December and Early January in New Zealand


Advertisement
New Zealand's flag
Oceania » New Zealand
January 22nd 2011
Published: January 22nd 2011
Edit Blog Post

It seems a reoccurring theme that I start off my blogs saying “it’s been a long time since I last wrote”. Right now, I am at Ingrid’s alone while she is working on a cruise ship that’s sailing around the country. In just under two weeks I fly back home, after almost nine months of being away. The next few weeks I’ll be working straight on countless projects I have dug myself into. I will be visiting the Bay of Islands one more time before I leave, and will keep writing as long as I have something to write about. For now, here is what I have been up to for the past month, as well as the stories of my road trip through the South Island with my brother. The internet here has been failing us lately, so I'll upload pictures as soon as I get home. If you can't wait that long, check out http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2148061&id=41509121&l=b665c3af58 to see some of the pictures.


I last left on Tuesday the 14th, with Leonie and I busy in the driveway cutting flaxes. The rest of the day we did computer work and I worked at Dive! Tutukaka.

December 15th
The weather has been real crap lately, switching between rain and fog, without making up its mind either way. We spent the morning in the office and around mid-day Ingrid got the call from a friend of hers. He flies a Cessna looking for fish for the local fishermen and happened to notice blue whales feeding just north of Auckland. We had a bit of a decision before us, because even though the weather at that point looked ok, it was still really foggy out to sea and but the seas were calm despite 35 knot warnings just south of Whangarei. We didn’t want a remake of what happened in Oakura but we also couldn’t turn up a chance to see blue whales! After figuring out where they were and how long it would take us to get there, we loaded the truck up and were off to Tutukaka boat ramp. We launched from there and drove the two hours in the boat. Ingrid’s friend saw us coming a ways away and pointed us in the right direction, by doing big circles in the skies by the whales. Once we found then I literally had a hard time keeping my jaw shut. They were just so huge! We switched between wanting to watch, and wanting to take pictures. The mother, when we first arrived, was head lunging and side swimming and we thought she was just trying to get a good look at us. Turns out she was feeding and we didn’t bother her or the calf one bit. They spent the better part of the next few hours feeding while we drove around watching them. At one point Ingrid noticed huge sloughed off pieces of skin in the water and we went around with our net to try and collect them! By the end of the day we had collected skin 9 different times and had tons to show for it! The entire time Brian would switch between flying around looking for fish for the boats and coming to check out the whales.

After many head lunges we were hanging back from the mom, and I thought I noticed another whale in the distance. It turned out to be a HUGE manta ray. When we came up to it, I just saw white underbelly and it did a huge barrel roll at the surface while it was filter feeding. It had the tips of its wings out of the water, with the wingspan being at least longer than the boat on both sides by maybe a meter. We tried to stay with the ray for a bit, but it didn’t want anything to do with us. Brian did a fly by and said that he saw something long and white in the water. It ended up being a huge piece of plastic pallet wrapping. We grabbed it and threw it on board, but man did it stink! It must have been floating in the water for a while and had quite a lot of algal growth on it.

We decided that the time had come to head back, but reasoned that an extra half hour on the water wouldn’t hurt. Good thing we stayed, because the mother went into a feeding frenzy, lunging and spy hopping every few minutes, sloughing off huge pieces of skin. We switched between trying to be close enough to get the skin, to wanting to be a good distance for pictures. As it started to get darker we headed in. The ride back took us almost 2 hours, but just north of Whangarei we spotted a pod of at least 50+ bottlenose. They were feeding and jumping. From a distance Ingrid thought they were common dolphins as for some reason only the juveniles and calves were jumping. As soon as we got close we had a whole group of them bow riding, rolling on their sides underwater to get good looks at us. We tried to get as many photo ID shots as possible, but it was so cloudy still and the gray skies and dimming light were causing trouble for the cameras. About 45 minutes later we continued on home. Back at port there was a Christmas party being held at the restraint where we had decided to get pizza! The owner insisted on us helping ourselves to the buffet, and Ingrid went around showing different people pictures. It’s now hard to know everyone in such a small town and luckily for Ingrid, Tutukaka is just as proud of its marine life as she is. Everyone huddled around her looking at pictures while Leonie and I sat and laughed over dinner. We finally got back to the house at 1030 ish, quickly put as much gear away as possible and sorted out all of the skin samples. Sadly, this was Leonie’s last day on the water, so she spent a while sorting her stuff from Ingrid’s before bed.

We were up at 5 the next day, getting pictures sorted, gear sorted, packing and throwing everything in the truck. Leonie and Ingrid were driving down to Auckland where Leonie would catch a bus south and Ingrid would ship out a pectoral fin from a whale for analysis, run some errands and talk to Kate Norton’s class (the school where we went for MUFTI day). While Leonie packed her stuff and cleaned her room, I helped Ingrid with computer stuff (burning all of the pictures to a cd for Leonie to take with her) sending emails and then packing the fin. They were out of the door at 7 and I spent a few hours doing paperwork before I headed into town to run errands for the day, after which I returned home and did more paperwork and computer work. The house was so quite, and it was so strange!

The 17th through till the 21st I spent in the office working on computer things here and there. I was completely drained and all I wanted to do was leave and go get Alex. He was to arrive on the 22nd, so I planned on heading down to Auckland the night before. I left Ingrid’s late afternoon. We ended up getting some surprise visitors and I helped show them around the place. By the time I got into Auckland that evening it was dark and I got pretty lost, but ended up finding myself a safe parking lot. This was my first night in Gramps, and man was I nervous! The place where I stayed looked out on the tarmac of the airport and I ended up getting locked into the parking lot by a few really nice police officers. I was up early, waiting for Alex and ended up doing a few loops around the pick up area (there is NO stopping, kind of like Logan). Finally I couldn’t wait anymore so I paid to park in the parking lot and walked inside. Here I am, this tan short little girl, in a tank top and shorts waiting for a ‘kid’ almost twice my size. He walked off that plane looking like a lumberjack. Thick scruffy beard (which I’m sure has left him with a very awkward tan) heavy jeans with a long sleeve shirt under a thick flannel, stomping along in his almost shin height leather boots dragging a huge duffel bag. God damnit, we may fight like cats and dogs, but I MISSED him like hell ☺

He had a big smile on his face when he saw me. He looked a bit flustered and then looked outside and said, ahh its hot here (as if that surprised him) then he decided he needed to change ASAP. I introduced him to gramps (or grampervan if you so do choose) and after changing into better clothes we hit the road. Driving on the wrong side of the road definitely unnerved him a bit; I don’t think he was expecting it. I explained that gramps has a few quirks he only starts when he wants to, squeals like a stuck pig if you go fast and MUST be treated with respect at all times (either that or he throws a fit and does weird things).

