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Published: April 9th 2007
4/1/07
What better way to spend a birthday than to hike a glacier. Before committing to a 3/4 day hike of Franz Josef Glacier, we wondered if Jay's 30 year-old bones would hold up, but we decided to chance it. The tour Company we went with suited us up with all the gear we would need, including waterproof overtrousers, boots and spikes, hats, gloves, and jackets (all with the lingering scents of the 100s of previous users). We then walked through the valley to get to the base of the glacier (about an hour). Once at the base, we started our ascent up the steep and icy glacier. Our first few steps of walking on ice were shaky, as we were adjusting to using our spiked boots and our new environment, but we soon got the hang of it. Throughout the hike, our guide had to use his pick-ax to create footholds in the ice for our group. If any of you have seen the show "Everest," this was our own miniature version. What made matters more interesting was the weather changing from freezing cold to rain to sunshine during the day. Throughout the day, we walked through crevices that
were barely big enough for us to fit (luckily, there were no fat people in our group or they would have gotten wedged between 2 blocks of ice), crawled on our hands and knees to navigate our way through an ice cave and saw a ton of blue ice. About 1/2 way up, we stopped to have our packed lunch, taking in the beautiful scenery from the higher elevation. This experience was unique and one of the most memorable so far.
We finished off the day with a sauna back at the hostel and dinner in town to celebrate the big 3-0.
4/2/07
Headed south to Lake Wanaka, which took about 4-5 hours. On the drive, we made some stops to stretch our legs and see some sites, including the blue pools, a waterfall, and Fox Glacier. One great thing about New Zealand is that along the highways are signs describing various walks, the estimated time of the walk and a parking lot. We arrived in Wanaka and were immediately taken by the scenery and the scene, and thus decided to stay here for a few extra days and skip our next stop, Queenstown, which is the self-proclaimed
adventure capital of the world. Wanaka is a beautiful town, built around a lake with mountains surrounding, and turns into a ski village during the winter. We made ourselves right at home at an outdoor bar, overlooking the lake for happy hour.
4/3/07
Spent a relaxing day in Wanaka - went for a morning stroll around the lake with periodic stops to read; went for a hike up Mount Iron, which was a hard, steep one but offered beautiful views of Wanaka, the lake and surrounding area once reaching the summit; went to Puzzling World, an illusion house consisting of 3-D images, a tilted room (which made Steph nauseous) and some other fun-house type rooms; and sat in a cafe. We also checked into our new hostel, The Purple Cow, where we sprung for a double room with our very own private bathroom and views of the lake.
4/4/07
Signed up to do a canyoning trip for the day. Canyoning consists of descending down a canyon in a few different ways - 1) repelling/abseiling backwards down the cliffs, 2) jumping off cliffs into pools of water, and 3) going down natural water slides, both feet first and head
first. After driving on unpaved roads, we arrived at the base of the canyon, where we got suited up with some gear - full wet suits, helmets, harnesses, spray jackets, foot booties, and random, old shoes. We then walked up the mountain for about 40 minutes (which turned out to be one of the harder parts of the day) and the only way down was to hike back or through the canyon itself. Once we got into the canyon it was time to turn on the adrenaline. We repelled, slid and jumped our way down the canyon for close to 5 hours. Once at the bottom, we were greeted by a nice lunch where we were able to relax for a bit. We also both confessed that during the day we each independently thought, "we're too old for this."
Upon returning to town, we had to wait for our photos that our guide took to be burned to a CD (for a small price of course...yeah, right) as we obviously needed documentation of the day, so we sat in a cafe with the Swiss friends we had canyoned with.
4/5/07
We spent a lot of time in the
Blue Pool
The water color was amazing!car today - drove from Wanaka to Akaroa (about 6.5 hours not including the stops). We stopped for a picnic (and by picnic we mean PB&J on ricecakes) lunch at Lake Tekapo, and we were able to see Mount Cook from a distance. We finally arrived in Akoroa, had a walk around town to get our bearings, and had dinner (Harbour 71- yummy....). Akoroa is a town on the Banks Peninsula (on the east coast of the Southern Island). It's a French-influenced beach town with cute shops and very good restaurants. It's also known to be a popular spot for swimming with dolphins in the ocean.
