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Published: April 7th 2005
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Uhm, Right...!
Probably my favorite street sign so far. Oh, there was one on a freeway on-ramp that read "Merge like a Zipper" but it was in a hard to get to location! Hello loved ones! It's been a jammed packed week. Sorry I haven't written much. Been on the go and obviously having a bit of trouble with the whole uploading pictures nonsense. In Queenstown, I decided to burn all my photos on to a CD so we'll see how it goes in this episode entitled, "Can our hero post pictures on line in less than three hours." So stayed tuned. Same Bat-time, Same Bat-channel.
All joking aside, I've really enjoyed myself this past week (and in retrospect, have had a brilliant time the whole way around). I was a little disappointed with my initial week on the Kiwi Experience. I'm pretty sure it stems from the one day we had stopped on a driveway/gravel parking lot and were given the option of panning for gold, playing paint ball or eating at the barbeque. I thought the barbeque would be nice. They served a dish called Whitebait which is considered quite a delicacy here. I tried it while in Nelson and was looking forward to trying it again. I was a tad bit disheartened when I saw the amount of oil the lady put into the pan (whitebait is often fried up
Mt. Cook
Mt. Cook is the highest mountain in the country. This photo is taken right next to Lake Matheson with eggs in a scramble sorta omelette. Then served on bread or in a sandwich). In the end, the portion was not filling enough for lunch yet pricy. And that's not even the part that upset me. What bothered me most, was that it was overcast, cold and there was a bitter wind (have, I already told you about this?). Well, short of it is, there was no indoors or shelter and it was freezing. I was chilled to the bone before they unlocked the bus about 2 hours later and not very happy at all.
Fast forward to our hero after 3 days in sun-filled, magnificent Wanaka. Still a little bitter, I was tempted to hitchhike to Queenstown. Qtown is normally an hour drive. On the Kiwi bus, it becomes a 5 hour excursion. You might see where sweet, little, patient me might be a little put out by all this. However, it rained the day I planned to leave Wanaka which apparently is not good hitchhiking weather (NB: hitching here, particularly in the south island, is extremely safe. I definitely had my reservations, what growing up in the age of the night stalker and all, but I
More Lake Matheson
I actually liked this stop on the Kiwi Bus! was reassured by my host that there was nothing to fear and that she would do it herself.) Anyway, I got back on the Kiwi bus on Monday and it ended up being a fine day after all despite the gloomy weather.
I truly love Wanaka. I did happen to get beautiful weather the whole time I was there. I had heard from a lot of natives along the way about how great it was and even heard that it was better than Queenstown. So a bit about Qtown. EXTREME. If you want to do anything extreme, come to Qtown. If you want to mellow out, go to Wanaka. I spent as little time as possible in Qtown. The one day I was there, I actually caught an early bus out to the Fiordland National Park and took a cruise along the Milford Sound (which is actually a fiord). I got back that night around 7pm and left the next morning. However, Wanaka is beautiful. Fairly new town. Great restaurants and shopping (I indulged myself a wee little bit while here). And if I were you (and you have money to invest), I would buy a house in Wanaka.
Huge vacation area. You can buy a 3 bedroom house close to the lake for about $325K New Zealand, or under $250,000US. The house I stayed in was my friend's parents' vacation home that is now worth about that amount and they bought it for about $100K less four or five years ago. It will become like Queenstown in no time.
Monday morning, I boarded the Kiwi bus again but not for long. Around 2pm, I was dropped off, along with 3 other ladies, in a town called Geraldine where we were met by members of the Rangitati Rafting company. They took us out to a large cabin out in the middle of nowhere, and eventually left us totally alone. Well, actually, there was one other man with us. He's about my age - another paying customer as well. We were all rafting the next day (which was today) and we had this amazing house to ourselves. Fireplace, huge open front room. Beautiful mountain scenery around us. The ladies were all sweet and entertaining. The guy was alright. We quickly nicknamed him Dad. The lot of them were British and traveling for various reasons. It was lovely to be
Lake Wanaka
Lake Wanaka - formed by glacial movement in the last ice age away from all the backpackers, buses and what not and just be able to mellow out. Plus, we were all excited about the next day's rafting.
So today, we were told, the chef would show up around 8:30 to start preparing our breakfast, which she did. Then they brought some other rafters in from Christchurch. They prepared our lunch. Then we spent the next three hours on the Rangitati River. The river has class 1-5 rapids. Loads of fun. We all jump in at the end. Which on a warmer day (like yesterday), I would imagine is a lot of fun and quite nice. Today, however, we were experiencing a southern wind pushing loads of rain clouds in. And when winds come from the south and you're in new zealand, basically, your getting antartic air. Not warm. Oh, and did I mention it's a glacial river? Yeah, chilly. All in all, great day. Lots of fun. When you get back from rafting, they have hot showers and prepare yet another meal - a large barbeque for everyone. And they even gave us a lift into Christchurch when that was through.
Now, I'm in Christchurch, an internet cafe paying
Fall at Wanaka
The leaves are starting to change around the lake. Lovely! $3 per hour and determined to get loads of pix up for you. Tomorrow (Friday) I leave for Kaikora which is known for it's whale watching and dolphin swimming. Oh yeah, it's also known for it's crayfish. Kaikora is actually the Maori word for something obtuse like "lots of crayfish to eat." 😉 Saturday, we leave Kaikora, on the north-east coast of the south island. Some people will just be starting their south island adventures. Others will be crossing the Marlborough Sound on the ferry headed out on their North Island adventures. As for me, I will be headed back to Nelson where I plan to settle in and actually start working. Unfortunately, at that time, I doubt I will have many interesting things to post on the travelblog site but I will be certain to keep you posted as things develop.
I do hope to take numerous weekend trips. I've left a suitcase in Auckland and my laptop in Wellington. Plus, there is still most of the North Island to explore as I didn't really venture far outside the main cities. So there is hope! No fear, I will return!
So here is my last observation for
Quaint
It was just so quaint in Wanaka. I rented a mountain bike one day and went around the lake. Beautiful homes. a while. The public restrooms are remarkingly clean. Out in the middle of nowhere, spotless. Don't know why that is. Don't know how the men's room looks. But I've been very impressed!
Over and Out,
Morganne
P.S. Happy First Birthday, Brandon Beck!
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