Well, so we were heading south. We talked and caught up on all sorts of things. My brother really isn’t someone you would consider talkative but I think he was sick of me asking so many questions. Driving from Auckland to Wellington is a lot like driving through the Northland. Rolling hills covered in sheep and cattle. From a distance we saw a huge snow covered mountain, but it got real cloudy and rainy before we could tell anymore. We ended up stopping at Tongariro National Village. I thought it would be a bit bigger than one backpackers and a restaurant, but I guess not. We stopped, got some (expensive but delicious) dinner and Alex logged onto the internet. Internet is REAL expensive in NZ and usually you pay around $10 for a half hour. We continued driving south until we hit up a little town called Bulls. We doubled back a bit and ended up pulling under a bridge for the night. While Alex got out of the car and stretched I went about taking everything out of gramps, doing an inventory for the next few days. Alex meanwhile got to work checking on gramps’ fluids and we ended up having a major scare. It turns out that when Leonie got the ‘oil changed’ on the van a few weeks ago she got ripped off - and bad. There was not a drop of oil in his engine. Not even anything on the stick. We literally lost 5 pounds by panicking, threw the things into the back, sweet talked him into starting and turned back to the nearest gas station. He took 2 or 3 quarts I think…an awful lot. And I bought a few more – just in case. Alex ripped my head off for not checking the fluids before I left, but I just assumed an oil change meant there would be oil in there. Guess not. Dad – we didn’t tell you this before cause I knew you would lose the remaining hair on your head. Don’t worry, things like this build character ☺ Just shrug and lecture me later. Love you!

Ehem, well back to the story… After our minor scare we headed back to our little river paradise, brushed our teeth and crawled inside. Now, when you get a look at this van you can see that it was a squeeze that we both fit in the back, but somehow we did it. And, we learned early on not to leave the windows open. Hale’s you see hate mosquitoes. BUT mosquito’s LOVEEE the Hale family. Nothing drives my brother crazier than hearing a bug bszzzttt past your ear when you are just about to get to sleep. So thanks to our trusty headlamps we spent a bit killing anything living (besides each other) in that little 10 foot by 4-foot box. Can I just add that Alex (if you don’t know him) is a giant. He went to bed that first night with his toes touching the back window and his head resting against the head rest on the drivers seat. Funny thing is that on the way down he told me he wouldn’t mind if he were 2 or 3 inches taller. Well, maybe you can take some growth hormones later bro…not just yet.

We woke up on the morning of the 23rd to cars going over the bridge. Alex threw a fit yesterday when he realized how much fuel we were going through, so we stopped at a parts store first thing and got a new air filter. Man, gramps, he buzzed up those hills! Like a little bug. Just slower I guess. He maxes out at 100 km (but later in the trip we found he likes 80 better). Can I just add that that is 50mph – MAX speed. Yes, he’s a little thing. Also, one of those motorized scooter things could go up hills faster than him. But that’s true love, right? Putting up with the people (things) you love despite the quirks. Well so yeah, now he buzzed up hills. We were just south of the middle of the North Island now, on our way down to Wellington, the bottom most tip of the North Island where we would hop the ferry to the South Island. We got to Wellington, drove around a bit and stopped into the ferry company where we would be leaving from later in the evening. They allowed us to park there so we cleaned up a bit, packed a backpack and headed out. We ended up doing a hike above the city and as both of us were a bit (that’s my excuse) out of shape it took a while. We huffed and puffed and eventually got to the top. The view of Wellington was absolutely gorgeous, and both of us swear we could see the south island from where we were, but who knows. We stopped here and there along the trails, talking a bit, checking out the view, and investigating some radio towers. Alex explained to me how they work, relaying signals over the mountains to get to Wellington, a smaller city by US proportions, nestled into the mountain side against the water. The mountains prevent it from growing out, as up would be the only way.

On the way down we discussed a few places to go and as we were talking I noticed this little bird checking me out. I think he was attracted to the color of my backpack but he flew circles around our heads, doing this crazy dance showing off the lighter colored feathers under his bum. He kept flashing about, dancing and jumping from side to side making these crazy whistles that Alex was mimicking. He was all sortsa cute and we finally left him after he got bored of trying to impress my backpack. Next one little guy, there are plenty of fish in the sea!

We went back to the van, switched up our gear and changed a bit then headed out again. This time we wandered the city and waterfront, stopping at Te Papa, the national museum for a bit. I took Alex to Mac’s Brewery, one of the big beer companies in NZ and he got a brew as we sat for a while. Apparently it was delicious and he looked like he was in heaven! Next up was food and I took him to my favorite chain, a place called Hell Pizza. Pizza in NZ is so different than in the States. Here, it’s more about the toppings than anything else, and my favorite is a pizza called ‘Purgatory’ (all the pizza’s have crazy names, such as those of the seven deadly sins, or anything else having to do with Satan). Purgatory has feta, spinach, onions, garlic, sun dried tomatoes, mozzarella and parmesan and is SOOOOOO good. I could just eat it all day, and that’s coming from a girl who maybe a month before she left still scrapped toppings and sauce off pizza. All the things that happen when you go to a foreign country!

After Hell Pizza we wandered a bit more, then headed back to the van where I took a bit of a nap. Alex found out that the local McDonalds (its like a plague, they are everywhere) has free wifi (internet) so we went there, mooched for a bit and let people know that we were in fact alive and well. After a few hours of that we went back to the van and after getting some updates on when the ferry would leave we crawled inside and went to bed. We were supposed to leave at 11 but push comes to shove and at 1 we boarded. Onboard you have to leave your vehicles so we went upstairs to find people sprawled out across 4-5 seats while others had to sit on the floor cause there was no more room. We all tried to get some sleep, but a young mother tried to teach her newborn patience and after 45 minutes of crying I had enough. The rest of the passengers in my area were feeling the same and you could see the mother hurry to quite her child after one too many angry glares. The ferry was the size of a small city, but being a four-hour ride through the night, not many people were feeling cozy.

When we got off we had planned to drive to Abel Tasman National Park, but having a collective 2 hours of sleep between us we made it to the next town (about a half hour) before pulling over to sleep until 9. From there we hit the road and as it was Christmas Eve day, I wasn’t expecting much to be open. We hit up the grocery store in Nelson, then continued on to Motueka for an i-site (information booth/center) and pizza. At the i-site we learned that all the ‘best’ beaches are a 2-hour drive over Tanaka hill. Neither of us wanted to use the extra gas, but we decided it would be the best way to enjoy ourselves. The hill itself was more like a mountain and the road cut and swooped more than any road I had ever seen. I mean, the hills of Italy we put to shame by this road. Abel Tasman park is a small National Park comparatively, but it has the most beaches in all of NZ. The hill gave gorgeous views of the coastline and I made Alex stop more than once so I could take a picture.

