NZ - Kaikoura to Auckland

On our way from Brian’s place in Dunedin to his previous home of Kaikoura about 10 hours north, we stopped at the remarkable Mouraki boulders.   On a random stretch of beach, right off the main road, these distinctly round and large boulders are found relatively clustered together.  I did not understand the fuss until we walked onto the beach and saw them in the distance.  They are huge and out of place and very round.  There is apparently nothing like them anywhere else, and believe me when I tell you that being there leaves little doubt that aliens were involved! We only spent about 20 minutes there but it really made my day.

Kaikoura is mainly known for whale and dolphin watching so obviously that was on the top of our list.  Unfortunately, the weather was not on our side and our whale watching cruise was cancelled due to wind.  So, went to the seal colony where we got closer than ever to Kaikoura’s very relaxed seals, and we also sampled their famous crayfish. We tried to check out the night life, but as usual it was a bit weak – we managed to find the only place with live music and a pool table and met a couple other travelers but the music was awful and we barely made it past midnight. On a whim we had booked a whale watching charter flight for the next morning before we had to leave to catch our ferry back to the north island.  The cost was the same, but it was more of a gamble because the cruises refund 80% of the fee if you don’t see any whales, but the flight company does not. However, it was our only chance because we had to drive 2 hours to catch the ferry and the cruise didn’t return until too late.  Apparently, it is great to see them from above because you see much more of them (as opposed to just a tail), but sadly, no whales wanted to come out and play during the 40 minutes we were in the air.  Thus, we left Kaikoura a bit a sad and disappointed.  The good news is that it was an absolutely beautiful drive from Kaikoura to Picton after our failed attempt at seeing whales. Most of it was right along the coast and we reached the ferry with less than 5 minutes to spare!

Instead of staying in Wellington again after we crossed over, we decided to make some progress on getting farther north and drove to Palmerston North. It was a decent size college town with a young vibe and lots of cafes and coffee shops. We probably would have stayed longer if time wasn’t tight to get to Auckland (we booked a sailing certification course!!!) so we drove toward Taupo/Rotarua where we planned to spend 2 nights exploring the thermal area and possibly go sky diving. This area is known for the many lakes and all the geothermal activity.  It is a little bit stinky of sulfur and a bit touristy, but we did finally find a motel that had free internet!  We took a day trip to the Orakei Korako Cave and Thermal Park in The Hidden Valley because we had heard it was off the beaten track.  On the way there we stopped to get pies and coffee to eat in the car. For those of you who don’t know, pies in NZ are savory pastries made of a flaky dough and filled with stuff like mince or steak and cheese (again good thing I started eating meat).  So, Raj and I each had a mince pie in the car on our way to the place when we rounded a bend and found a car stopped in the middle of the road.  It quickly became apparent that the reason the car was stopped was because there was a herd of cows taking up the road ahead as they were being to a new place.  I had already devoured my pie, but poor Raj was only half way through because they are bit messy to eat while driving.  Needless to say that Raj felt it was quite wrong to finish his mince meat pie as an entire herd of cows was 2 ft from our car.  Anyway, Orakei Korako was pretty nice – it had geysers, boiling mud pools and a great cave and many other nice examples of a geothermal area with the exception of a hot pool.  We particularly enjoyed watching the boiling mud :)

While in Rotarua we also decided to check out a Maori Culture show and dinner.  Although we normally avoid such touristy displays, we had heard very good things about it and wanted to learn more about traditional Maori culture (the indigenous people of NZ).  There were many to choose from and we again tried to choose one that seemed less popular in hopes that it would be more authentic.  Unfortunately, it turned out to be the worst night in New Zealand!  To begin with, they insisted that they pick us up on the company bus rather than allow us to drive ourselves because supposedly the “entertainment” began on the bus and they didn’t want us to miss out (we should have cancelled right then and there).  To keep a dreadful story short and locked away in my deep dark scary place, let me just say that it was absolutely everything we feared it would be, complete with tourists singing their national anthems with a microphone on the way back to our hotels.  The ONLY good thing was the buffet style traditional hangi meal the demonstration about how the food was cooked underground in the Polynesian way. 

On our way to Auckland, we decided to take one day/night and drive through the beautiful Coramadel Peninsula.  We continued to outrun incoming bad weather, had one of our best meals in NZ and saw more beautiful places, but we were also getting really excited about our sailing course and anxious to get to Auckland.   We were supposed to have two days before hopping on our ship for the sailing certification.  We took advantage of being in a city and got massages and manicures as well as seeing a movie for the first  time in quite some time (Wolverine).  We checked out the fantastic marinas, after all, Auckland is called the City of Sails, and saw the most spectacular yachts!  We kept hearing that the weather was supposed to get bad, but we didn’t hear from our sailing instructor so we figured we’d be outrunning it.  Unfortunately, as we were all packed up and about to check out of our hotel to go to the harbor, we got a message that she had to cancel our trip.  We were crushed but also figured it wouldn’t be much of a vacation to be on the water in a cold yucky storm when we didn’t even know what we were doing.  We regrouped and found a new hotel and settled into a very relaxing couple of days.  By the end of the week we had seen three movies (including Star Trek on IMAX – Awesome) and treated ourselves to a spa day  with facials, body scrubs and massages– gotta love strong exchange rates!  Frustratingly, the weather was fine for the most part with a few rain showers coming through each day, but ultimately, nothing a girl from Seattle and a guy from London couldn’t have handled :(  Oh well, can’t win them all…. but we are now wondering if we are destined to be sailors after all.

