life. Milford Sound is really a fjord, created by glaciers thousands of years ago. The sound is lined with gigantic mountains that rise straight up out of the Tasman Sea. If you google Mitre Peak, you will most likely recognize it if you have ever seen pictures of NZ. It is the highest peak in the sound, and the most photographed mountain in New Zealand. Milford Sound is not easily described, as everything is so massive - the waterfalls, mountains, cliffs and length of the sound. If I can get pictures to post on my blog, I will put some up. Definitely a must see for anyone traveling to this gorgeous country.
Two of the most extreme things I've done in NZ were in Queenstown: bungy jumping and the Canyon Swing. On January 15th we journeyed to the Kawarau River Bridge to bungy at AJ Hackett. Now this guy AJ Hackett is, to put it lightly, a lunatic. This is the man who invented bungy jumping by, quite literally, attaching an elastic rope to his legs and jumping off stuff. It all started back in the late 80's when hair was wild, fashion was brightly colored, and - I'm assuming - there were some crazy drugs around. But seriously - AJ Hackett is a crazy dude. Originally he and his crew would jump off of bridges and cliffs around NZ including the Auckland Harbour bridge. Eventually that got old and they ventured overseas, and AJ jumped from the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
The Kawarau Bridge is the "World's Home of Bungy" - literally. This bridge is the first commercial bungy jumping location in history. And it is also the place where Jackie, Morgan and I made history and also jumped off of this bridge! I'm not going to lie - bungy didn't seem too scary for me at first. I knew that it was safe and that thousands of people had done it at AJ Hackett with zero fatalities. But when I got onto that bridge and stood in line to get harnessed up to jump with waist and leg harnesses - my brain sure didn't think it was a great idea, my phobia of heights kicked in and I was scared shitless.
We all waited in line on the bridge to move onto the jumping platform, and my heart was racing. Morgan jumped right before me and Jackie was a couple spots behind me, along with some other fellow crazy people from Kiwi Experience. Watching Morgan jump was insane, at first she was on the ledge standing with her toes on the edge, and then POOF she was gone! And then it was actually my turn. All harnessed up, I was helped to hop to the edge of the platform by, coincidentally, a fellow Canadian from Edmonton who worked for AJ Hackett.
I was so flipping scared I almost didn't let go, but he told me I wouldn't die, and eventually I got enough courage to let myself fall off. The bungy is insane! Such a weird feeling that I can't really explain. I'm definitely glad I did it. At the viewing platform I got to watch Jackie jump - and that girl is a true adrenaline junkie! Her jump was so awesome - she jumped way off the platform and threw her arms out like a pro. Definitely got some great pics of that crazy girl!
The other extreme thing we did in Queenstown was the Shotover Canyon Swing. This swing is the World's highest cliff jump: the cliff is 109 meters high, the free fall is 60 meters, and the swing is 200 meters. Sure doesn't sound like a lot, but if you are about to fall off that cliff it's flipping big. Jackie, Sparrow, Phil, Morgan and I got weighed up, checked in and met our jump guide - Logan - at the office in Queenstown. Jackie, Sparrow and I wore our "Keep Calm and Chive On" shirts for the jump - and they were a HUGE hit with the Canyon Swing guys! We were the first people to do the swing wearing these shirts!
Getting on with this insane story, we headed down on to the swing platform, where we were all geared up in full body harnesses. The Canyon Swing is pretty cool, because there are hundreds of different ways you can do it. Backwards, forwards, upside down, pin drop, starfish, superman, flips... and the list goes on and on! Jackie jumped first, and she chose to jump off the plat form forward. Morgan went next, followed by me. We both chose to do The Chair: which is where you get seat belted into a chair, and lean backwards into the fall.
The guys at Canyon Swing are super fun, and are great at getting you freaked out right before the swing. You sit on the chair with your back to the ledge, and they get you to lean back on your chair with your feet off the ground. You are connected to the swing cable on your chest, and as you lean backwards, they hold on to the cable for a "dry run" - meaning you lean back and then they pull you back in. They did about 3 dry runs with Morgan before letting her go - just screwing with her head and getting her pretty scared, which was funny to watch. When it came to my turn, I was expecting that as well. I was freaking out a bit about how high the cliff was, but the guys just told me to keep calm and chive on, and I felt a bit better. However after I pushed myself back and got my feet off the ground, he pulled me back in and I thought I was safe for a bit - and then he let me go! I did a couple flips on the way down on the chair, watching the rocks and trees fly by me as I plummeted 60 m towards the ground at 150 km/hour and then moving into a swing across the canyon. Definitely one of the most awesome feelings ever - almost as good as skydiving!
The rest of our time in Queenstown was a blast - great bars, great scenery and of course one of the most tasty burger places in the world: Ferg Burger. I may have enjoyed one of these after the bar one night. These burgers are MASSIVE (probably about the size of a one pound Fuddrucker's burger for your Saskatchewan folk), and they are also extremely delicious gourmet with all sorts of toppings or meats - you can get beef, pork, chicken, lamb, venison, fish, falafel or tofo. Definitely a must have when you come to Queenstown, although the lines do get quite long, even at 3 am.
We also experienced the Below Zero Ice Bar in Queenstown, which is a straightforward concept - a bar made of ice where they give you boots, gloves and a parka, and you stand around and drink in -8 degrees Celsius! It was pretty damn cool (ha ha!) and it sure reminded me of home!
The last day we were in Queenstown, we took a day trip out to Milford Sound- which is easily the most beautiful place I have seen in my life. Milford Sound is really a fjord, created by glaciers thousands of years ago. The sound is lined with gigantic mountains that rise straight up out of the Tasman Sea. If you google Mitre Peak, you will most likely recognize it if you have ever seen pictures of NZ. It is the highest peak in the sound, and the most photographed mountain in New Zealand. Milford Sound is not easily described, as everything is so massive - the waterfalls, mountains, cliffs and length of the sound. If I can get pictures to post on my blog, I will put some up. Definitely a must see for anyone traveling to this gorgeous country.
Saturday, 14 January 2012
Day Thirteen - January 14 - Franz Josef to Wanaka
We left the rain at the West Coast and headed inland across the Southern Alps to Lake Wanaka. On the way to Wanaka we stopped at Lake Matheson for a short hike and tried to see the peaks of Mt. Cook and Mt. Tasman, but alas it's the West Coast and it was cloudy and rainy, so the view was terrible.
The drive into Wanaka was incredible! We made it through Haast and its beautiful vast river valley, then followed by jungle covered mountains we drove along the Haast river and up through the Haast pass. We made a quick stop at Thunder Creek Falls, and then continued on through Makarora, then finally along side Lake Hawea and Lake Wanaka, surrounded by beautiful rugged mountains.
Wanaka is situated right on the lake, surrounded with mountains. Stunning views from our hostel's balcony kitchen, definitely made it a great stop. We enjoyed our time in Wanaka walking around town, down along the beach and taking in the scenery. It's a nice little town in the summer - with a population close to 10,000 that close to triples in the winter because of the great snowboard and ski hills in the region. We also had the pleasure of visiting Puzzling World while we were there - which is a world renowned activity centre built with many illusion rooms and the worlds largest outdoor 3D maze that takes at least an hour to complete. Pretty cool, definitely a fantastic stop.
The drive into Wanaka was incredible! We made it through Haast and its beautiful vast river valley, then followed by jungle covered mountains we drove along the Haast river and up through the Haast pass. We made a quick stop at Thunder Creek Falls, and then continued on through Makarora, then finally along side Lake Hawea and Lake Wanaka, surrounded by beautiful rugged mountains.