Also, I must note that my driving did not last long. “It’s not that I don’t trust your driving (Alex says) It’s just that when you do long halls you tend to ignore the road a bit”. I’d like to dispute that claim, but after seeing him nearly have a heart attack with me even driving on straight roads I handed over the wheel and only drove for maybe an hour or so for the rest of our trip. That was fine with me and it gave me plenty of opportunities to snap as many pictures as I could. At the top of the hill we got an amazing view from a rocky outcropping of marble something apparently only repeated in Italy. Well we continued up and over the hill, with the view so amazing I was in awe. I kept reaching my hands out the window, snapping pictures of everything and anything. I swear I probably took 3,000-4,000 pictures the whole trip. Anyways, the road wound back and fourth like cursive writing, that is the only way I can explain it. Up, down, sharp left here, smooth right here, quick cut up then down. It was unbelievable. And still, cows and sheep on ever slope, in every imaginable place.

We finally got to the bottom of the hill and after driving quickly through the town headed out towards the beaches. If there is something else you must know about my brother, he LOVES dirt roads, and finding a dirt road with no visible end, well that’s a challenge. It must be driven; there is no other option. So we followed the main road for a bit, past some “Beware Penguin Crossing” signs, under a natural bridge of solid rock, winding along the coast until the road just ended. No signs, no nothing, it just stopped, and off to our right was a dirt road. Well, up the road we went, crawling slow up a hill, down another and through what seemed like thick forest. I tried to get him to turn back, nervous that we were wasting too much fuel but I should have realized. Soon enough we came to a stream ended up crossing it and finally found a fork in the road. 4km to one end, 3 to another. I told him to pick whichever and we headed right. He was off in search of his beach. I mean, the kid left during a blizzard, who am I to say he can’t spend Christmas on a beach. So, we continued on until BAM, we were in a small grassy field with about 5 other cars with one of the most gorgeous shallow lagoons I have ever seen. It looked to be about 2 miles out to see, but until then it was knee-deep water, with the tide quickly going out. We prepared a quick lunch, threw on our bathing suits and headed out. We saw a few boats but were quickly told they were private ones, brought in by the locals. We didn’t care, the sun was hot, the water was just right and we wanted an adventure, so we set off in search of the sea. A few hours later we finally got there, after fording a few channels and almost getting swept away. Alex even got to meet the locals. A maybe 6 foot wide sting ray cruised by him on its way out to sea, nearly scaring the color out of Alex as he went running in the other direction. “It’ll kill me,” he argued, referring to Steve Irwin. I told him nah, it’s just a little eagle ray, they are more afraid of the Orca than anything else, as long as you don’t try and cuddle with it you will be fine. Somehow I don’t think he seemed convinced.

Finally we were at the ocean, Alex went running into the water and I laughed and sat back and rested a bit. It was a gorgeous day, clear skies, warm (for NZ that is) water and I wasn’t stuck in front of a computer! How much better could it get. Before the tide turned we headed back, checking out a rock cave and some critters on our way. A few hours later we were back at gramps and decided to head out. On our way up the dirt road we stopped for a ‘shower’ in a cold-water stream before finding a hike around 9. Alex was amazed to see that sunset doesn’t come till at least 9, 9:30 so our hike was perfect timing. We cooked ourselves a little bit of dinner, threw it in a Tupperware and headed up the trail. We wound the waterfall, something hidden and gorgeous. Untouched by the standards of the States, but I’m sure all too common in NZ. We climbed off the beaten track and rock hopped to the other side, bringing dinner with us. I sat and ate while Alex swam and in the pools. Man it was colder than hell, but what did he care, it beats a blizzard. Also, it was a killer way to spend Christmas. After a few hours we headed back, drove to town looking for a place to park and ended up going back to a small beach on the outskirts of town. We washed up and hit the sack.

Early in the morning on Christmas day we got up, made some pancakes and watched as a local family headed off to the tennis courts with their seemingly new rackets. Grandma was not so happy to see backpackers in HER neighborhood so we packed as quick as we could and headed out. He continued south to Buller Gorge. It was raining again and the water had swelled the rivers and waterfalls. At Buller Gorge we stopped and walked across a swing bridge, the longest in NZ. Alex isn’t a fan as his engineering technical brain was running a million miles an hour on stress and mathematics and all that jazz. I have no idea how he does it, but I laughed and jumped a bit as he gripped the metal cable for dear life. We hit the coast at Punakaiki and got out to check out the pancake rocks. These rocks had been formed by volcanoes and were laid down in thin sheets of rock, looking exactly like huge stacks of pancakes. There were also some great waterspouts there and I tried to take a few pictures while dodging the huge waves that crashed up at us, nearly a story above sea level.

Back in the car we continued on to Hokitika, the greenstone capital of NZ. Greenstone is the same as jade, however it is the NZ version. The Maori revere it for its strength and beauty and first used it as knives and cutting tools, after which it became revered as jewelry. If you ask a Maori they will say that you never buy your own greenstone pendant, it is given to you. Pendants can be handed down for many generations, and only the whities are the ones that buy them in shops. Luckily for me all the shops were closed (I wanted to get myself some jewelry) and we continued south. After trying to find a few places to stay the night Alex continued on for the night while I slept in the back. We eventually pulled into a place outside of Franz Josef Glacier. The next morning Alex bragged that we drove by the most brilliantly colored streams he had ever seen, but I was too far asleep to be woken up. Unfortunately we woke up to a flat tire, poor gramps! After a quick (and I mean quick, the mosquitoes were back) tire change we were on the road and headed into town. We ended up finding out that tours ON the glacier were a few hundred dollars so we found a trail that took us through the glacier basin. Man, that was easily one of the most gorgeous things I have ever seen and we walked for at least a mile. It didn’t look like it standing on the outside of the basin, looking in. We walked to the base of the glacier and couldn’t proceed up due to the fact that you were only permitted up if you had heavy snow and ice gear including crampons (metal spikes you attach to your boots) an ice pick and an avalanche kit.

We headed back towards the car and went to the next town, Fox Glacier where we stopped for a few hours of internet and computering. Alex got some bad news from home, so the mood was dampened for a bit. We went to Fox Glacier where we saw a Kea, the world’s only alpine parrot. I made friends with him a bit, but as the glacier walk was closed due to heavy flooding and avalanches we didn’t stay long. We headed down to Queenstown and on the way I got a first hand view of those amazing Technicolor pools Alex was talking about. It literally looks like someone threw a ton of pale blue die in the water. What it actually is, is rock flour. The rocks are ground away by the water and the sediment is a cool blue color. This sediment is suspended in the water, with deeper water having more brilliant color. I noticed that in some spots, the water is even green, such as one bright green pool outside of Fox Glacier. It truly is wild. Some of the pictures I took looks like someone colored in the water with a marker, making it look fake, but nope, its 100% real.

