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Published: December 6th 2006
And so begins the tale of our New Zealand adventures! We packed a lot into our 19 days there, hope you enjoy following us - it's divided into South and North Island so you can attempt it in 2 sittings if you want!
The South Island
We flew into Christchurch late on the 13th November, and after a short sleep, we spent our first day exploring the centre and basking in the sun (no lies! It was a gorgeous day) while lying on the banks of the river and in the botanical gardens. Truth be told we had an enormous pub lunch and needed to do all the lying in the sun we could. We also bought some unbelievably good fudge, excuse being that it would be good sustenance on the long hikes we had planned. It was their big local horse racing day that day so we had to go out that night cos the city was pumping. I am sure that a normal tuesday night in Christchuch isn't quite so good, but we had a brilliant time. All in all we really liked Christchurch as a city, very English and kind of quaint.
The next morning
we were up way too early considering the night before and we drove (well Nick drove and Kez slept) all the way to Arthurs Pass where we proceeded to march up a mountain while eating much well-deserved fudge. It was quite a steep climb but the views were amazing once we got out of the tree line. We also saw a pair of kea's, the only alpine parrots in the world. The pass was called Scott's Pass on the way up to Avalanche Peak and the views of the glacier were also superb. A definite recommendation for anyone heading that way. And Kez fell in love with her hiking boots cos it was really wet, with lots of little stream crossings and we could just walk right through them! We then hopped back in the car and drove all the way up to Abel Tasman, it was a long drive through some of the sleepiest and most backward towns we have seen and that includes the ones in the Karoo! We had a delicious but very late dinner just on the edge of the national park and that night we loved our sleep.
The next morning we were up
early again (this became a horrible trend for a good couple of weeks) and headed out on our sea kayaks from Marahau to Anchorage in the Abel Tasman National Park. It started off as another beautiful day but very quickly changed into a rainy and miserable one as soon as we had left dry land. We had a picnic lunch on one of the little beaches along the way in the rain and by the time we reached Anchorage in the late afternoon we were soaked and pretty cold. Luckily there is a hut there, with a very warm fire and we stayed for an hour or so to thaw out before we went across to the boat we were sleeping on. It's quite a novel idea - it's called Aquapackers and instead of staying in the hut (got to take all your own bedding, cooking equipment, food etc etc), you can stay on this boat moored just in the bay and there are beds and you get dinner etc. Somehow there had been a mix up with the booking and so we paid for bunks down below and got to sleep in one of two really nice double rooms
up top! Wish that would happen more often!
In the morning we, yup you guessed it, got up early again, packed up our stuff and headed out into the rainy windy miserable day. Our task to walk 17km further up the coast to Onatahuti Bay where we would be picked up by water taxi at 4pm and taken back to Marahau. It was Kez's worst day of the holiday so far because it absolutely chucked it down solidly all day and we only had walking sandals to walk in cos we were expecting a nice sunny day. And Nick had told her that it was a flat walk and that was a slight exaggeration. We ended up doing the walk quicker than expected, there wasn't much point in stopping to look around so we just walked and luckily the water taxi had guessed we might be quicker and arrived just as we did. Kez has never been so happy to see a boat in her life! The postcards make Abel Tasman look amazing in the sun, beautiful sandy bays, clear turquoise water and all bound by rainforest, so we'll have to return. As soon as we got back, we
hopped in the car again and drove to Picton.
Only real purpose of Picton (for us at least) was going wine-routing in the Marlborough region, one of New Zealands best with very good white wines. We definitely deserved this day of rest and recuperation and enjoyed every minute of it! We ended the day back at our hostel sitting outside in the spa drinking a bottle of wine we had bought and life seemed very good indeed.
The North Island
Sunday we caught the ferry over to the North Island and spent the afternoon getting to know more about NZ history and the Maori people at the excellent Te Papa museum. In general Wellington seems like a great city, lots going on and loads of beautiful places just outside the city too if you want to escape. On our second day there we walked up Mount Victoria to the lookout and there are wonderful views back over the city. But the highlight of the day was the best ice-cream we have found so far...from a little shop just along the oriental parade. The watermelon flavour was unbelievably amazing. Then it was back in the car to drive
north to Turangi and pray for good weather so we could do the Tongariro crossing hike the next day.