Wanaka is situated right on the lake, surrounded with mountains. Stunning views from our hostel's balcony kitchen, definitely made it a great stop. We enjoyed our time in Wanaka walking around town, down along the beach and taking in the scenery. It's a nice little town in the summer - with a population close to 10,000 that close to triples in the winter because of the great snowboard and ski hills in the region. We also had the pleasure of visiting Puzzling World while we were there - which is a world renowned activity centre built with many illusion rooms and the worlds largest outdoor 3D maze that takes at least an hour to complete. Pretty cool, definitely a fantastic stop.
Friday, 13 January 2012
Day Twelve - January 13 - Franz Josef Glacier Hike
I've been far too busy being awesome and living life to post on my blog lately, so the next few posts I'll hammer out quickly to let you know what we've been up to.
So, Friday the 13th was upon us, and as likely as it sounds that something bad was about to happen to us, it turns out that the exact opposite did. Jackie, Morgan and I along with the rest of our Kiwi Ex "family" - Judith, Martin and Phil - headed to Franz Josef Glacier Guides to begin the hike up Franz Josef Glacier.
Martin and Morgan originally were booked in to do ice climbing, however the lovely West Coast climate decided to not allow that and the extremely rainy and "moist" conditions forced the ice climbing trip to be cancelled.
Anyways, we geared up in rain pants, jackets, wool socks, boots, gloves, toques and given crampons for the hike - hopped on the bus and we were off to the glacier. The hike started off (in pouring rain) with a quick 45 minutes through the valley and up large rocky hill to the base of the glacier. Soaked already, there we stopped to attach the crampons onto our boots and got a quick lesson from our guide - Michael "Rookie" Rook - about how to walk with crampons on, without tripping or catching the spikes on your legs.
There were several groups ahead of us on the hike - and the guides of those groups had cut stairs in the glacier to allow everyone to get up. As we walked, Rookie would use his pick axe to fix any stairs if need be. It was quite surreal to be hiking up the glacier, and even though the pouring rain soaked us right through, it made the whole experience even that much more extreme. Huge waterfalls poured from the mountain cliffs on either side of the glacier, which would not have been there if it had been clear. The glacier looked so mysterious with the clouds hanging so thickly near the peak, and it felt more dangerous being up there in such conditions.
Glaciers are basically flowing rivers of ice, so as we ascended we could see the ice flow pattern appeared to break apart as it flowed over cliffs around 60 m below the glacier. Franz Josef Glacier moves up to 5 meters per day, so each day the track could be very different than the day before. On either side of the glacier, we saw the remains of several rock falls from the cliffs, and our guide told us that they now guide up the middle of the glacier to avoid possible rock falls. On the way up we saw some rocks fall off the cliff to our right. Extreme!
Eventually we made it to the top of the glacier, devoured some lunch we had packed and explored a bit on the top. We saw some ice falls near the top, which looked like frozen water falls, and we took some pictures. The way down was a lot easier than the way up, and as we descended we stamped our feet into the ice with our crampons to avoid slipping. It was so much easier to enjoy the views on the way down - waves of brilliant white and blue ice flow down the glacier, appearing almost like a river frozen in time. Pretty neat that's for sure!
At the bottom we removed our crampons, hiked back to the bus, dropped our gear off at Franz Josef Glacier Guides and headed to the Glacier Hot Pools to heat up! It sure was nice to sit in the warm water, heat our muscles back up and relax. We ended the day with supper at the Monsoon Pub at our hostel, where I ate my first meal of bangers and mash in history. Bloody delicious if you ask me!
So, Friday the 13th was upon us, and as likely as it sounds that something bad was about to happen to us, it turns out that the exact opposite did. Jackie, Morgan and I along with the rest of our Kiwi Ex "family" - Judith, Martin and Phil - headed to Franz Josef Glacier Guides to begin the hike up Franz Josef Glacier.
Martin and Morgan originally were booked in to do ice climbing, however the lovely West Coast climate decided to not allow that and the extremely rainy and "moist" conditions forced the ice climbing trip to be cancelled.
Anyways, we geared up in rain pants, jackets, wool socks, boots, gloves, toques and given crampons for the hike - hopped on the bus and we were off to the glacier. The hike started off (in pouring rain) with a quick 45 minutes through the valley and up large rocky hill to the base of the glacier. Soaked already, there we stopped to attach the crampons onto our boots and got a quick lesson from our guide - Michael "Rookie" Rook - about how to walk with crampons on, without tripping or catching the spikes on your legs.
There were several groups ahead of us on the hike - and the guides of those groups had cut stairs in the glacier to allow everyone to get up. As we walked, Rookie would use his pick axe to fix any stairs if need be. It was quite surreal to be hiking up the glacier, and even though the pouring rain soaked us right through, it made the whole experience even that much more extreme. Huge waterfalls poured from the mountain cliffs on either side of the glacier, which would not have been there if it had been clear. The glacier looked so mysterious with the clouds hanging so thickly near the peak, and it felt more dangerous being up there in such conditions.
Glaciers are basically flowing rivers of ice, so as we ascended we could see the ice flow pattern appeared to break apart as it flowed over cliffs around 60 m below the glacier. Franz Josef Glacier moves up to 5 meters per day, so each day the track could be very different than the day before. On either side of the glacier, we saw the remains of several rock falls from the cliffs, and our guide told us that they now guide up the middle of the glacier to avoid possible rock falls. On the way up we saw some rocks fall off the cliff to our right. Extreme!
Eventually we made it to the top of the glacier, devoured some lunch we had packed and explored a bit on the top. We saw some ice falls near the top, which looked like frozen water falls, and we took some pictures. The way down was a lot easier than the way up, and as we descended we stamped our feet into the ice with our crampons to avoid slipping. It was so much easier to enjoy the views on the way down - waves of brilliant white and blue ice flow down the glacier, appearing almost like a river frozen in time. Pretty neat that's for sure!
At the bottom we removed our crampons, hiked back to the bus, dropped our gear off at Franz Josef Glacier Guides and headed to the Glacier Hot Pools to heat up! It sure was nice to sit in the warm water, heat our muscles back up and relax. We ended the day with supper at the Monsoon Pub at our hostel, where I ate my first meal of bangers and mash in history. Bloody delicious if you ask me!
Thursday, 12 January 2012
Day Eleven - January 12 - The Bushman Centre
After a nice sleep in, to recover from our late night, we got on the road for our morning stop at the Bushman Centre. West coast people are... well they're from the west coast. Cut from a different cloth. But don't get me wrong, they are very cool people. Very concerned about maintaining their environment
The centre set up bu a man named Peter Salter to explain to others the west coast way of life. The first part of the museum tour was a video showing the hunt and eradication of the deer that were released into New Zealand by Europeans in the 18th century to add "diversification" to the landscape. What actually happened was that the deer destroyed the natural environment of NZ and needed to be controlled because the population ballooned quickly. So these crazy Kiwis hunted the deer for the venison market, on foot and by helicopter using 303 rifles.
Eventually when the population got so low and the market for venison still demanded a supply of venison, these Kiwis invented a net gun to catch the deer to use in farming to keep the supply up for the venison market. Sometimes to catch the deer, men would just jump out of helicopters on the the backs of deer, pull them down and hog tie them. Basically an insane version of steer wrestling, but with a helicopter and a deer. Kiwis are crazy! Pretty neat story of how the deer farming industry began in NZ - which now brings in revenues of around $260 million to the New Zealand agriculture industry.
We pulled into Franz Josef around 2 pm and checked into the hostel. Jack and Morgan went on a kayaking tour for a couple hours on Lake Mapourika while I chilled out in the hostel and tried to nurse a sore shoulder from an old injury. Tomorrow we do an 8 hour hike on the Franz Josef Glacier - the fastest moving glacier in the world - moving at 5 meters per day. Should be a good time! So Kia Ora for now! Another blog post in a few days hopefully!