Our road south led us past these amazing vast lakes. Alex at one point noted that when NZ does lakes, it does it right. Gorgeous with high mountains on one side, colored brightly blue by the rock flour. We continued on to Wanaka, a cool town where we got gas. It is a young town, located on the edge of a gorgeous lake filled with campers, hikers and a younger crowd. The way to Queenstown was a detour that we tried (but failed) to avoid, but it wasn’t all in vain. We ended up going past some landscape that Alex swears was in the Lord of the Rings movie. At one point we went through something called the Haast Pass, or the gates. It turned out to be an extremely narrow (and sometimes one lane) road that ran along a river. The pass or gates itself was a thin bridge over raging rapids. We got out so I could take some pictures. On our right was the river, and when we pulled over and got out of the car the river was 90 degrees to me right with a bridge directly in front of me by 30 or so feet. A small path led under the bridge and we followed that down and under the bridge to the side of the falls. Standing at the falls looking back towards the van there was a huge straight rock face that led down to the river. It was raining pretty hard, so the colors of the rock and plants were magnified by the grey light. It may sound pretty as I describe it, but it was absolutely gorgeous. Not your normal type of beauty either. There was something completely raw and wild about it. The harder it rained the more violent the falls became and I honestly could have stayed there all night.

As we continued we found another river, or maybe it was the same one. This was a river so old, that it cut maybe 2 stories straight down through solid rock, almost vertical on either side. The land on the other side of the river was steep rocky hill, with short thick grass and huge clumps of jagged boulders hanging out. On our side, the road wound gently along the rocks, following the river up as it flowed down. We passed some different landscape as well, dry burnt yellow grass, barren grasslands that looked like they hadn’t had rain in months.

We hit Queenstown be early evening. The city itself is gorgeous, located on the end of a lake; the streets flowed up and down small hills. Most of the heart of the city surrounded the waterfront, and a gorgeous series of shops and buildings went up and down cobbled brick streets. Also, I want to add that I myself find it hard to call it a city. It seems more like a large town to me, but by NZ standards, it is pretty big. Especially for the South Island. Like Wellington, it was stopped from expanding out by the mountains that surrounded the lake. Only the next day, after taking a gondola ride up above the building tops did I see how big (or small I should say) it really is. There is an airport, and a golf course, but nothing that would make it comparable in any way to Boston or some other big city in the States. There were no skyscrapers or headquarters or huge office buildings. The largest building I remember was the grocery store we hit up a few days later. I was bummed the weather wasn’t better, but I can honestly say that I could find myself spending a lot more time in Queenstown if I had the time. I almost thought about heading down after Alex left, to spend some time living and working in the city, but it would be a long drive by myself. As is, we left the northern tip of the South Island on Christmas eve and only two days later had we arrived.

Once in the city we drove around a bit then settled on staying at a Backpackers. A Backpackers is a motel of some sorts for young hitchhikers, campervanners and other travelers. Usually it is a small building with a series of rooms filled with bunks. Alex and I got a small room with two bunk beds. It was a small building, with our room and another room of 6 bunks downstairs in what seemed the basement. Upstairs were a few more doors that I assume held at least 2-8 bunks each as well as two groups of bathrooms, a living room and kitchen. It was still raining by the time we got in, so we changed, dried off a bit and then hunted ourselves a little Hell Pizza. Queenstown is the adventure adrenaline capital of the world, as they put it at least, so we had our hearts set on doing something stupid. I wanted to sky dive in the worst way, but with the weather my hopes were a bit fanciful. Alex wanted to bungee jump, something you can do rain snow or shine, so we got a few brochures and talked about it over dinner. At this point it was the 27th of December, so things were back open. It was raining like hell though; so most of our activities had to be indoors as Alex didn’t have a raincoat. Both of us were exhausted though, so after dinner we walked quickly to the edge of the lake then back to the backpackers where after a bit of internet we went right to bed.

The next morning was the 27th. I guess you can still say we were in campervan mode, as we got up early, showered, breakfasted and checked out before 9. We were on a mission to find some extreme sports, so we walked into town (about 5-10 min) and headed into the nearest i-site. The woman there didn’t seem to want to be at her job that early on the 27th but we were all soon laughing and joking. SOMEHOW, I am still not sure how it happened, but somehow we ended up purchasing two passes to bungee jumping. Ok, so this is my rationalization. I would rather jump out of a perfectly good airplane and do a tandem (two people) sky dive then a one-person jump from a perfectly good bridge attached to an overgrown hair elastic. What if the elastic breaks, what if it is too long, what if I get tangled in the rope, what if it hurts my back. All those things were going through my mind and although I tried to convince Alex to let me watch him instead we were scheduled for 11. Awesome. I think this was also around the time I lost feeling in my hands and toes.

To be fair the woman at the counter said that because of the weather no skydiving would be happening within the next few days. That’s fine, we will come back here on our way north, I argued. Then, she told us the price. Both of us could bungee for the price that one could skydive. Mmm, ok. But that still didn’t make me feel better and the counter lady rationalized that I would in fact survive, and though I may not fully enjoy it, per se, I would in fact be able to tell people that I have done it. So we headed back to the van to change, Alex giggling as I had a near nervous breakdown. We wandered town for a little while longer, but it was still raining and Alex was getting soaked. To get to the place where we bungee, we take a gondola (like on a ski mountain) up above the city. From there we walk down to the platform and leap to our deaths, I mean, to our enjoyment (?). I’m still not sure. So, we bought the gondola tickets and headed up. I was still shaking like a leaf and by this time Alex was starting to look a little paler. We walked around the lodge at the top of the gondola. A beautiful building, precariously sitting on the top of the hill with amazing views of both the lake and city. You could see all the way to The Remarkables, an amazing steep series of mountains on the other side of the lake. Alex wanted to get down to the bungee hut as soon as possible so I wandered the gift shop, mentally wrote my will and sat down for a while. They have a small luge track that surrounds the hill. I could see all shapes, ages and sorts of people doing it, racing down what they perceived to be a ‘fast’ slope. To me it seemed slow and cheesy, but that’s after rallying in the mini and visiting F1 back home. Also, I was at this point extremely cynical so I sat and glared at them, jealous that they didn’t have to jump.