There are some days when waking up and seeing the sun shining beautifully makes you want to jump for joy and this was one of them. We were up at 6 this morning and on our way to tackle our first volcano! The hike is about 17km long, climbs 900m to 1900m and takes about 7 or 8 hours. Basically you walk to the base of the volcano, walk up the side of it, across the crater, down the other side and to the pick up point. The first part of the walk was pretty easy but when we started climbing we really started climbing, it's all "walkable" but it's certainly not an easy path and our arms were about as sore as our legs by the end of the day. At the top though it is just amazing, we now totally understand Anoek's fascination with volcanoes. Walking across one crater and up to the lip of another crater surrounded by steam. It's impossible to explain how beautiful the whole thing is so you will have to go check it
out for yourself sometime if you haven't already. On the way down the other side we were walking in a kind of ash and as you take a step you slide about a metre further. It feels strange at first but is so cool once you are used to it. We stopped at the volcanic lakes at the top for lunch, they are an amazing colour, so lovely that you even forget the ugly sulphur smell that's all around. The walk down to the bottom was quite tiring too, not quite as steep but much further. And then you go right down into a little forest for the last bit before reaching the pick up point. The Tongariro crossing has definitely been one of the major highlights of our trip so far! Cheers Pete & Pauline for the recommendation!
We went to sleep praying for another good day so that we could go skydiving, but alas it was not to be and we will have to find somewhere else to do our first jumps! Instead we visited the Huka falls, went for a short walk in the Craters of the Moon park with lots of geothermal stuff and then
to get our adrenalin rush that we weren't going to get from sky diving, we went to this place called Rock 'n Ropes which turned out to be another total highlight and an amazing experience. Basically you are in a rock-climbing harness, belaying each other (talk about trust especially since neither of us had done it before). And then there are these huge poles about 15 m high and 15m apart with various things in between and you have to walk across them with only your partner, um that would be each other, saving you from dying if you would fall because they are holding onto the other side of the rope, like in rock climbing. So the first one for example, there is a piece of wire (just one) for you to walk on with 2 wires to hold onto on either side. And they all wobble like mad. Kez was up first and got across very bravely indeed. Nick got across too and even had a huge blister on his hand to prove how tight he was holding on. The others included a swing bridge (nothing to hold onto) and a wooden beam, round beam, not very big
(also nothing to hold onto). This one was the scariest by far, just imagine balancing across a beam, 15 m above the ground with nothing to hold onto, in the wind, a bit slippery from a rain shower just before, and the advice you are given is - Just go and the faster the better. We both did it somehow, neither of us fell! You then have to climb up a 15m vertical pole (probably about 20cm in diameter) and stand on top of it. Frightening enough as it is but then you have to leap off the top of it and try to catch the trapeze bar somewhere out there. Amazingly enough, we both did that too. And then last but not least, the giant swing where you jump off a platform attached to rope, free fall until you are at most 2 m above the ground and then you kind of swing back and forth a few times while screaming as loud as you can. It's just as scary as bunjee if not more because you come so close to hitting the ground before the rope starts to swing. Check out the photos! We both felt SO GOOD
afterwards and if anyone is scared of heights, this is the place to go to conquer your fear. The instructors are so good and one girl in our group was hysterical just climbing up the first pole, screaming that she wanted to come down and crying like mad, but by the end of the afternoon she even did the giant swing! That night we had a good few celebratory beers at our hostel bar in Rotorua.