The centre set up bu a man named Peter Salter to explain to others the west coast way of life. The first part of the museum tour was a video showing the hunt and eradication of the deer that were released into New Zealand by Europeans in the 18th century to add "diversification" to the landscape. What actually happened was that the deer destroyed the natural environment of NZ and needed to be controlled because the population ballooned quickly. So these crazy Kiwis hunted the deer for the venison market, on foot and by helicopter using 303 rifles.
Eventually when the population got so low and the market for venison still demanded a supply of venison, these Kiwis invented a net gun to catch the deer to use in farming to keep the supply up for the venison market. Sometimes to catch the deer, men would just jump out of helicopters on the the backs of deer, pull them down and hog tie them. Basically an insane version of steer wrestling, but with a helicopter and a deer. Kiwis are crazy! Pretty neat story of how the deer farming industry began in NZ - which now brings in revenues of around $260 million to the New Zealand agriculture industry.
We pulled into Franz Josef around 2 pm and checked into the hostel. Jack and Morgan went on a kayaking tour for a couple hours on Lake Mapourika while I chilled out in the hostel and tried to nurse a sore shoulder from an old injury. Tomorrow we do an 8 hour hike on the Franz Josef Glacier - the fastest moving glacier in the world - moving at 5 meters per day. Should be a good time! So Kia Ora for now! Another blog post in a few days hopefully!
Wednesday, 11 January 2012
Day Ten - January 11 - Westport to Lake Mahinapua
I started off the morning getting picked up by Buller Adventures for a solo morning horse trek. The rest of the bus went off to see the seal colony at Cape Foulwind, while I got to ride on a little sorrel Standardbred gelding named Joey, through some farmland and a creek on a sunny NZ morning.
I got a personal tour from Lisa, one of the owners of Buller Adventures. She has working on farms around Westport her entire life, and she told me a little bit about how the dairies in that area run. The farm she works at calves from August to November, then artificially inseminates all the cows from December to January. Bulls are released with the cows after AI'ing until the end of February.
Most of the cows in the area were either Jerseys or Fresians (Holsteins) and are rotational grazed in paddocks. The dairies are probably around 350-400 cows on average, and most dairies have rotary parlours. I was almost more excited to hear about the agriculture industry in the area than I was to be on a horse, riding through the stunning scenery.
After the ride, I was dropped off at the Kiwi Ex bus and we were off to our next stop: Punakaiki National Park along the coast, to see the famous pancake rocks and blow holes. Honestly, this entire tour around the pancake rocks felt like it was off of a postcard, and I can't even describe how beautiful it was. Pictures don't do it justice either. Anyways, at around 1 pm, we got to see the high tide come in to burst through the blow holes, sending huge sprays of ocean water over the pancake rocks. I don't even know how to explain how neat it was.
After Punakaiki, we made it to our destination for the night - the Mahinapua Hotel (aka Poo Pub). The Mahinapua Pub is famous for having the oldest barkeeper in NZ. His name is Les, he is 87 years old, and he seemed like a complete beauty! He served us up a glorious meal or steak, potatoes and salads, and we enjoyed a few pitchers of beer in his pub after supper. The pub walls are covered in polaroids of past Kiwi Ex groups that have stayed at the pub, and the roof is covered in hats, and different mementos from past guests (including a few bras and pairs of gitch, haha). The pub has been doing exclusive Kiwi Experience functions almost every night for many years. Some of the pictures on the walls date back to the late nineties. We dressed up that night for a "P" party - all the costumes had to begin with the letter P. Morgan and I were paper bag princesses, Judith was a Polynesian and Jackie was a party animal (quite fitting, I may add. Ha). It was a great night!
I got a personal tour from Lisa, one of the owners of Buller Adventures. She has working on farms around Westport her entire life, and she told me a little bit about how the dairies in that area run. The farm she works at calves from August to November, then artificially inseminates all the cows from December to January. Bulls are released with the cows after AI'ing until the end of February.
Most of the cows in the area were either Jerseys or Fresians (Holsteins) and are rotational grazed in paddocks. The dairies are probably around 350-400 cows on average, and most dairies have rotary parlours. I was almost more excited to hear about the agriculture industry in the area than I was to be on a horse, riding through the stunning scenery.
After the ride, I was dropped off at the Kiwi Ex bus and we were off to our next stop: Punakaiki National Park along the coast, to see the famous pancake rocks and blow holes. Honestly, this entire tour around the pancake rocks felt like it was off of a postcard, and I can't even describe how beautiful it was. Pictures don't do it justice either. Anyways, at around 1 pm, we got to see the high tide come in to burst through the blow holes, sending huge sprays of ocean water over the pancake rocks. I don't even know how to explain how neat it was.
After Punakaiki, we made it to our destination for the night - the Mahinapua Hotel (aka Poo Pub). The Mahinapua Pub is famous for having the oldest barkeeper in NZ. His name is Les, he is 87 years old, and he seemed like a complete beauty! He served us up a glorious meal or steak, potatoes and salads, and we enjoyed a few pitchers of beer in his pub after supper. The pub walls are covered in polaroids of past Kiwi Ex groups that have stayed at the pub, and the roof is covered in hats, and different mementos from past guests (including a few bras and pairs of gitch, haha). The pub has been doing exclusive Kiwi Experience functions almost every night for many years. Some of the pictures on the walls date back to the late nineties. We dressed up that night for a "P" party - all the costumes had to begin with the letter P. Morgan and I were paper bag princesses, Judith was a Polynesian and Jackie was a party animal (quite fitting, I may add. Ha). It was a great night!
Tuesday, 10 January 2012
Day Nine - January 10 - Kaiteriteri to Westport
After a leisurely morning on the beach, we hopped on the bus off to Westport. Westport is situated along the West coast of the S. Island, and alongside the stunning Buller River. We stopped at Buller Adventures right before West Port to go jet boating on the river.
Jet boats are a NZ invention, able to travel through extremely shallow water (down to 10 cm deep), as well as being able to accelerate very quickly. The jet boat we were on seated about 16 people, plus the driver - and had a 850 HP engine to power the jets used to turn and propel the boat forward. Our driver told me that the boat cost around $95,000 to purchase. The jet boat ride we had in Westport was one of the best values in NZ - $75 for 75 minutes. Compared to the jet boats in Queenstown, which are $120 for 25 minutes, it was quite the deal. But seriously, I didn't decide to do the jet boating because it was cheaper - it was FLIPPING AWESOME! We all piled in the boat, and our driver took us up the river to Hawks Crag. The river at that time was about 1.4 meters deep, but the most recent record flood was 11.8 meters deep. It was almost unbelievable to see the marks on the Crag where the river had been up to.
Apparently the river can get up to 8 km wide in places when it floods, and it has been known to carry local dairy cattle down the river with the flood waters when it overflows. Farmers then just pick the cattle up in Westport and take them back to the farm. I didn't believe that at first, but according to another Kiwi Ex girl that had seen it happen, it is true.
After a tour up the river, our driver started the fun parts - doing the crazy 360 degree turns and moves that jet boats are known for. We ended up getting pretty wet, and our knuckles were quite white after holding onto the railing so hard, but it was a great thrill!
We finally got into Westport just before supper, checked into Bazil's hostel, had supper and then grabbed a bottle of wine and our bus driver took the whole Kiwi Ex group down to the beach for a bonfire. I'm not gonna lie, but there isn't many other evening activities that can beat drinking wine by a fire on the beach by the ocean under a full moon. Incredible!
Jet boats are a NZ invention, able to travel through extremely shallow water (down to 10 cm deep), as well as being able to accelerate very quickly. The jet boat we were on seated about 16 people, plus the driver - and had a 850 HP engine to power the jets used to turn and propel the boat forward. Our driver told me that the boat cost around $95,000 to purchase. The jet boat ride we had in Westport was one of the best values in NZ - $75 for 75 minutes. Compared to the jet boats in Queenstown, which are $120 for 25 minutes, it was quite the deal. But seriously, I didn't decide to do the jet boating because it was cheaper - it was FLIPPING AWESOME! We all piled in the boat, and our driver took us up the river to Hawks Crag. The river at that time was about 1.4 meters deep, but the most recent record flood was 11.8 meters deep. It was almost unbelievable to see the marks on the Crag where the river had been up to.