I may seem like a grump but I was honestly freaking out. Even when I was younger, I couldn’t jump off bridges into water. Alex (and even our old german shepherd, Katrina) leapt off the Cohasset bridge with seemingly no fear while I stood back, unable to even look over the edge. I won’t say I was afraid of heights, but it certainly wasn’t my friend. So, this was my situation. Finally I got up guts enough to look down at the bungee area and say Alex staring back up at me, as if mentally willing me to robotically get up and walk down towards him. I caved. We checked in a few minutes later, with the girls at the counter laughing at my fear, promising I would survive as they had me sign waiver after waiver. They wrote my weight in huge letters on my hand and smiled big smiles when they told us that we were all set. Oh joy, oh fun.

So here is a little history about bungee. AJ Hacket, a crazy daredevil SOB decided he needed a little adrenaline kick one day, so he tied a bunch of long elastic cords together and leapt off the inside of the Eiffel tower. Thanks to the media, bungee was born. Over his career he has set up I think it is three other bungee locations in Queenstown, countless around the world and totally revolutionized and set the standard for bungee round the world. He has countless followers, millions of jumpers and seemingly endless supplies of adrenaline and guts to keep jumping, and inventing more crazy stunts as the years go on.

Well, after check in we walked down a plank towards the bungee ledge. In a little sheltered hut on the path we stopped and watched three other jumpers prepare. One guy, who I later found out, was a skydiver bungeeing for his first time did three creative perfect leaps from the platform. Backwards, forwards, flips, twists, he is what wanabe’s imagine when they think of bungee. I laughed a little nervous laugh and Alex next to me started to look as freaked out as I was. Also, I start to talk when I’m nervous. Like, endless amounts of babble about senseless things. So I started a conversation with an older couple next to me. Their 14 year old son was jumping they explained, and we watched as this young kid gave a weak smile and wave to his folks before jumping, screaming all the way to the bottom before recoiling back up towards the platform. He survived I said to myself, with a little chuckle being even more nervous. We walked to the ledge and had harnesses put on us by a really nice Canadian girl about my size. I told them Alex was going first, it was more of a statement then a question. He shrugged and more color drained from his face. A gorgeous chic next to me explained that it was her first time too, and a few minutes later I watched as she swan dove with perfect form backwards and forwards off the platform. First time my ass. Then, Alex was up.

They strapped him up tight, attached him to the bungee cord and had him say a few last words into the camera in his face. I talked non-stop in the background, I can’t even remember breathing actually. Well, that kid leaped, and man did he ever. Straight out, like a champ. When he hit the end of the coil, he bounced back like nothing. Only when he got to the top did I realize I had never in my life seen my brother that afraid. The package we bought gave us 3 jumps for $180. His second ‘jump’ was a backwards freefall. This bad ass tattooed chic grabbed the front of Alex’s harness, lowered him a few inches over the edge of the platform backwards and told him to stare at her as she dropped him, without even counting down. Even from where I was sitting I could see he was terrified. I think that is what scared me the most. If he had shown no fear, I would have been fine, but no. Not that day. So, they brought him back up again and he said he wouldn’t be able to do a third jump; he just couldn’t get himself to the edge again. My turn. They attached me to the bungee cord, explained what I had to do and then told me to do a running start, leaping straight out as far as I could go. I got to the edge, looked down and backed up. Just as I ran to the edge my legs gave out and I sort of crumpled over the edge. They took a few pictures and they were absolutely pitiful. Instantly my arms went up to the rope, grabbing on as if that would save me. My legs came up to my chest and the next thing I remember is screaming as I hit the bottom of the cord. Even now, sitting here writing this a few weeks in January I honestly cannot remember the fall. Alex meanwhile was filming the whole thing from the hut further up the path, laughing nervously as I screamed the whole way. Fun fact: people came up to me for the rest of the day, all around town saying ‘weren’t you the girl that bungeed today, the screaming one? Man, your so brave’. HA brave my ass.

Anyways, they pulled me up and said 'ready for round 2?'. This time they planned on dropping me backwards but I felt me knees go a little weak. I’ll run and jump I argued. Wrong again. I started the run, I really did. Looked straight out, didn’t think about the bottom. As I got to the ledge me legs locked up again. Straight solid muscle locked up and I stopped in my tracks. The tattooed chic tried explaining that the worst thing I can do is stop like that, she tried for a few minutes to count me down again and I nearly fell over. That was it for me, I was done. I bungee jumped but I can’t say I’ll ever do it again. I walked up to Alex, we walked over to the hut and he bought some pictures and a video of his jump. They handed us a t-shirt that I can proudly wear. After looking at the pictures I laughed for the rest of the day. I look like I fainted off the side of the platform in my pictures. My video was just a mass of brown hair screaming all the way to the bottom. Alex’s pictures weren’t any better. In all his close up shots he looks like someone killed his dog, or worse yet, someone stole his truck! He loves his truck. So yeah, we collected our souvenirs and headed down, relieved, laughing nervously thanking God that we were still alive.

At the bottom we decided to stay in the city for another night, so we booked the backpackers room again and looked for things to do. The rain was getting worse and not wanting to sit inside I found movie times and dragged Alex outside. We bought tickets for Tron (Amazing movie by the way. One I definitely want to see again) and wandered in and out of shops for a few hours. After the movie we headed to a much revered burger joint called Fergburger. Yup, it was worth the hype. The line was out the door, the tiny little hole of a ‘restaurant’ was packed to the brim with people on stools, eating standing up, all in the own little worlds eating their fergburgers. I got myself a plain fergburger. Aioli and other random toppings made it something I surprised myself by wolfing down. Alex, the human trash compacter was of course done before me, but MAN was it good. After dinner we wandered a bit more then headed back to the room where we did a bit of internet-ing I downloaded my pictures onto my computer and then we hit the sack.