4/6/07
We had a nice, relaxing day wandering the town (in daylight this time), exploring the lighthouse, sitting on the pier and reading, where we saw some dolphins in the water, and walking along the coast. We also made our first logistical mistake of the trip - we decided to do the swimming with dolphins tour the following day, while we enjoyed this sunny day alternatively, by having a lazy day. See 4/7 for our mistake 😞
Due to this being Good Friday (no meat) during Passover, we were left with few
dinner options. We headed over to the supermarket and searched every aisle (some twice) for "legal" delicacies. This had been our biggest food challenge yet, but we left with a smorgasbord of cheese, hummus, chutney and fresh veggies. Note: readers beware, this dinner + good Friday fasting = 1 cranky Steph.
4/7/07
Woke up to the sound of rain on the window and cancelled our dolphin trip. No worries (a kiwi frequently used phrase)....we can always swim with dolphins back in the Hudson....
We drove to Christchurch which would be our final stop in New Zealand. Stopped and went to Barry's Bay cheese factory on the way - tasted and watched them making cheese. After settling into our hostel, we decided to look for the "bowling club" Jay had seen on our way into town. This turned out to be a bust as we still haven't figured out what a "bowling club" is, but it is definitely not the US version of a bowling alley. It in fact, was a blessing in disguise as on our way back to the hostel, we saw hordes of people walking towards a stadium. We inquired with one of the passersby as
Lake Hawea
Scenic view along our drive to what was going on and found out it was a rugby match. We immediately parked the car, bought tickets and went to our first match. We were finally able to see in person what we've been watching on TV for the past few weeks (that's pretty much the only sport that is played on the TVs at bars and restaurants). It was the New Zealand Crusaders vs. the Western Australian Force. We really enjoyed this authentic New Zealand experience, got to learn a new sport (which we also ended up thoroughly enjoying), and Jay got his testosterone pumping. The match wasn't the only 1st that happened that night...we also hit the town and stayed out past 11! We went to "the strip", which is a few streets with bars, clubs and outdoor seating.
4/8/07
Easter. Woke up and put on our Sunday best: cargo pants, tee shirts and sneakers. We then went to Easter Mass in a very nice cathedral, returned our wheels and walked around the city for the day. We went to the main Cathedral in the city, and climbed to the top to get a better view of the city, sat in Cathedral Square and
enjoyed our first dose of Starbucks (sorry, we sold out...), and wandered throughout Hagley Park and the Botanical Gardens.
Closing Remarks
Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed our time in New Zealand - it's a beautiful country with lots of unique things to see and do, friendly Kiwis, and we highly recommend it as a vacationing spot. If any of you are considering a visit here, we would strongly recommend spending more time on the South Island than on the North Island.
We are on to Australia...g'day mate....
RANDOM THOUGHTS BY JAY AND STEPH:
-Average cost of things in New Zealand:
*double room in a hostel: $40 - $50 (closer to $50 if you want your own bathroom)
*cup of coffee ("flat white") - $2
*dinner is about the same as what it would cost at home
-We're definitely glad we came to an English-speaking country first as this helped in our adjusting to life on the road.
-We have seen cows humping.
-We have seen sheep humping.
-It's crazy to think that our time in New Zealand was longer than any other vacation we've taken, and this is just the beginning!
-Jay continues to corrupt little innocent Steph........we've
gotten kicked out of a bookstore and she stole a pen after filling out a survey....
-It's been inspirational (don't worry Moms, we're not getting any more ideas), interesting and almost unbelievable how the majority of people we meet have been traveling for months or even a year.
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non-member comment
I can't believe how good you guys are in keeping notes and updating the blog frequently. I really feel like I'm on this trip with you (yeah, sure Go, what are you smokin!!). Can't wait to hear about your next adventure. Enjoy and be safe. Miss you. Go