Apparently the river can get up to 8 km wide in places when it floods, and it has been known to carry local dairy cattle down the river with the flood waters when it overflows. Farmers then just pick the cattle up in Westport and take them back to the farm. I didn't believe that at first, but according to another Kiwi Ex girl that had seen it happen, it is true.
After a tour up the river, our driver started the fun parts - doing the crazy 360 degree turns and moves that jet boats are known for. We ended up getting pretty wet, and our knuckles were quite white after holding onto the railing so hard, but it was a great thrill!
We finally got into Westport just before supper, checked into Bazil's hostel, had supper and then grabbed a bottle of wine and our bus driver took the whole Kiwi Ex group down to the beach for a bonfire. I'm not gonna lie, but there isn't many other evening activities that can beat drinking wine by a fire on the beach by the ocean under a full moon. Incredible!
Monday, 9 January 2012
Day Eight - January 9 - Welcome the South Island!
After a leisurely morning on the beach, we hopped on the bus off to Westport. Westport is situated along the West coast of the South Island, and alongside the stunning Buller River. We stopped at Buller Adventures right before West Port to go jet boating on the river. Jet boats are a New Zealand invention, able to travel through extremely shallow water (down to 10 cm deep), as well as being able to accelerate very quickly. The jet boat we were on seated about 16 people, plus the driver - and had a 850 HP engine to power the jets used to turn and propel the boat forward.
Our driver told me that the boat cost around $95,000 to purchase. The jet boat ride we had in Westport was one of the best values in NZ - $75 for 75 minutes. Compared to the jet boats in Queenstown, which are $120 for 25 minutes, it was quite the deal. But seriously, I didn't decide to do the jet boating because it was cheaper - it was FLIPPING AWESOME! We all piled in the boat, and our driver took us up the river to Hawks Crag. The river at that time was about 1.4 meters deep, but the most recent record flood was 11.8 meters deep. It was almost unbelievable to see the marks on the Crag where the river had been up to. Apparently the river can get up to 8 km wide in places when it floods, and it has been known to carry local dairy cattle down the river with the flood waters when it overflows. Farmers then just pick the cattle up in Westport and take them back to the farm. I didn't believe that at first, but according to another Kiwi Ex girl that had seen it happen, it is true.
After a tour up the river, our driver started the fun parts - doing the crazy 360 degree turns and moves that jet boats are known for. We ended up getting pretty wet, and our knuckles were quite white after holding onto the railing so hard, but it was a great thrill!
We got into Westport just before supper, checked into Bazil's hostel, had supper and then grabbed a bottle of wine and our bus driver took the whole Kiwi Ex group down to the beach for a bonfire. I'm not gonna lie, but there isn't many other evening activities that can beat drinking wine by a fire on the beach by the ocean under a full moon. Incredible!
Our driver told me that the boat cost around $95,000 to purchase. The jet boat ride we had in Westport was one of the best values in NZ - $75 for 75 minutes. Compared to the jet boats in Queenstown, which are $120 for 25 minutes, it was quite the deal. But seriously, I didn't decide to do the jet boating because it was cheaper - it was FLIPPING AWESOME! We all piled in the boat, and our driver took us up the river to Hawks Crag. The river at that time was about 1.4 meters deep, but the most recent record flood was 11.8 meters deep. It was almost unbelievable to see the marks on the Crag where the river had been up to. Apparently the river can get up to 8 km wide in places when it floods, and it has been known to carry local dairy cattle down the river with the flood waters when it overflows. Farmers then just pick the cattle up in Westport and take them back to the farm. I didn't believe that at first, but according to another Kiwi Ex girl that had seen it happen, it is true.
After a tour up the river, our driver started the fun parts - doing the crazy 360 degree turns and moves that jet boats are known for. We ended up getting pretty wet, and our knuckles were quite white after holding onto the railing so hard, but it was a great thrill!
We got into Westport just before supper, checked into Bazil's hostel, had supper and then grabbed a bottle of wine and our bus driver took the whole Kiwi Ex group down to the beach for a bonfire. I'm not gonna lie, but there isn't many other evening activities that can beat drinking wine by a fire on the beach by the ocean under a full moon. Incredible!
Sunday, 8 January 2012
Day Seven - January 8 - River Valley to Wellington
I woke up early this morning for yoga at the River Valley Spa. The yoga studio looked out over the river, so not only was I stretching out my sore muscles from the Tongariro hike, but it was so relaxing to enjoy the views and get chilled out after the last few insane days.
Morgan, Jackie and Judith along with some others from the bus went white water rafting on the grade 5 course they have on the river. After some lunch we hiked up to the bus and got going at 1 pm. After a quick pit stop in Taihape, we got back on the road to stop for a snack in Bulls. Bulls is a super cool "hick town" as our bus driver says. Everything in the town has Bulls in the name - the pharmacy is Indispensabulls, the bar is Sociabulls and so on. The town had a recent ad campaign with the slogan "Our milk comes from Bulls". Pretty hilarious play on words if you know anything about cattle... Ha.
We have been driving through lots of flat farm land today. I've seen tons more dairies and sheep operations than before. Saw my first mustard crop today, wheat, flowering alfalfa, maize, barley and grass fields. Today was also the first time I've seen irrigation - large pivots over grass fields. Looks a lot more like home in this area - still small fields, but the land is nice and flat! Definitely helped with my homesickness.
After some more boring driving we got to Wellington around 6 pm. Wellington is a very artsy city - comparable to Melbourne Australia or San Francisco USA. Went to the supermarket for some wine and groceries, and now back at the hostel for a chill night. Catch the ferry for the South Island tomorrow morning at 7:30 am, so it'll be a fairly early morning.
Morgan, Jackie and Judith along with some others from the bus went white water rafting on the grade 5 course they have on the river. After some lunch we hiked up to the bus and got going at 1 pm. After a quick pit stop in Taihape, we got back on the road to stop for a snack in Bulls. Bulls is a super cool "hick town" as our bus driver says. Everything in the town has Bulls in the name - the pharmacy is Indispensabulls, the bar is Sociabulls and so on. The town had a recent ad campaign with the slogan "Our milk comes from Bulls". Pretty hilarious play on words if you know anything about cattle... Ha.
We have been driving through lots of flat farm land today. I've seen tons more dairies and sheep operations than before. Saw my first mustard crop today, wheat, flowering alfalfa, maize, barley and grass fields. Today was also the first time I've seen irrigation - large pivots over grass fields. Looks a lot more like home in this area - still small fields, but the land is nice and flat! Definitely helped with my homesickness.
After some more boring driving we got to Wellington around 6 pm. Wellington is a very artsy city - comparable to Melbourne Australia or San Francisco USA. Went to the supermarket for some wine and groceries, and now back at the hostel for a chill night. Catch the ferry for the South Island tomorrow morning at 7:30 am, so it'll be a fairly early morning.
Saturday, 7 January 2012
Day Six - January 7 - River Valley
After that hard night partying, we were lucky to sleep in. The Kiwi Ex bus left Taupo at 9:20 am, with a first stop in Turangi for food. Or next stop was Tawhai Falls - aka Gollum's Waterfall. *insert some kind of Katie-is-a-hobbit joke in here.* Anyways, these water falls are very beautiful, and very Lord of the Rings-esque.
We arrived in River Valley around 1 pm. The drive there was along a very winding and narrow road, amongst huge hill ranges covered in sheep and dairy cattle. River Valley Lodge is a beautiful and remote place, the river runs right along the lodge, and it is very relaxing. It rained the entire time we were there, but I still couldn't help being stunned by the scenery. That evening before supper I did a session in the wood fired sauna with some Kiwi Ex girls from Ireland. So glorious to steam in the sauna, and then run out into the rain when we got too hot. Supper was a charcoal BBQ'ed lamb roast and fresh salads. So delicious after the very busy last few days.