The morning on the 28th we were up and out early, on our way to Te Anua, the last town before Milford sound. The ride was gorgeous, lakes, forests, crazy colored water. We tried to hike a spot called Lake Marion, but unfortunately a huge landslide and flooding had erased the trail. We continued on to another hike, called Key Summit. This was just what I was looking for. Straight up, through thick forest dropping us off at an unbelievable view. We could see for miles and miles, honestly. The only thing blocking the horizon were mountains in front of more mountains. We sat there for a while, my camera going a million miles an hour before heading down right before dark. We drove down towards the sound and took more pictures. The mountains were covered with snow, and a few had what looked like to be glaciers. The sky was a crazy blue color and I couldn’t get enough of the clouds and wind blowing at the snow up on the peaks. It was just gorgeous. We doubled back to a parking lot we saw at a beautiful over look, cleaned the van, made dinner and went to bed. The next morning we were up early and headed down into the sound itself. You have to drive through a one lane tunnel through the bottom of one of the mountains. NZ is known for its one lane roads and tunnels. It’s a smart idea really, use half the supplies and just build it one lane with a traffic light on the end. Some of the areas only allow one lane also. One spot we went through a few days ago was a one lane road that weaved under a mountain pass, next to a river. It was quite long, with a traffic light at both ends. Anyways, we went through Homer tunnel and stopped off at a place called the Chasm. The Chasm is a river that cut its way through soft rock over the millennia. The rock has been formed and carved over the years into a towering mass of tunnels, holes and crazy little nooks. As always, the water was a brilliant blue, making for a gorgeous little spot. After the short walk we continued on towards Milford Sound itself where we had booked a ship cruise around the water way. The view from just the parking lot was gorgeous. All the brochures of Milford sound show this one peak, Mitre Peak, surrounded by equally awe inspiring mountains set behind a smooth clear lake. Both of us thought that place would be hidden, somewhere you have to get by plane, or professionals only get the credentials to go out there. Well, actually, the parking lot was right on the edge of this view. I literally felt like I got out of the car, and stared face to face with a poster sized view of that brochure, it was amazing. We checked in and sat patiently while the booking building filled up with passengers and tourists from ever inch of the globe.

Asians, Europeans, a few Americans, Middle Easterners, Kiwi’s and Aussies alike. You can tell by the accent and type of people where they are from. Asians arrive in swarms, 30-40 at a time. Its not judgmental or racist, its just how it works. They all have 3 cameras each and take pictures of everything. Some even film the entire experience, from the look of the stalls in the bathroom, to the signs in different languages around the room to the boarding process on the boats. It’s really kind of entertaining. Then you have the Europeans. Most are German, with Brits and the Irish coming in second and third. The joke in NZ is that there must be no Germans left in the country, they are all here. It seems true. About 80% of tourists are German. Then you have the Middle Easterners who also come in large family groups, but are more quite and reserved. You see ( or should I say over hear their accents) very few Aussies and Kiwi’s, but they exist. Lastly you get Americans. If they are not young backpackers or young couples with a hiking stick and one year old child in the latest and greatest hiking gear then they are middle aged panicky housewives and their husbands. Like typical Americans they do not let things out of their sight for a second. A few I noted had fanny packs, something I thought had died out years ago. Guess not. Usually these American’s aren’t your typical South Shore, North Shore Americans. They are the brave few that leave the comforts of home to travel the world. You got to give ‘em credit, it’s a rare thing to see a travelling American, or so I am told.

Anyways, we waited inside, for going outside meant certain death by blood lose thanks to the black flies – tiny little no-see-ems that suck you dry before you even realize you have been bitten. Their bites itch for weeks, it’s horrible. One the boat we got a grand tour of the sound. I was amazed at the size. Literally, the mountains made these cruise ships look like pipsqueaks. The waterfalls coming from hanging valleys dwarfed sky scrapers. It was just gorgeous. The tour guide took us out tot the sea end of the sound where he made a detour. I noticed the change in route and when he came on the intercom saying ‘ladies and gentlemen we need to check something out’ I started jumping up and down, fin spotting already. Alex looked at me like I was crazy, but next thing you know I was literally shaking him, staring at a pod of tiny dusky dolphins bow riding and leaping in the air. I mean, they are smaller than the dorsal fin of an orca, but they are just so damned cute! Back in the sound, the tour guide showed ups a few waterfalls up close and personal, dousing a few unsuspecting Asian tourists that were too busy taking pictures. At the end of the tour we headed out of the sound. There were few hiking spots inside the end of the Homer tunnel, so we headed out to a spot we heard about a few days before. Gertrude valley as it was called was an awe inspiring hike that unfortunately we didn’t get to finish. At the dirt parking lot Alex took a nap as he was feeling like crap while I wandered around a bit. I decided to head off in search of the trail head where I found a lichen covered bridge, two feet under this gorgeous azure colored water. I remember Alex saying he wanted a swim, so I went back for him. We walked out again and decided to head back for our hiking gear. This time we tried to go around the bridge, as it meant getting wet, almost up to our knees. An hour later, we finally found a way around, found our selves the trail and headed up. This trail also took us through an old glacier valley, one that had long melted away though. We followed it for a while before Alex spotted people, tiny up high in the mountains. Some people coming down told us that it was at least 5 hours to go, but that the view was unbeatable. I guess the trail led straight up and over the mountain, the same mountain the Homer Tunnel was carved through. At the top, there were a few hanging valleys with lakes and water falls. In the background you could see all of Milford Sound, all the way out to sea. We wanted to do it so bad, but as I had forgot the water and we didn’t have enough warm clothes in case we got back around nightfall the only option was to turn around. I was really bummed out, and hope some day to go back and finish the trail.

Back at the base of the trail we gave in to the flood waters and ended up walking most of the way back in the streams that had overtaken the trails. It didn’t matter though, it was a gorgeous warm day, and at one point Alex even got himself a little lost and was up in over his head, literally. We hopped into gramps, had some food and continued on but had to turn back after a good half hour as I realized I had left my boots behind. It didn’t matter much, the sun was sitting low in the sky and the mountains looked gorgeous. We drove all the way out to Te Anau, where we checked out internet. Alex got some real bad news about school and ended up having to call up Air New Zealand to book himself a flight home. We ran around looking for room in a backpackers, but ended up lucking out. Alex booked his flight, we rerouted our travel plan and we headed north. We drove through the sunset and ended up sleeping at a pull off just south of Queenstown.

The next morning we hit up the grocery store first thing, got gas and continued north to Mt. Cook. As time was now real tight, we couldn’t go in and do any hikes, so we drove through to Lake Tekapo. We thought it would be a gorgeous spot for hiking and resting up, but it was way to touristy for our tastes. Gramps ended up having a mini heart attack and after some quick finagling, Alex found the fuel filter to be blocked. Like any good mechanic he got to work breathing life back into the little van and we settled in for lunch before hitting the road again. We stopped at a few tows on the way, got ourselves some ice cream before finding ourselves another bridge and river to camp at. I broke out my computer and we watched the first half of a movie before the battery died.