Rotorua is the spa capital of New Zealand with loads of geothermal activity and therefore hot springs, mud pools, geysers etc. We checked out the lady-knox geyser and amazing mudpools (among other things) at Wai-o-tapu. The geyser erupts with water shooting up 15m every morning at 10am, helped by a wee bit of soap powder to break the surface tension and ensure the eruptions are regular to suit the tourists. The mud pools are literally just huge pools of bubbling mud. Very bizarre and very cool. In the afternoon we went to the Polynesian spa to sit in various hot pools and relax. Peace was slightly disturbed when we all had to evacuate for a fire alarm but anyway. That night we went
to Tamaki village to experience some Maori culture. It was all very professional with the introduction traditions, a short show and then the exceptionally delicious Hangi meal, cooked underground for hours on hot rocks.
Friday we hit the Kaituna river, we were both going to raft but when we got there and the guides found out Nick could kayak they asked if he would prefer to do that. So he did and Kez got to watch him from the relative safety of the raft. It's a short section of the river but with quite a lot packed in, including a 7m waterfall - the highest commercially rafted waterfall in the world apparently. It was great fun, check out the photos - you can see how big the fall is in relation to Nick's kayak. We then drove to Mount Manganui, tried the beach but it was way too windy and cold so headed home for an early night instead. In the morning Kez had a wonderful massage and then almost undid all that good when we walked up Mount Manganui. It wasn't a very long walk and the views back over the beach were definitely worth it. It was
then off to the Coromandel peninsula, we stayed in Whitianga but stopped off at a lovely beach for lunch. It's only accessible via a 700m walk through the forest so it's really secluded and unspoilt. We also stopped at Hot Water Beach where at low tide, hot water -about 60 degrees - bubbles up through the sand. The idea is that you dig yourself a big hole and then let if fill with a mixture of very hot water (way too hot by itself) and sea water and then you have your very own little spa. It's quite incredible when you get it right and find a good spot. This took us a little while but in the end we had a short yet delightful little stay in our little hole, even though we had to spend a lot of time doing maintenance cos the tide was coming in again already. Oh and during the day, just like every other day, we saw sheep by the hundreds. We even found a potential girlfriend for Christian!
The next day was a big day, our very first lie-in since getting to New Zealand and we loved every second of it! Around
lunch time we headed to Hahei to go sea-kayaking around the coast line. It's all formed by extinct volcanoes and there are still blowholes that you can only get into at low tide by paddling through a tunnel in the rock. We also walked to Cathedral Cove, you are sure to recognise it from the photo cos it is one of New Zealands most famous attractions.
Monday we drove up to Whangarei, home of Kirsty and Devon and old stomping ground of Linds. We stayed with Kirst and Devon and we were royally looked after! We had a braai (barbecue) both nights, made with real coal not this gas bollox! They have a lovely home and it was brilliant to see Kirst again after so long and to meet Devon! Thanks so much guys for looking after us so well. We also went diving while we were up there at the Poor Knights islands. This is one of the world's top 10 dive sites, but we were there at about the worst time of year for diving so the water was freezing and the visibility was very poor. We still enjoyed it though, did 2 dives and saw loads
of cool stuff very close up cos we couldn't see anthing far away!
We spent the last 2 days of our New Zealand adventure in Auckland. We walked around the city quite a bit, had a yummy hot chocolate in Parnell and had a very delicious thai meal in posonby in the evening. Auckland feels like a real city, it's big enough and yet it's easy to get around and if it wasn't so far away we could be very tempted to move there. We also went out to Waiheke island, home of some of New Zealand's most expensive wines. We visited 3 of them as well as an olive oil place. Nick also had his haircut for free at a barber training school, looked a bit like Keith Flint afterwards but gladly it looked normal after a shower. We then flew out of Auckland at 5pm on 1st December and miraculously landed in Santiago (Chile) at 1pm the very same day. First time we've ever arrived some where before we left where we were leaving. And the rest is of course another tale on another day!
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Mary
non-member comment
astonishing
Hello Kerry. I am absolutley stunned by your courage, leaping off poles and other such frightening things! my darling girl I am impressed, and the rapid Nick is so cool . Whatever can you do in Chile to beat this episode? love to you both, asking you to take care is pointless so onward you go!!