Friday, 6 January 2012
Days Four & Five - January 5/6 - Taupo
We left Rotorua at 8:45 am to head to Taupo. Our first stop was Te Puia to see active geysers, volcanic mud pools and kiwi birds. Our guide boiled some eggs in one of the boiling springs for us, so cool! We stopped at some other mud pools after a short drive on the bus. There is so much volcanic activity in the North Island - lots to see in quite a small area.
Our next stop was Huka Falls - a brilliantly blue and stunning waterfall near Taupo on the Waikato River. The falls are 11 meters tall, and the channel from the river to the falls looks man-made, however it was actually formed by an earthquake.
Finally we arrived at Taupo, and I waited nervously with some other Kiwi Ex's to sky dive over Lake Taupo. At 2:45 pm a bus picked us up to take us to FreeFall Taupo. They geared us up in red jumpsuits and harnesses were put on us by our tandem guides for the sky dive. I was so nervous at the time that I have completely forgot what my guides name was, however he was an English fellow who had been doing sky diving for over 9 years. (this was fairly reassuring, as I was about to jump out of a plane at 15,000 feet to free fall for 60 seconds before letting the parachute out) After gearing up, we hopped in a little pink plane.
There were 6 of us from Kiwi Ex jumping, so we were in the plane along with all of our guides and a few camera people filming some of us. There was an awesome quote on the side of the plane - "Fear is temporary, Achievement is permanent". I felt that it was quite fitting for the activity that we were about to do.
The plane took us up to 15,000 feet. We were about 9,000 feet above the clouds. I was last to jump out of the plane, so I got to see all the ridiculously scared faces of each person who jumped before me. My guide and I made it towards the side door at the back of the plane, put our feet out and jumped! The first 5 seconds of the 60 second free fall, my heart was racing and I was trying my hardest to breathe while keeping my hands held tightly onto my harness and trying to stay in "banana" shape. After my guide tapped my shoulders, I could let my arms out. I'm ridiculously scared of heights, but after letting my arms out, it felt like I was flying! (Instead of what was actually happening - plummeting towards the earth at 200 km/hr.) One of the best feelings I've ever had, and I would definitely do that again! I think I may be an adrenaline junkie now.... We'll see how it pans out...
After the rush of sky diving, I had a perma-grin on my face for the rest of the day. Jackie, Morgan and I headed to Mulligan's - and Irish bar near our hostel for a burger and beer with some other Kiwi Ex guys. That evening we headed to Element Bar for Ladies' Night for free drinks. A few of the men on our bus felt that it was appropriate to dress up like ladies to get free drinks as wells, and it actually worked! A great day, all in all.
Our second day in Taupo started bright and early at 4:30 am - at 5:30 we boarded the Tongariro Expeditions bus to head out to Tongariro National Park for a 19 kilometer hike of the Tongariro Alpine crossing. Easily the hardest hike I've ever done in my life! The first half of the hike was basically all uphill. We started the trek at 7:30 am at an elevation of 1150 meters. The first hour was a nice level walk to Soda Springs.
From there we climbed the Devil's Staircase - which really was the Devil! So difficult. The trek goes up past Mt. Ngauruhoe, which, for you Lord of the Rings fans, is Mt. Doom. It was optional to hike to the top of Mt. Doom, however it was 2.5 hours return, and the first 2 hr ascent was straight up hill on loose rock. I opted out of this, haha. We hiked up a little bit farther up to finish Devil's Staircase at the South Crater - a large crater caused by a massive volcanic eruption.
The hardest part was the trek up Red Summit Ridge - the most dangerous and steep part of the hike (unless you were crazy and had taken the optional hike up Mt. Doom.) It was so hot, and it was quite difficult to make it up the hill, because the ground was quite loose with gravel and stones. The Red Summit is the highest point of the trek - at 1886 meter elevation. We were so far above the clouds and the view was so spectacular, it almost didn't feel like real life. After reaching that high point of the trek, I couldn't believe what I had accomplished already.
From then on, the rest of the trek was basically all down hill. I split up with the rest of the Kiwi Ex group I had been walking with so I could make some better time. The last 10 km of the walk was a lot easier than the first 9 km. I passed the Emerald Lakes (bright green volcanic sulphur lakes just down from Red Summit) and then walked through Central Crater to Blue Lake (another sulphur lake on the top of the mountain range - but was more blue in color)
From Blue Lake to Ketetahi Hut (the next major stop) the trek was mostly on the side of the mountains, and was downhill. The farther down you got, it became colder and colder. I had to put my sweater and jacket back on to complete the rest of the trek. By the time I got to the last 3 km , I was getting pretty tired and sore. I finally completed just before 3:00 pm - it took me just under 7.5 hours to complete the 19 km!
We got back on the bus for the 1.5 hour ride back into Taupo, and basically passed out for the entire ride into town, out of sheer exhaustion. Of course, when we got back into Taupo, we had to celebrate what we had accomplished! After a quick supper, phone call home and a nap - the Kiwi Ex group headed to Element Bar for a few beverages and we partied until well into the night. We had an excellent couple days in Taupo, and we sure celebrated it in style!
Our next stop was Huka Falls - a brilliantly blue and stunning waterfall near Taupo on the Waikato River. The falls are 11 meters tall, and the channel from the river to the falls looks man-made, however it was actually formed by an earthquake.
Finally we arrived at Taupo, and I waited nervously with some other Kiwi Ex's to sky dive over Lake Taupo. At 2:45 pm a bus picked us up to take us to FreeFall Taupo. They geared us up in red jumpsuits and harnesses were put on us by our tandem guides for the sky dive. I was so nervous at the time that I have completely forgot what my guides name was, however he was an English fellow who had been doing sky diving for over 9 years. (this was fairly reassuring, as I was about to jump out of a plane at 15,000 feet to free fall for 60 seconds before letting the parachute out) After gearing up, we hopped in a little pink plane.
There were 6 of us from Kiwi Ex jumping, so we were in the plane along with all of our guides and a few camera people filming some of us. There was an awesome quote on the side of the plane - "Fear is temporary, Achievement is permanent". I felt that it was quite fitting for the activity that we were about to do.
The plane took us up to 15,000 feet. We were about 9,000 feet above the clouds. I was last to jump out of the plane, so I got to see all the ridiculously scared faces of each person who jumped before me. My guide and I made it towards the side door at the back of the plane, put our feet out and jumped! The first 5 seconds of the 60 second free fall, my heart was racing and I was trying my hardest to breathe while keeping my hands held tightly onto my harness and trying to stay in "banana" shape. After my guide tapped my shoulders, I could let my arms out. I'm ridiculously scared of heights, but after letting my arms out, it felt like I was flying! (Instead of what was actually happening - plummeting towards the earth at 200 km/hr.) One of the best feelings I've ever had, and I would definitely do that again! I think I may be an adrenaline junkie now.... We'll see how it pans out...
After the rush of sky diving, I had a perma-grin on my face for the rest of the day. Jackie, Morgan and I headed to Mulligan's - and Irish bar near our hostel for a burger and beer with some other Kiwi Ex guys. That evening we headed to Element Bar for Ladies' Night for free drinks. A few of the men on our bus felt that it was appropriate to dress up like ladies to get free drinks as wells, and it actually worked! A great day, all in all.
Our second day in Taupo started bright and early at 4:30 am - at 5:30 we boarded the Tongariro Expeditions bus to head out to Tongariro National Park for a 19 kilometer hike of the Tongariro Alpine crossing. Easily the hardest hike I've ever done in my life! The first half of the hike was basically all uphill. We started the trek at 7:30 am at an elevation of 1150 meters. The first hour was a nice level walk to Soda Springs.