It was the 31st of Jan, and we were up and drove straight through to Kaikoura, a very long drive. We tried to go around Christchurch, a city more by the States standards, but ended up skirting it and getting into a little bit of traffic on the roads. Gramps still goes only 80 km so we tried to avoid major roads as much as possible as most speed limits were between 100 and 120. Just short of Kaikoura we pulled into a little beach was saw. The water of the ocean was almost identical to the different streams we had been seeing and both of our eyes bugged out of our heads. That’s my excuse anyways. Alex drop the poor little grampervan straight into a pebble pit. We were stuck for 3 solid hours. Digging, maneuvering. Finally after much fighting I walked down the road and flagged down a few guys in a truck. Thanks to a kind boater who lent me a tow rope, these guys pulled us out. It was now early afternoon, and we drove into town, bought supplies and food and headed back to the beach. It wasn’t a bad way to spend New Years, let me tell you that much. We sat on the beach until sundown, laying in the sun, napping. The beach was made up of grayish blue pebbles with a rare white pebble thrown in every few feet. I spent most of my time laying on the rocks, as they had absorbed the suns heat. It was just perfect. After spending most of the way digging in the endless rocks we just lay there for hours. At dinner time we headed to a more secluded spot where we made dinner, changed into warm clothes and sat on the beach talking till 930-10. Alex went to bed and I tried to stay up, but I was just so exhausted.

Early morning brought us into Kaikoura where we walked the local market and went to visit the local sea lion colony. There weren’t many seals out, except on that had sprawled himself along a board walk. He didn’t care much about people and just lay there, opening one eye now and again as some curious tourist got too close. The view from the top of a little hill we walked was gorgeous, and a sign post said that on a good day you could see the north island from there. It was foggy out at sea, but the area was just beautiful as is. We hit the road, headed north and found ourselves another seal colony. We noticed the tire was low on air and decided to fill up at the next town. I think it was maybe 5 hours later we finally found a town with an air fill. We were in Blenheim, an odd town, with huge wide roads filled to the brim with shops. Almost everything was closed, but Alex got himself a book and we found a park and sat reading for a few hours. Early evening came and we headed north to Nelson, where we would pick up the ferry to the north island. This was another late night ferry, but we were prepared and brought pillows and warm clothes. No one was on this ferry. Holidays in NZ last from 2 days before Christmas until Jan 10th. People were still on vacation.

The early morning of the 2nd brought us into Wellington, and on our way north we stopped on the side of the road for breakfast. We decided to hit up Tongariro National park again, as it was rainy last time we went through. This time we booked a campsite for one night and planned ourselves a hike over Mt. Tongariro, the mountain portrayed as Mt. Doom in the Lord of the Rings movies. We got to our campsite, both of us having ridiculously long warm showers and we made dinner and finished the movie from the other day. We were asleep pretty early and up even earlier for the hike. The hike is 6 hours one way and because of that, local charter companies offer to pick you up at your campsite, drive you there, and pick you up when you are done. Not bad I argued.

I ended up sleeping the night in the tent as it was decently warm out. We got up, packed plenty of water, snacks, lunch and gear and waited for the bus. I was getting nervous about the day because Alex had a killer migraine. The shuttle bus dropped us off at the base of the trail, and after double checking gear and taking a sip of water, we headed up. The base of the walk was pretty rocky. A dirt path had been cut through shrub brush by walkers over the years, but soon it opened up to mossy swamp land with a board walk at this place called Soda Springs. I kept stopping to take pictures as the volcanoes loomed in the distance. Next up was more rock, but this time it involved a little bit of climbing as the trail got steeper. Soon enough the angle of the trail had increased dramatically and we were really moving. The trail opened up real wide again and we were now on volcanic rock, a dark reddish black. This part of the trail was extremely steep and we stopped every few minutes for a breather. Honestly, the trail couldn’t have been steeper if we were climbing a flight of stairs. At the top of this part we came to high plains which seemed as if it were a lake bed all dried up. Alex told me that in the Lord of the Rings movie, this is where the Ork Camp was based. The walking here as flat for a while, but soon we were climbing another pass, up and over what seemed like a massively huge pile of rock and rubble.

Looking down from this part I got my first glimpse of the famous Emerald lakes. I thought that the color of streams around the South Island was something. These three lakes put the rest of water ways to shame! Two of the lakes were cloudy green sulfurous pools while a third seemed to be colored more by the rock flour than the sulfur. The color was unbelievable. Once again, it seemed as if a kid had spilled huge amounts of dye into the water. The walk down was extremely steep and treacherous. The ‘path’ was more of the giant rubble pile like before. If you didn’t watch your step you could slip all the way down, cutting open your knees. On our right was the scar of a ripped open volcano, jagged and red against the green hills in the background

We stopped at the third lake I mentioned, the least sulfurous one. I could see all the way down to the bottom, except where the water got deep. Then the rock flour did its job and changed the color. The smell and puffs of sulfur were strong and thick filling the air. However, it wasn’t an awful smell. It just lingered around us. We wanted to do lunch, but neither of us were hungry, so we emptied the rocks and san out of our boots, rested for a bit then continued on.

The next hill we climbed was extremely steep, rocky and sandy. All in one. It brought us up to another lake, called Blue lake. The color of this one I think was mainly due to the rock flour. Up and over another hill after the lake. This time people were stopping left and right. The climb was getting to be too much, but after that hill it was all down hill, literally. We got to talking as we walked down through rocks, low shrubs and eventually trees. At one point there was a hut where we stopped and filled up on our water. We came to a sign that explained about another sulfurous area. This time the water was grey with sulfur and rock flour. The hill was filled with clumps of yellow sulfur. It was actually quite pretty, in a crazy wild sort of manner. Our feet were starting to hurt at this point, it had been at least 4-5 hours since we got dropped off. The trees started to get thicker, and we came up to a stream that got wider as we followed the path down. Another half hour and we found ourselves at the bottom, walking towards a large lean-to. About a handful of people were resting, sprawled out on the ground after the long trek. Alex and I joined them. The shuttle to pick us up didn’t until 3 and it was only 1:30. It seemed like it was only five minutes before the bus arrived. The AC inside the cabin was amazing after such a long hot day. Back at the camp we did our laundry, showered, rested and had some dinner.

The morning of the 4th I woke up after an amazing night’s sleep, It must have been all that climbing. We both showered, had a big breakfast and then cleaned up and hit the road. Just out of Tongariro we stopped at Lake Rotopounamou (pounamou is the Maori word for greenstone). Both of us grabbed our books and a towel and we walked what the brochure said was a leisurely gradual slope up towards the lakes. I guess you cold call it gradual after yesterday, but man that was one steep trail. The lake was work it though, and we found ourselves a nice little beach with large grains of black grey sand and crystal clear water. We sat down and read our books for a few hours before the number of curious tourists got to us. It seemed as if we were almost as interesting as the lake itself and just about everyone would say ‘Oh, people! Hmm, what are you doing? Why are you hear? Wow, what a gorgeous spot!’ Before staring, watching us a bit more and heading out. Just so strange. The road brought us to Lake Taupo where we found ourselves another beach. By the ended of the day both of us had killer sunburns. I had gone snorkeling at one point and was surprised to see tons of little fish hanging out close to shore. The area is still volcanic, so the beach and lake bottom was littered with little chunks of pumice. There was even huge amounts of pumice floating on the surface. Just something I never expected to see, but really cool.

