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Published: April 4th 2012
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Walking has never felt so good after stepping off the plane fourteen hours later. Whew...I survived my longest flight and longest journey away from home...well, for now. I was grateful to see a familiar face as my friend from college, Scott picked me up at the Auckland airport. We hit the grocery store for some camping essentials and drove straight up the Coromandel Peninsula for two nights of camping at the northernmost tip. We both agreed that this would be the place to come with your family and thoroughly enjoyed watching children that were not our own discover the ocean for the first time--delighted to dig their shovels in the sand, screaming as the water rose up to wash away their sand castle...only to start it over again with the same enthusiasm.
On my third day in New Zealand I met up with my new friend Sandra. Sandra and I met online through the WOOfing website which stands for World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. We met for coffee on my last day in Berkeley with Backroads and discovered we had similar dates for traveling and ideas for what we would like to see and do while in NZ.
I will never forget our first day driving together---prepping and pumping each other up for all the opposites of driving in New Zealand, and we were ready to go, only to discover we could not leave the rental car parking lot with a stick shift. Oops! Or there was the time we jumped in Blue Lake, shivering with delight and trying to stay afloat through the laughter at what horrible swimmers we both are. Together we covered a lot of ground in 6 days---the geothermal pools of Rotorua, Lake Taupo, a cave dive in the Waitomo Caves, hiking the Tongariro Crossing, Wellington and the Te Papa Museum, and finally a ferry ride to the South Island. We said our goodbyes and parted ways in Nelson---Sandra squeezing in the West Coast in her last week abroad, and me deciding to put on the ole' backpack.
I set out to backpack the Heaphy Track and the Abel Tasman track, covering 120 km in 6 days. I stayed at huts along the way, which probably kept me sane after talking with myself all day, every day. I met families, couples, other solo travelers and a wonderful woman named Liz Meade. I met
Liz after stopping to ask if she and her friend Tate wanted their photo taken together. Liz also lives in Denver and works for an inspiring organization called Phoenix Multisport, a supportive and physically active community for individuals who are recovering from alcohol and substance abuse and those who choose to live a sober life. I have seen Liz in action after taking her fun and grueling kettle ball class and hope to fit in a bike ride or two with her before leaving Denver.
Next enter Klaus--- Klaus and I were both tired, hungry and dirty as all get out when we first met at the Nelson bus stop. It turns out we were staying at the same hostel and after a shower and some laundry, we hardly recognized one another at dinner that night. The next day we had a great time strolling the Nelson Farmers Market and cooking a delicious meal together before planning to keep in touch and hopefully reconnect at some point along the West Coast. Luckily our paths crossed in Franz Josef and we had a blast of a night playing cards with a great group of new friends.
I met Guido
at a hostel in Marahau and we agreed to share the costs of a rental car and petrol, as well as some company! Overall, I think Guido enjoyed me but was a little shocked by my everlasting excitement, amazement and utter awe of the Southern Alps---as he drove along my head was out the window like a dog, sniffing and smiling the whole way to Wanaka. On the days we went hiking around Franz Josef Glacier, Lake Matheson and Fox Glacier, Guido threatened to put a leash on me unless I slowed down and "walked like a normal person." I told him it's not my fault I walk so fast---it was the only way to keep up with my Dad as a little girl. After a hard earned hike in Queenstown, we chomped down on New Zealand's famous Fergburger with our friend Marc from the Netherlands. It was an overcast drive from Queenstown further south to Te Anua, but we were lucky the weather cleared just in time for a cruise in Milford Sound. The fiords were every bit as impressive and grandiose as I imagined they'd be. Hard to explain and hard to capture in a photograph.
The
following day Guido drove me to the bus stop so I could catch a bus to Dunedin before continuing up the east coast to Kaikoura. I was every bit as excited to swim with the dusky dolphins as I had been when I booked my ticket in Queenstown---my heart raced faster and my whole body had goosebumps at the thought of swimming alongside dolphins. To get the dolphins to swim in circles around you we were instructed to use our snorkel as a musical instrument, humming music and making strange kazoo noises through the breathing tube. I wish I had video footage of this because it worked, yet I can only imagine how silly we must have looked AND sounded to the viewers on board the boat. Playful, friendly, intelligent, and social, the Dolphin's long held reputation and popularity spoke for itself. Infusing life with life.
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