From there we climbed the Devil's Staircase - which really was the Devil! So difficult. The trek goes up past Mt. Ngauruhoe, which, for you Lord of the Rings fans, is Mt. Doom. It was optional to hike to the top of Mt. Doom, however it was 2.5 hours return, and the first 2 hr ascent was straight up hill on loose rock. I opted out of this, haha. We hiked up a little bit farther up to finish Devil's Staircase at the South Crater - a large crater caused by a massive volcanic eruption.
The hardest part was the trek up Red Summit Ridge - the most dangerous and steep part of the hike (unless you were crazy and had taken the optional hike up Mt. Doom.) It was so hot, and it was quite difficult to make it up the hill, because the ground was quite loose with gravel and stones. The Red Summit is the highest point of the trek - at 1886 meter elevation. We were so far above the clouds and the view was so spectacular, it almost didn't feel like real life. After reaching that high point of the trek, I couldn't believe what I had accomplished already.
From then on, the rest of the trek was basically all down hill. I split up with the rest of the Kiwi Ex group I had been walking with so I could make some better time. The last 10 km of the walk was a lot easier than the first 9 km. I passed the Emerald Lakes (bright green volcanic sulphur lakes just down from Red Summit) and then walked through Central Crater to Blue Lake (another sulphur lake on the top of the mountain range - but was more blue in color)
We got back on the bus for the 1.5 hour ride back into Taupo, and basically passed out for the entire ride into town, out of sheer exhaustion. Of course, when we got back into Taupo, we had to celebrate what we had accomplished! After a quick supper, phone call home and a nap - the Kiwi Ex group headed to Element Bar for a few beverages and we partied until well into the night. We had an excellent couple days in Taupo, and we sure celebrated it in style!
Wednesday, 4 January 2012
Day Three - January 4 - Rotorua
We hopped on the bus around 10 am Wednesday morning to head to Rotorua. Stopped off for a 30 min hike through the Ruakuri, and then back onto the bus. For lunch we stopped at Better Quality Pies in Rotorua. So delicious! Kiwis are crazy about their pies, and this place has some of the best pies in the whole country. I feel like I will be heavily addicted to these by the end of my trip.
We spent the afternoon luging down the side of a mountain in Rotorua. We took a gondola to the top, and rented luge carts - little 3 wheeled cars that look similar to a go-cart but don't have an engine and steer like a bike. Apparently luging was invented in NZ. There is a few paved tracks set up on the way down the mountain - pretty cool to race down the mountain to the bottom.
That night we had the pleasure of going to Tamaki Maori Village for a tour to learn about Maori culture, and then to enjoy a traditional Hangi meal - which is meat and vegetables cooked in an oven in the ground. We were picked up at our hostel by Mark, our crazy yet entertaining Maori bus driver. He taught us the proper way to say Kia Ora, and then proceeded to say hello to us in almost every language. Extremely impressive.
When we got to the Maori village, we picked a chief from our bus to represent us, and he took part in the greeting ceremony. The greeting ceremony started off with Maori warriors coming out of their village chanting challenges in Maori language, as well as making themselves look frightening to us - protruding their eyes and tongues out and making intimidating moves. Eventually they offered a gift of peace to one of the chiefs, and we were all allowed to go into the village. The village was set up so we could walk around and learn about different things that the Maoris did to train their youngsters, as well as other war traditions.
They performed the haka for us several times throughout the night - you should go to YouTube and look it up. The Haka is an intimidating war chant/dance done to scare the opponent, and it is badass! The New Zealand All Blacks perform the Haka before every game.
The Hangi supper that night was incredible. Fish, mussels, chicken and lamb cooked in the earth oven had a delicious smoky flavor, and it was accompanied by salads, kumera, potatoes and other vegetables. Dessert was cake, custard, fruit and pavlova. Overall a delicious meal, and a great night at Tamaki!
After we got back to the hostel, we headed to the Lava Bar right across the street for a few drinks and some dancing with other Kiwi Ex's. Piles of fun!
We spent the afternoon luging down the side of a mountain in Rotorua. We took a gondola to the top, and rented luge carts - little 3 wheeled cars that look similar to a go-cart but don't have an engine and steer like a bike. Apparently luging was invented in NZ. There is a few paved tracks set up on the way down the mountain - pretty cool to race down the mountain to the bottom.
That night we had the pleasure of going to Tamaki Maori Village for a tour to learn about Maori culture, and then to enjoy a traditional Hangi meal - which is meat and vegetables cooked in an oven in the ground. We were picked up at our hostel by Mark, our crazy yet entertaining Maori bus driver. He taught us the proper way to say Kia Ora, and then proceeded to say hello to us in almost every language. Extremely impressive.
When we got to the Maori village, we picked a chief from our bus to represent us, and he took part in the greeting ceremony. The greeting ceremony started off with Maori warriors coming out of their village chanting challenges in Maori language, as well as making themselves look frightening to us - protruding their eyes and tongues out and making intimidating moves. Eventually they offered a gift of peace to one of the chiefs, and we were all allowed to go into the village. The village was set up so we could walk around and learn about different things that the Maoris did to train their youngsters, as well as other war traditions.
They performed the haka for us several times throughout the night - you should go to YouTube and look it up. The Haka is an intimidating war chant/dance done to scare the opponent, and it is badass! The New Zealand All Blacks perform the Haka before every game.
The Hangi supper that night was incredible. Fish, mussels, chicken and lamb cooked in the earth oven had a delicious smoky flavor, and it was accompanied by salads, kumera, potatoes and other vegetables. Dessert was cake, custard, fruit and pavlova. Overall a delicious meal, and a great night at Tamaki!
After we got back to the hostel, we headed to the Lava Bar right across the street for a few drinks and some dancing with other Kiwi Ex's. Piles of fun!
Tuesday, 3 January 2012
Day Two - January 3 - Waitomo
Tuesday we left Hot Water Beach and headed to Waitomo. Waitomo is an extremely small town (pop. of approximately 60 people) with an extremely interesting attraction: the Waitomo glowworm caves!
On the way to Waitomo, we stopped for a 45 min hike around Karangahake Gorge - an area that was once rich in gold and silver deposits. Stopped in Otorohanga for lunch and then headed on to Waitomo.
That afternoon I did one of the coolest things so far on this trip: the Black Abyss tour at Black Water Rafting. Myself and some other Kiwi Ex guys got picked up at the hostel by our guide for day. The Black Abyss tour is a 5 hour caving trip into the Waitomo caves underneath Waitomo. We got suited up in wet suits, boots, helmets and harnesses for the trip and then took the van out to the middle of the countryside to the entrance to the cave. The Black Abyss started with a 37 meter abseil (rappel for you Canadian folk) into the dark cave.
We had two guides : Lloyd and Matty. Lloyd started us out at the top by getting us hooked up to the rope, and Matty was at the bottom, holding the rope and ready to help incase something went wrong. Let me tell you, 37 meters may not seem like it's that far, but when you are going down vertically, suspended in mid air, in a damp and pitch black cave; it's a damn long ways down! The rest of the 5 hours were spent entirely underground in the caves, keep that in mind. As soon as we all got down into the cave, we followed a path to the Flying Fox - a zip line over an underground river, and you must do the zip line in the dark - Matty turned off all our helmet torches before we went flying through the air. Definitely freaky!
After a quick stop for hot chocolate and flap jacks on a cliff above the river, we put our butts in some rubber tubes and hopped down 4 meters into the river. From here, we pulled ourselves up stream with a rope, and turned off our lights. The glow worms were all over the cave roof, and when you turned your light off, they looked like a starry night.