NZ – Q’town to The Catlins

I was really excited to visit Queenstown because Raj has told me so much about his 6+ months living there when he was in NZ for about a year in 1999.  He was a bit nervous to return and see how much it has changed because much of the Lord of the Rings trilogy was filmed in the surrounding area and the tourism rates have skyrocketed in the last decade.    We planned on staying 3 nights there so that we could experience the nightlife and have time to sample some of the adrenalin-junkie activities, as well as take a day trip to Milford Sound (fiord lands).  When we arrived it was a beautiful sunny day so we parked the car by the lake and wandered around for a while.  Raj reminisced about various spots he used to hang out and grieved a bit to find that several places were gone.  After checking out various motels we found a place that was offering a 70% discount for their penthouse studio unit so we scored a great place overlooking the lake and only a block for the town. (view from our room the right)

Unfortunately, by this time Raj was feeling pretty sick as I had given him my cold (again, not swine flu), so we took advantage of how nice the apartment was and stayed in a good part of the first couple of days and ventured out only to explore the town a bit. Raj decided it was about time for him to get a haircut and sadly that was our biggest adventure for the first 2 days (pathetic considering we were staying in the place where bungy jumping was invented).  On our 3rd day there we booked a full day bus tour to Milford Sound, which was 4 hours away so we preferred someone else to do the driving.  It left early in the morning and stopped several times on the way there to give us the chance to get out of the bus and take pictures. We went through the town of Te Anua, saw some nice wildlife, saw the Mirror Lakes and got a good sense of the history of the area as well.  It was nice to just sit back and relax and for both of us to be able to look out the window. We were also lucky that the bus was only about a third full.  When we arrived at Milford we boarded a cruise ship that held approximately 200 people for the 1.5 hours cruise.  It was a dry yet cold day but that didn’t stop us from rushing to the front of the ship in hopes of seeing dolphins and having good views of the many waterfalls we passed along the way and the famous Mitre Peak. Sadly, we did not see any dolphins and later heard that it is much less common to have them playing in the wake than it used to be. The waterfalls were lovely though and we got close enough for the mist to get us wet and to put the camera away!  It was Raj’s favorite day in NZ so far.

We decided to extend our stay in Q’town by one more night so that we could book at least one adventure activity. There were so many to choose from: bungy, sky diving, 4wd safaris, jet-boating, LOTR (lord of the rings) safaris, hang-gliding, parasailing, etc.; the options went on and on.  In the end, we decided on a Jet-boat ride through the canyons.  The drive there was in a large van and stopped several times to point out LOTR filming sites such as where Helm’s Deep was filmed. The drive also took us through a terrifying section of gravel road on a cliff face that was at times so narrow and steep that when looking out the window we could not see the road to be sure the tire would  be on land and instead saw straight down into the canyon. After seeing washed out roads throughout our drive, this was a less than pleasant adrenaline rush in my opinion; Raj, however, thought my horror was hilarious (he was not the one sitting by the window).  Ultimately, the drive was more entertaining than the jet boating. We had expected to be scared and screaming from doing 360 degree turns at high speed and with the canyon walls quite close, but it just didn’t do the trick :(

Next we headed to Dunedin on the SE coast of the south island to visit my old friend Brian.  We were thrilled to discover that he lives right on a beautiful beach where you see as many dogs and horses as people, if you see anything at all!  When we arrived, Brian and his girlfriend Eleanor took us to one of their favorite spots on the Otago peninsula to see penguins and sea lions and timed it perfectly for us see a lovely sunset as well. We then got quite a workout as we climbed back up the extremely steep dunes with very soft sand that we sank deeply into with each step.  The rest of stay with Brian offered us so more much needed R&R and the opportunity to cook a meal; may seem strange but I was really excited to have use of a full kitchen after over 6 weeks of eating out and the occasional motel kitchenette.

We decided to take a couple of days to explore The Catlins which are about 2 hours south of Dunedin.  Since we were  missing horseback riding we did some research and found a great place that offered full day horseback riding at their Organic Farm (we would call it a ranch as they farmed cattle and sheep).  For about six hours we saw beautiful sites, galloped in fields and on beaches with sea lions, and learned info on farming.  We also got to enjoy watching their litter of six puppies play with each other and with the horses. Then we drove to Curio Bay for the sunset and stayed at a motel where we had views of the ocean from our bed! Not a bad day, huh? Unfortunately, the next day the weather was cold and rainy so we decided to try and outrun the rain in order to see some waterfalls and caves.  We successfully saw three great waterfalls and due to the threatening weather had them all to ourselves and even lucked out with the rain stopping while we were there, but the cathedral caves were closed due to the bad weather.

