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I flew into Christchurch only a week ago but it feels like I've already done a month worth of activities. I'm travelling around New Zealand with Kiwi Experience, this is a bus company with a difference, basically it’s a tour bus for 18-25 year olds that stops off at all the most interesting sights and attractions all over set routes around New Zealand. The groups that you are with on the bus usually stay together for several days or even weeks so it’s a lot of fun and I’ve met lots of great people already. So far I’ve done the west coast of the south island, this area is famous for being the most beautiful in New Zealand and it truly lives up to its reputation. Views of the Southern Alps combined with the coastline and rainforest make driving through New Zealand an absolute pleasure. It is undoubtedly the most beautiful country I have ever visited, somewhere I could spend a lot of time. Rather than explain where I’ve been I’ll describe some of my experiences so far.
On my second day in New Zealand I got the early morning bus up to Kaikoura. Due to a deep ocean trench close to the coast the marine life is incredible, sperm whales, orcas, dolphins and seals are all abundant. I took part in a Dolphin Encounter, which involved being fitted out in an extremely thick wetsuit and fins then being ferried out to the open ocean to swim with the resident dusky dolphins. The local pod numbered around 150, all swimming just off the coast. Once away from the coast the boat motored ahead of the dolphins then dropped all the swimmers into the water. The dolphins swam all around me within an arms reach. They were interested in the swimmers and despite being completely wild even played with us; if I swam in a circle one or maybe two dolphins would come and join me and swim round and round in circles making eye contact the entire time, it even turned into a competition as to who could turn faster- the dolphins usually won. Another trick was to dive down to two or three metres then swim as fast as possible, once underwater the dolphins surrounded you completely and carried on swimming beside you until you couldn’t hold your breath any longer. It was amazing being so close to an animal whose intelligence I could almost sense. The boat trip also held a few other surprises, we spotted a fur seal posing off the bow and saw several species of albatross including the wandering albatross which had a wing span of 3 ½ metres. By the end of the trip I was feeling quite smug and very privileged.
On the way through to Westport I went jet boating with Buller Adventure Tours, this is marketed as the most powerful and fastest boat in New Zealand - naturally I had to give it a try. The boat can travel in 10cm of water at up to 60mph, for about two hours our expert driver whizzed us up a shallow mountain river doing 360 turns and taking us within a hairs breath of the cliffs. By the end of the trip we were all very wet, very cold and very happy. It was not a boat ride for the faint hearted.
Fox glacier is one of only three glaciers in the world that descend directly into rainforest, also the Southern Alps from which it is sourced rear up almost straight from the ocean to form New Zealand’s two highest peaks; Mt Cook and Mt Tasman. In other words it’s the most incredible location imaginable and a great spot to do a skydive. The company I chose operated out of Fox Glacier village and only had a small light aircraft, so small in fact that only 5 people (4 skydivers and the pilot) could fit in each time. After takeoff the pilot took us on an air safari flying up the glacier then on for stunning views of Mt Cook and the surrounding mountains. It took just over 25 minutes to climb up to 12000 feet where the pilot took us away from the mountains to the flat coastal lowlands. At this point the pilot popped open the door and while strapped to the instructor I had to wiggle over to the edge and stick my legs out then slide forward until attached only to the instructor behind me, just waiting for him to let go. The first two seconds were terrifying but then it felt incredible, like floating through space with spectacular views all around. The 45 seconds freefall was the most serene experience of my life, quite unforgettable. Once the parachute opened it was like being brought back to reality but it was still a fantastic glide down very much akin to paragliding. The feeling of elation I got from the dive lasted well into the next day, I just can’t wait for Taupo where I get to go again.
The next day I went for an eight hour hike up the nearby Franz Josef glacier, which is the fastest moving glacier in the world. The terminal face advances half a meter a day! To reach the top of the ice we followed well-trodden paths and steps that had been carved into the ice, this was amazing by itself but since I’d signed up for the full day our small group ventured off with our guide. Because the ice moves every day (up to eight metres at the top) paths are constantly moving, changing and closing up, so we spent half the time carving new tracks through the ice. During the day we had to jump over crevasses, walk along high ridges of ice and crawl through tunnels of blue ice. Probably the most challenging aspect of the hike was walking through the base of crevasses, they were usually less than a foot wide and maybe in excess of 30 feet high. I had to shuffle one foot in front of the other with vast walls of ice sliding across my front and back; I just had to stop thinking about how much the ice can move, difficult when it kept groaning and when my overtly large feet kept getting stuck. Seeing a glacier up close is nothing like reading about them or even seeing them in textbooks, the scale of the ice doesn’t hit you until you see ant sized people ascending the face. It was an amazing location and an amazing experience.
I have a feeling my remaining few weeks in New Zealand could be a lot of fun.
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Mazza
non-member comment
Oh My God!
I really DON'T like the idea of you being crushed by a glacier William. Just as well you don't tell us exactly what you are going to be doing before you do it or I would never sleep! But swimming with dolphins - I can understand you feeling very privileged after that experience. So glad NZ is living up to its reputation.