Glow worms are essentially maggots, related to spiders. They put out little strings of web to catch their prey and then pull in the strings to feed. They stay as maggot for about 6 months of their life cycle, then go into cocoon and come out as a fly. As an adult, they only live up to 3 days - during this time they mate for 24 hours. The males die as soon as mating is over and the females lay little groups of eggs all over the caves. Very neat little maggots, that's for sure. (ha ha!)
After checking out the glow worms, we floated down the river on our tubes. We ditched the tubes and walked down the river, in some places where is was too deep to walk, our wet suits helped us float down the river. One spot we got to slide face first down a waterfall, pretty crazy. We stopped for some pictures, hot juice and chocolate to get our energy up. Our guides were pretty good at scaring us when our lights turned out. They were a riot. We kept floating down the river, and eventually had to start walking through some caves with low roofs. Yes guys - even I had to duck in some places!! It was tough walking through some of the caves because we were fighting upstream against loads of water coming down into the river. We were getting near the end, when our guides told us that the only way to get out of the caves (unless we were weak and took the easy way) was to climb up 2 waterfalls. It was one of the most nerve wracking things I did the entire time in the caves, with tons of gushing water coming down. If you made a wrong step climbing up you would get pushed down by the water. It was tough, but definitely rewarding when we climbed up and out of the cave into the daylight. Such a great tour!
Got back to the hostel, walked down to Curly's Pub just down the street from the hostel for a much needed beer. Taught some of our English friends Matt, Phil, Martin and Jamie how to play quarters, and they pretty much schooled us after a few rounds, ha.
On the way to Waitomo, we stopped for a 45 min hike around Karangahake Gorge - an area that was once rich in gold and silver deposits. Stopped in Otorohanga for lunch and then headed on to Waitomo.
That afternoon I did one of the coolest things so far on this trip: the Black Abyss tour at Black Water Rafting. Myself and some other Kiwi Ex guys got picked up at the hostel by our guide for day. The Black Abyss tour is a 5 hour caving trip into the Waitomo caves underneath Waitomo. We got suited up in wet suits, boots, helmets and harnesses for the trip and then took the van out to the middle of the countryside to the entrance to the cave. The Black Abyss started with a 37 meter abseil (rappel for you Canadian folk) into the dark cave.
We had two guides : Lloyd and Matty. Lloyd started us out at the top by getting us hooked up to the rope, and Matty was at the bottom, holding the rope and ready to help incase something went wrong. Let me tell you, 37 meters may not seem like it's that far, but when you are going down vertically, suspended in mid air, in a damp and pitch black cave; it's a damn long ways down! The rest of the 5 hours were spent entirely underground in the caves, keep that in mind. As soon as we all got down into the cave, we followed a path to the Flying Fox - a zip line over an underground river, and you must do the zip line in the dark - Matty turned off all our helmet torches before we went flying through the air. Definitely freaky!
After a quick stop for hot chocolate and flap jacks on a cliff above the river, we put our butts in some rubber tubes and hopped down 4 meters into the river. From here, we pulled ourselves up stream with a rope, and turned off our lights. The glow worms were all over the cave roof, and when you turned your light off, they looked like a starry night.
Glow worms are essentially maggots, related to spiders. They put out little strings of web to catch their prey and then pull in the strings to feed. They stay as maggot for about 6 months of their life cycle, then go into cocoon and come out as a fly. As an adult, they only live up to 3 days - during this time they mate for 24 hours. The males die as soon as mating is over and the females lay little groups of eggs all over the caves. Very neat little maggots, that's for sure. (ha ha!)
After checking out the glow worms, we floated down the river on our tubes. We ditched the tubes and walked down the river, in some places where is was too deep to walk, our wet suits helped us float down the river. One spot we got to slide face first down a waterfall, pretty crazy. We stopped for some pictures, hot juice and chocolate to get our energy up. Our guides were pretty good at scaring us when our lights turned out. They were a riot. We kept floating down the river, and eventually had to start walking through some caves with low roofs. Yes guys - even I had to duck in some places!! It was tough walking through some of the caves because we were fighting upstream against loads of water coming down into the river. We were getting near the end, when our guides told us that the only way to get out of the caves (unless we were weak and took the easy way) was to climb up 2 waterfalls. It was one of the most nerve wracking things I did the entire time in the caves, with tons of gushing water coming down. If you made a wrong step climbing up you would get pushed down by the water. It was tough, but definitely rewarding when we climbed up and out of the cave into the daylight. Such a great tour!
Got back to the hostel, walked down to Curly's Pub just down the street from the hostel for a much needed beer. Taught some of our English friends Matt, Phil, Martin and Jamie how to play quarters, and they pretty much schooled us after a few rounds, ha.
Monday, 2 January 2012
Kiwi Experience Day One - January 2 - Auckland to Coromandel Peninsula
So I've been in New Zealand for just over a week now, and I have done more awesome stuff in the last 5 days than I could have ever imagine. I apologize for a late blog post, but I have just been much too busy doing kick-ass activities!
New Zealand is a very beautiful place, and the country side is filled with tons of dairy cattle and sheep. I've noticed that there is a lot of rotational grazing done in NZ - some small paddocks may have 200 or so cattle in them. Many of the dairy farms graze their cattle out in paddocks - so far I haven't seen any large barns or intensive operations. There are a ton of dairy cattle in the country, but the cattle don't produce as much as our Canadian cattle. Very neat to see the differences in the industry, even if it has just been from the seat of the Kiwi Experience bus.
Jackie, Morgan and I boarded the Kiwi Experience bus at 8:30 am on Monday January 2nd. As soon as we got onto the bus, we started meeting our fellow "Kiwi Ex's" who would be traveling with us as well as staying in the same hostels. People from all around the world come to NZ to hop on the Kiwi Ex bus - the bus runs a hop on/hop off policy. Basically if you find a town you like, you can hop off the bus and stay for as long as you want, and hop back on whenever. Most places the bus stops it will stay for a night or two, and the bus driver helps coordinate your activities for each stop, as well as accommodations. The bus usually stops to allow everyone to grab breakfast and lunch, or even to a supermarket to grab food to cook your own meals. I would definitely recommend Kiwi Ex for anyone who wants to see all of NZ in a short period of time (And doesn't want to worry about driving on the wrong side of the road... Ha) On our bus we have people from England, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Ireland, Denmark, Brazil and of course Canada! (there are 5 Canadians on the bus!) It's so easy to get to know everyone quickly because you do a lot of the same activities with other Kiwi Ex travelers. By the end of the first day we felt like we had known everyone for a month! I have gotten to know a girl named Judith from N. Ireland quite well, as we sit together on the bus and have done a ton of activities together.
Anyways, getting back to the exciting part - Monday took us to out to the Coromandel Peninsula to Hahei Beach to kayak on the ocean out to see Cathedral Cove. It is one of the most photographed places in NZ - and there's a good reason; it's absolutely beautiful. The cove has been formed by volcanoes and the ocean has eroded the limestone and pumice rock into coves, with many caves only accessible from the water. We kayaked into one of these caves, which they call Lovers Cave because it is only accessible by water, and has a little beach on the inside... Aaand they find "lovers" in there on occasion. Our guides made us hot chocolate on the beach in Cathedral Cove, and we wandered about for a bit.
Back in our kayaks, we took a tour around some islands farther out into the ocean, and then caught an ocean current back to the beach. We were about a mile and a half out into the ocean from the beach. Learned a valuable lesson when we got back to the beach - wear tons of sunscreen down under! Got a nasty burn. That night we wandered down to Hot Water Beach, only a short walk from the place we stayed at. Hot Water Beach is aptly named, as volcanic heated springs bubble up from below onto the beach, and at low tide in the evening you can dig yourself a hole on the beach and mix cold tide waters with the almost boiling water coming up from below. Almost like having a bath on the beach. The water got extremely hot after a while, and after slightly burning my feet, I took a run into the ocean to cool off. Definitely a pretty unique stop in New Zealand!