We went into the town of Taupo, following the lake north. It really is a gorgeous lake, huge, flat calm with high mountain peaks on the other side. Town brought stores, shops, restaurants and café’s. We got us some more Hell Pizza and sat in the park enjoying the weather. We spent another few hours walking, deciding on ice cream. We lucked out and went to the grocery store after finding all the shops closed. There we got food, ice cream and some other munchies. In the parking lot gramps refused to start. Something that was becoming all too common. Also, his tire was going low again. We pushed him into a parking spot, after which we finally got him going. I handed off our ice cream to a dad that had a car full of kids as we had bought a pack of six little ice creams. You could see the kids were real excited and it made me smile. We got lost as the signs didn’t point north or south, or any direction actually, but just towards more towns. Finally, we found the right road and ended up stopping somewhere for a new tire. The guys at the shop were real nice and we chatted a bit before heading up towards Auckland. We ended up pulling off of the highway, tucked behind a small hill. The car was hot, the outside was full of bugs and it was a long night.

The afternoon of the 5th however Alex was flying out, so we were up early and hit up a bookstore before I dropped him off at the airport a few hours early. After calling Ingrid to let her know I was on my way north I hit the road. It was kind of surreal, and even though I enjoyed being up in Tutukaka I can definitely say I was ready for a change. But, north I drove, and 5pm brought my into the driveway of the house. Ingrid and I chatted a bit as I unpacked, had some dinner and went to bed early.

The morning of the 6th I had trouble getting up early, but got ready and was in the office straightaway. I can’t say I was shocked, but I can certainly say I was surprised that we got a call for orca maybe an hour later. The night before I went right to bed without packing my gear, so I was running around like a mad fool getting thing ready. We were down the driveway a few minutes later, heading up north. The harbor we left out of was already filled with boats and we had a bunch of people waiting for us to arrive. They pointed us the way and luckily for us the animals were visible from the parking lot. We followed them as they hunted in the shallows for a while. As they got into deeper water, they came around towards a shallow part in the water between two islands. You could see that it was a route they were all comfortable with, but the tide was too shallow for them to go over it. They tried, and five minutes later as I freaked out and Ingrid snapped pictures, all 9 animals we were following got stuck. They knew what they were doing and as they wriggled and threw their tails around the current pushed them off and backwards into the deeper waters. The followed the deep water out around the outside of the islands but at the other side they just couldn’t forget about that shallow bit and a few of them tried to go over it again. We continued on with a few others for a while and surprisingly the water was filled man of war jelly-fish. It threw me for a loop. They were bright colors, red and blue. I have never seen them before so I don’t know what I was expecting but the sail was about the size of a dollar bill, with the tentacles just hanging low in the water behind it. It was starting to get dark and we had a long drive before us so we turned in for the night. We ended up talking to some locals for a bit, chatting about orca, marine life in general and the area.

On our ride back that night we realized we had left the bungs in the parking lot while we were talking. That meant an early morning the next day, driving into town to get some more. After a few hours of errands and running around doing anything and everything we were on our way back to Tutukaka. Just as we hit town the phone rang with more orca in the Bay of Islands. Tammy, a friend of Ingrid’s from Papa New Guinea was in town and she met us at the house to come out. The had worked together on the orca there and Tammy had never seen the NZ orca, so this was quite a treat for her. First we saw three animals, barely staying up for more than a few seconds before surfacing and disappearing for minutes. After a few calls we heard that there were more animals in other parts of the bay, and as the animals we were currently with weren’t socializing we moved on for a bit. We found a few boats with people from Tutukaka and chatted for a while before getting confirmation of some animals that were feeding in the shallows close to shore. We found old friends of ours, Flean and her calf and about 6 or 7 others. At one point Flean’s calf (who is actually a younger adult more than a calf) got herself wedged on a beach. Ingrid didn’t hesitate for a second and leapt off the boat and waded in hip deep water towards the animal. It was just waiting patiently

The next few days I spent in the office, entering data. John came down on the 10th and worked on papers with Ingrid for a few hours. On the 12th we got a call about a dead dolphin however we had already promised Mr. Cows that we would help him shear the neighbors sheep. We weren’t able get any info on the dolphin, so we spent the morning helping to corral the animals into a pen. We then moved them with a few vehicles and watched as a shearer gave them a pretty good haircut. Not until late the next afternoon did we get out of the office. Finally someone had found the dolphin, but it had been reported as an adult wrapped in a net. We rushed down to Whangarei heads where we found about 6 to 7 animals, with the dead animal in the outskirts of the group. The sight was pretty bad. Now we understood why people thought it was an animal wrapped in a net. A presumed mother was carrying what looked to be a blanket. It turned out the corpse of her dead calf. You could still see that it had its fins and it’s face but the rest of it was just a pile of blubber. Just like the animal in Australia, this mother just couldn’t release her baby. It didn’t matter that there was nothing left of her calf, it was still hers. We followed for two hours, trying to get some samples to determine whether or not it was in fact hers, however she wouldn’t let us close enough. Also, we didn’t want to stress her anymore than she already was by trying to force it from her. Dusk came and we left, stopping at a few boats in the area to explain the situation before turning in for the night.

The 15th through the 17th we had Ingrid’s friend, Louie visiting. He is a small little French guy who works with Ingrid on cruise ships around the country. The first night he was here we made dinner for him, while the second night he took us out to a local restaurant. The 18th and 19th was a flurry of late nights, hectic schedules and crazy days while Ingrid prepared to leave for a few weeks. On the 20th I drove down to Whangarei in the little red car while she drove the blue truck with boat. She was off on a trip around the country for a few weeks and the boat was going in for maintenance. I’ve spent the past few days cleaning, working on computer stuff, holding down the fort. It’s been a crazy few weeks and I am thoroughly exhausted, so the time to myself has been real nice. The weather has been crappy for the past few days and right now I’m sitting on the couch listening to rain that’s louder than the movie I have playing on tv. It’s early Sunday evening and has been raining since Thursday. The weather is supposed to let up on Tuesday, but who knows. Predicting the weather here is like predicting weather back home. Basically impossible. Hopefully I’ll get myself some sun and warm days for the rest of my stay. As for now I have to get back to work, so I’ll write more on my trip back home. Hope you’re is using my stories to keep you warm during the snow, talk to you soon ☺

Advertisement



Tot: 0.12s; Tpl: 0.02s; cc: 8; qc: 56; dbt: 0.0679s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.3mb