Brian recommended we head to Kaikoura next as he used to live there studying whales and knew we’d enjoy the abundant sea life.   So, we took his advice and headed north along the coast so that we could stop for a couple of nights there before catching the ferry back to the north island. 

Quick notes on NZ in compared to South America:  The main similarity between South America and NZ is the complete abundance of spectacular scenery! Everywhere we go has something fantastic whether it is the colors of the trees, spectacular coastline, wildlife, green pastures, mountains and forests, or more unusual spots like glaciers or caves.  Everything is so beautiful and there is so much to see! However, the main difference is a seeming lack of culture here.  Perhaps it is just that it is similar to the UK in many ways that it doesn’t strike us as distinct but we miss the obvious differences we experienced in Chile and Argentina (as well as the nightlife because there is nothing going on anywhere here) and the sense of adventure it brought to our travels.

Week 1 in NZ!

It’s been a bit of an adjustment to switch gears from South America to New Zealand.  To begin with there is a 16 hour time difference, but also, the pace is different, the language is different (it’s really nice to speak English again, but for the first few days,  I still answered questions with “Si!”) and we had to remember that most of the world actually eats dinner before midnight! We arrived in Auckland at 4 am on a Tuesday (actually completely lost the Monday following Easter due to time change and travel) and picked up our rental car around sunrise.  Our “Silver Surfer” is a Subaru Outback 4WD with plenty of room for our bags but with one tiny problem – the driver’s side is on the right and they drive on the wrong side of the road! Ha! Okay, it was only a problem for the first few minutes each of drove. Raj adjusted faster than I did of course since he learned that way, but it was a first for me.  Not as hard as I expected but it took me a few days to get comfortable with roundabouts and to stop squealing every time we approached one. 

Instead of staying in Auckland, we decided to save it for the end of our month, so we began driving southwest so that we could get to the coast before we ran out of steam and find a place to stay.  After several hours of challenging the 4WD capacity of our Silver Surfer on windy, gravel roads, seeing our first NZ waterfall and exploring the beautiful coast, we made it to a town called Waitomo which is famous for its extensive network of caves.  We decided to stay at a nice B & B for our first night because I had a horrible cold (not pig flu) and combined with jetlag, was feeling simply awful. So we checked in around 3, showered and fell asleep around 4. We didn’t wake up again until 6 the next morning! Considering we had been partying in BA until 6 in the morning, I suppose our bodies needed a bit more rest!  So, we checked out and headed to our first NZ adventure – The Glowworm Cave and another cave with a Maori name meaning Two Dogs.

We continued south quickly, stopping often to take in the crashing waves on the coast or the autumn colors, because we wanted to get travel the south island first as winter is approaching rapidly here. We only stayed a night in each place, but we have seen quite a lot. In an effort not to bore you, here is a condensed version of what we did and saw:

Wellington – on the south end of the north island. It is a big city by NZ standards but very pedestrian friendly. We didn’t do much besides go for walks, have a few drinks and check out the marina. The next morning we to the ferry across the strait to the south island.

Nelson – we arrived after dark and got lucky with great place to stay. In the morning we walked around the cute downtown area and strolled through their weekend market that had a very bohemian feel. Then we drove to Abel Tasman, a National Park and explored for a few hours.  We could have spent more time there but were feeling pressure to cut over to the west side of the south island to begin working our way down to Queenstown.

Cape Foulwind was fantastic. It is barely on the map but such an amazing find.  We checked into one of the two motels about 10 minutes before sundown and ran down the one block to the beach. Once there we found a fantastic blowhole and we had a blast timing the surf so we could play on the rocks.  It was absolutely stunning. Then we went to the only tavern and made friends with Derek, the bartender, who in turn introduced to us the rest of the patrons.  We had a great time closing the place down chatting with Derek and a couple of his close friends.  In the morning we went for a long walk by the lighthouse and down to a secluded and fantastic surf.   We could have spent days exploring, watching seals, or simply gazing at the waves break on the rocks.

Franz Josef Glacier – we had a good time in Franz Josef, although it has become a touristy little town. In an effort to get away from the biggest crowds and to get our adrenaline pumping, we chose the heli-hike and had good fun on a short helicopter ride that landed high up on the glacier.  We then locked on crampons and spent about 2 hours with a guide and several other tourists exploring the glacier and ice-caves! Sometimes we could walk through a cave, sometimes we had to crouch way down, and other times we had to climb our way back out!  It wasn’t nearly as cold as you would expect and the crampons help you feel secure as you walk on ice.

Wanaka – on our way to Queenstown we stopped in this picturesque town on Lake Wanaka and overlooking the Eyre Mountains. Though a bustling ski village in the winter, we enjoyed the peace and quiet of the beautiful autumn.

It’s been absolutely beautiful to simply drive through this country.  The roads are incredibly windy and often take you through mountain passes and close to the coast.  In a single day we pass , forests, spectacular coastlines, wineries, single-lane bridges, horse pastures, tiny towns and thousands of sheep. There is no better way to see this place, but we still feel that there is so much more to see and we wish we could stay in each place longer.

Sorry we are bit behind on our blogs!  Will post another soon to let you know how Queenstown, Milford Sound, Dunedin and The Catlins were!  Miss you all!