New Zealand is a very beautiful place, and the country side is filled with tons of dairy cattle and sheep. I've noticed that there is a lot of rotational grazing done in NZ - some small paddocks may have 200 or so cattle in them. Many of the dairy farms graze their cattle out in paddocks - so far I haven't seen any large barns or intensive operations. There are a ton of dairy cattle in the country, but the cattle don't produce as much as our Canadian cattle. Very neat to see the differences in the industry, even if it has just been from the seat of the Kiwi Experience bus.
Jackie, Morgan and I boarded the Kiwi Experience bus at 8:30 am on Monday January 2nd. As soon as we got onto the bus, we started meeting our fellow "Kiwi Ex's" who would be traveling with us as well as staying in the same hostels. People from all around the world come to NZ to hop on the Kiwi Ex bus - the bus runs a hop on/hop off policy. Basically if you find a town you like, you can hop off the bus and stay for as long as you want, and hop back on whenever. Most places the bus stops it will stay for a night or two, and the bus driver helps coordinate your activities for each stop, as well as accommodations. The bus usually stops to allow everyone to grab breakfast and lunch, or even to a supermarket to grab food to cook your own meals. I would definitely recommend Kiwi Ex for anyone who wants to see all of NZ in a short period of time (And doesn't want to worry about driving on the wrong side of the road... Ha) On our bus we have people from England, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Ireland, Denmark, Brazil and of course Canada! (there are 5 Canadians on the bus!) It's so easy to get to know everyone quickly because you do a lot of the same activities with other Kiwi Ex travelers. By the end of the first day we felt like we had known everyone for a month! I have gotten to know a girl named Judith from N. Ireland quite well, as we sit together on the bus and have done a ton of activities together.
Anyways, getting back to the exciting part - Monday took us to out to the Coromandel Peninsula to Hahei Beach to kayak on the ocean out to see Cathedral Cove. It is one of the most photographed places in NZ - and there's a good reason; it's absolutely beautiful. The cove has been formed by volcanoes and the ocean has eroded the limestone and pumice rock into coves, with many caves only accessible from the water. We kayaked into one of these caves, which they call Lovers Cave because it is only accessible by water, and has a little beach on the inside... Aaand they find "lovers" in there on occasion. Our guides made us hot chocolate on the beach in Cathedral Cove, and we wandered about for a bit.
Back in our kayaks, we took a tour around some islands farther out into the ocean, and then caught an ocean current back to the beach. We were about a mile and a half out into the ocean from the beach. Learned a valuable lesson when we got back to the beach - wear tons of sunscreen down under! Got a nasty burn. That night we wandered down to Hot Water Beach, only a short walk from the place we stayed at. Hot Water Beach is aptly named, as volcanic heated springs bubble up from below onto the beach, and at low tide in the evening you can dig yourself a hole on the beach and mix cold tide waters with the almost boiling water coming up from below. Almost like having a bath on the beach. The water got extremely hot after a while, and after slightly burning my feet, I took a run into the ocean to cool off. Definitely a pretty unique stop in New Zealand!
Sunday, 1 January 2012
Happy New Year from Auckland!
Kia Ora! And Happy New Year!!
Well I've sure had a packed last 4 days since we've arrived! After sleeping for a solid 12 hours on Thursday night after we arrived, we decided to do some adventuring throughout Auckland.
Friday morning we took the bus (by the way - super easy way to get around here!) to Auckland Museum. It was a perfect inside activity for the day, as it poured rain for most of the day. The museum is an architectural gem - gorgeous stone building and very unique design on the inside. The museum is 3 levels - the first level is Pacific and Maori culture, second level is natural history and the third level is war history.
I learned a lot about NZ culture and it was very interesting to see the similarities of NZ to Canada in their participation in the World Wars as a part of the British empire.
After the museum, we took a ride up the Sky Tower, which is the tallest building in the southern hemisphere. Very neat experience, similar to the CN tower in Toronto. This was followed by a much needed beer at the rooftop bar in our hostel!
Saturday morning we woke up early (to more rain!) to participate in more touristy activities. First up was a trip to Kelly Tarlton's Antarctic Adventure. Basically an aquarium that features King and Gentoo penguins, as well as many different types of native and tropical fish, sting rays, sea horses and 5 different types of sharks. A very cool set up, and a neat place to go... However highly over-rated for a backpacker on a budget.
Saturday afternoon took us to the Auckland Zoo. In one word - amazing! One of the best zoos I have ever been to. Giraffes, elephants, tigers, lions, rhinos, native animals to NZ, Aussie animals, monkeys, chimps, orangutans, Galapagos turtles, baboons, exotic birds and sooo many more!
Saturday was also New Years Eve, and the festivities downtown near our hostel were very neat. Queen St was filled with people wandering around and the atmosphere was amazing. We went to a pub for a beer or two and then wandered down onto the pier to watch the fireworks in downtown Auckland. We rang in the New Year 19 hours before our families at home in Saskatchewan, so it was a weird feeling.
Today was by far my favorite day in NZ. We hopped on the ferry out to Waiheke Island for wine tastings and touring around. It was a gorgeous days, blue skies, sun and best of all - NO RAIN! We toured 4 wineries today - Wild on Waiheke, Saratoga, The Hay Paddock and my favorite Goldie Vineyard. New Zealand is famous for it's Savignon Blancs, and today proved to us how good they are. However, Waiheke Island is the most famous for it's Sarays. Saray grapes are the same used to make Shiraz. However, on the island it is cooler and allows the grapes to mature slower than Shiraz and the climate allows the area to produce very high quality Saray wine. DELICIOUS! At Goldie Vineyard (the first vineyard on Waiheke Island) we tried their flagship Cabernet Savignon/ Merlot/ Franc blend. It's on the 1001 Wines to Try Before You Die list. Smooth, full bodied and just right to end the day! We ended today on Little Onera beach, put our feet on the ocean and soaked in the scenery. Definitely not bad for our first day of 2012! Tomorrow we start our Kiwi Experience tour with our first stops in Waitomo and Roturua. Will try to keep posting sometime in between my adventures! Until next time...
Friday morning we took the bus (by the way - super easy way to get around here!) to Auckland Museum. It was a perfect inside activity for the day, as it poured rain for most of the day. The museum is an architectural gem - gorgeous stone building and very unique design on the inside. The museum is 3 levels - the first level is Pacific and Maori culture, second level is natural history and the third level is war history.
Saturday afternoon took us to the Auckland Zoo. In one word - amazing! One of the best zoos I have ever been to. Giraffes, elephants, tigers, lions, rhinos, native animals to NZ, Aussie animals, monkeys, chimps, orangutans, Galapagos turtles, baboons, exotic birds and sooo many more!
Today was by far my favorite day in NZ. We hopped on the ferry out to Waiheke Island for wine tastings and touring around. It was a gorgeous days, blue skies, sun and best of all - NO RAIN! We toured 4 wineries today - Wild on Waiheke, Saratoga, The Hay Paddock and my favorite Goldie Vineyard. New Zealand is famous for it's Savignon Blancs, and today proved to us how good they are. However, Waiheke Island is the most famous for it's Sarays. Saray grapes are the same used to make Shiraz. However, on the island it is cooler and allows the grapes to mature slower than Shiraz and the climate allows the area to produce very high quality Saray wine. DELICIOUS! At Goldie Vineyard (the first vineyard on Waiheke Island) we tried their flagship Cabernet Savignon/ Merlot/ Franc blend. It's on the 1001 Wines to Try Before You Die list. Smooth, full bodied and just right to end the day! We ended today on Little Onera beach, put our feet on the ocean and soaked in the scenery. Definitely not bad for our first day of 2012! Tomorrow we start our Kiwi Experience tour with our first stops in Waitomo and Roturua. Will try to keep posting sometime in between my adventures! Until next time...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)