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Published: February 14th 2010
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After an epic three days of travelling (mostly next to wailing babies) I arrived in Curio Bay, New Zealand. The flight to Australia was the highlight because every seat has its own screen with 100s of movies, shows, and music to choose from. I think I got in 3 movies and and a couple of seasons of tv shows.
I was so lucky to choose such a interesting place - I was stationed on a narrow point between Curio Bay (home to the largest petrified forest in the world) and Porpoise Bay (a 4 mile long crescent shaped beach home to the very rare Hectors Dolphins). My job wwoofing was to hang out at the campground at the point and convince people to take surf lessons with Nick Smart. Nick was an hilarious 18 year old trapped in a 40 year olds body. I would get to go out with his group lessons everyday so by the end of 2 weeks I was somewhat proficient at surfing. Nick gets people standing up on their first lesson but what takes time to learn is reading the waves, which one to go for, and when to paddle. The dolphins and sealions would
come play with us about every other time and show us how surfing is really done. Sometimes I could look at the oncoming wave and see up to 7 dolphins poking their noses out the front of it. Great fellow wwoofers Sophie from Germany and Vanessa from France. In the evening we would all go over to watch the rarest penguin in the world, the Yellow-Eyed come in to their nests to feed the chicks after a long day of fishing. Sometimes the warden would need a day off so she'd ask us make sure people don't get in between the penguins and their nests - this forces them back out to sea, leaving their chicks hungry.
A pretty easy lifestyle overall, the hardest part was remembering to drive on the left. Steering from the right side of the car also takes some getting used to. Nick owns a backpackers (nz for hostel) and stays in the next town with his Japanese girlfriend. He rides to the beach on one of three cars that tourists have left for him because they broke down or his motorbike which he taught me to ride on the beach.
After 2 weeks
Vanessa and I teamed up to do some hiking in Fiordlands National Park. Endless jagged mountains steeply descending into cold deep lakes or sea. We did the Kepler Track and the Routeborn Track, both Great Walks - requiring preregistration and a camping fee. There are also huts that many people choose to book in order to save carrying the tent.
The trails were the best maintained I've seen - a constant 3 feet wide, smooth gravel, and with a drainage ditch running their entire length. They were an interstate compared to most trails. Vanessa actually had to do most of it in flip-flops due to ill fitting shoes.
We had a great first day weatherwize, which was lucky because that was our longest day (13 hours) through the most beautiful part. All in all, we spent 3 days on the Kepler and 2 days on the Routeburn. We also spend about 5 minutes at Milford Sound because it was so crowded and not great weather. The Maori hold that fiordlands was created by a demi god with his digging stick, at first he was bad at it in the south but got better and perfected making the fiords
You need a wetsuit
one time I did'nt wear booties and couldn't feel my toes for 2 hours after as he worked his way north to Milford Sound.
Queenstown was basically a new, younger Bar Harbor. While I had a famous Ferburger on mainstreet my head was spinning with all the activity- tourists running around, people on the beach, people sailing, taking jetboat rides through the canyons, people preparing to skydive, people going up the mountain backdrop via gondola then taking the louge track down or paragliding down...crazy hectic and too much for me. I left the next day after a ginger hot chocolate from coincidentally, Patagonia Chocolates - owned by an Argentine couple. Wanaka was much more my speed, a smaller version of Queenstown. The lake Queenstown bordered was very long and 400meters deep. It is actually tidal. The Maori say that a giant is sleeping at the bottom, his breathing causing the rise and fall of the waterlevel.
I am now at a great vegetable farm with Ben and Robyn, a young couple with 2 kids. I learned how to graft fruit buds yesterday and harvested some garlic the before. Heading up the West Coast next to Mount Cook area for some hot springs. Take care guys!
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