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Published: April 1st 2009
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I know it has been a while since my last update, but somehow it has been difficult to sit down and devote time to be on the computer. My last few weeks in New Zealand have consisted of visiting the wineries on the South Island, kayaking and flying in a helicopter around Milford Sound, meeting up with friends in Christchurch, caving, bouldering, and learning to roll a white water Kayak.
After heading out from Wanaka, I headed down to Queenstown. This is the capital of extreme sports in New Zealand and there are plenty of tour operations ready get your adrenaline pumping. The city is very nice but way too touristy for my likes. I spent a day just checking out the city and headed west to the wine country on a rainy day. I visited five or six wineries and enjoyed some great Pinot Gris and Pinot Noirs. This rainy day turn our quite nice (as I kind of remember) and I had a great time meeting one on one with many of the wineries owners.
I then headed to one on the most beautiful places in New Zealand, Milford Sound. The drive out there alone was worth the trip. I’ll let my pictures tell the story about this beautiful place. The only disappointing thing about Milford Sound is that too many people flock there. You need to get out early to truly enjoy the Sound. Which is what I did on a kayak at 7 am in the morning. We paddled under (or tired to) 200 foot waterfalls and watched the seals swim under our kayaks. By noon, the boats and people where there as you will see in the pictures.
After Milford Sound, I took my time driving to Christ Church. This is the largest City on the South Island and is on the east coast. I headed west from there to Arthur’s pass. The Southern Alps divide the east from the west and the drive offers some amazing views. Only a few hours west of Christ Church I came upon Castle Hills. Many movies like The Chronicles of Narnia have been filmed here because of the amazing boulder fields. Many climbers come here to climb (or Boulder) the rocks. Being here felt like I was on another planet and the pictures don’t do the place justice.
Just 10 more minutes down the road I came upon Stream Cave. This is a 3/4 kilometer cave that has been formed over many years from water flowing through it. There are multiple warning signs telling you not to enter if it had been raining recently. Although I was alone, there was a group just leaving that said it was great. They were all decked out in wetsuits and caving lights. All I had was a couple of flash lights, tennis shoes, shorts and my fleece, but there was no way I was not going to check it out. So I hiked to the entrance of the cave where the water was flowing out and waded into the darkness. I was up to my chest in ice cold water before it was even dark. The cave was between 6 and 10 feet with and about 10 to twenty feet tall. A long narrow passage with the sound of rushing water being the only thing you could hear. As I climbed deeper in the cave, over rocks and rapids my adrenaline was pumping and I was as happy as a kid on Christmas morning. I never heard or saw another person in the cave during the entire hour it took to climb through it. This was one of my favorite things I did in New Zealand.
After the cave, I camped in the mountains for a few days till I had to head back to Murchison for a week long whitewater kayak class. Over the next week, I was in the water by 7 am learning the basics of whitewater kayaking and how to roll the kayak. This was both challenging, fun and extremely tiring. Kayaking and especially rolling a kayak is not at all intuitive and takes a ton of practice to be confident on the water. I can’t wait to get back on the water and hope I can remember how to roll.
I then had to get back to Auckland on the North Island and catch my flight to my next country, Australia. One the way I hiked the 19 kilometer Tongari Crossing over a dormant volcano with emerald green lakes at the top. This is considered the best day hikes in New Zealand. The weather was fine a the bottom, but turned miserable. Cold, windy and raining at the top, I was happy to make it to the summit and get back to better weather below.
I cannot say enough about how much I enjoyed New Zealand. The people, the beautiful country and countless outdoor activities make it a place I will surely be back to.
Check out my pictures at:
Cut and paste this link into your browser.
http://picasaweb.google.com/csdyer2020/NewZealandSouthIsland2162009Till352009?authkey=Gv1sRgCLKz86zE9ZfrjwE#
Next stop - Australia!
Chris
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