N-E-W-Z-E-A-L-A-N-D in pictures : the second 'A'

This is the last letter. I had a hard time with this one. Not so much finding a 'A', but rather finding one that encapsulated the country in some form. In New Zealand there seems to be a bit of a contest to see who has the best mailbox. They come in every shape, size and material. This is a picture of one of the more 'normal' mail boxes, but I have also attached a picture of the two mailboxes beside this one. I just want to know how you get your mail out of the VCR?

n-E-W-Z-E-A-L-A-N-D in pictures : the second 'N' and 'D'

Well, since we are almost at the end of our trip, I need to complete the word picture. Unfortunately, I have been stumped to find a great 'A' yet. So in it absence here is the last N. It was taken at a vineyard in the northern part of the south island.

This is also the D, taken of one of the many clouds we have seen, this one more pleasant than many, in Queenstown. I promise an 'A' shortly:)

My Body Hurts

Why does my body hurt you ask (or maybe you didn’t but try to play along)? Let’s turn the page back two days.

Greg and I had driven to Te Anau, the stopping off point for Milford Sound. Despite the name, Milford Sound is actually a 16 km long Fjord which connects to the Tasman Sea. It is a world heritage site and the most visited tourist attraction in New Zealand.

There are many ways to explore the Sound, an airplane, helicopter or most popular of all, via a cruise. What did we settle on? Kayaking the entire length of the Fjord plus 4km into the Tasman Sea with, of course, a start time of 6am. Have we ever kayaked before? No. Do I have the trapezoids of a well-seasoned paddler? Don’t get me wrong, they are nice, but not 20 km kayak nice. This is again where I would probably parallel having eyes too big for our stomachs.

In my opinion, kayaking is the best way to explore the Fjord. It is so serene and you have the time to really absorb the beauty that surrounds you. The sights were too many to talk about, but I should list a few:

1.     Mitre Peak: the world’s second highest mountain out of water.

2.     Fur seals strewn about lazily on the surrounding rocks, one of which playfully swam under our kayak.

3.     Various waterfalls that cascaded over the surrounding mountains, including one that we were able to paddle almost directly underneath.

4.     A large water bird that just so happened to catch a fish as we passed by. It wrestled it for a few seconds before finally engulfing it whole, where you could still see the fish moving around it the bird’s long neck. I can’t do this justice through description; it was one of the coolest examples of nature I have ever seen.

Despite the serene weather at the beginning of the trip we experienced 25-30 km winds for several hours, which would actually push your kayak backward in the event you weren’t paddling forward. Needless to say, 16km, two near divorces, and six hours later we reached the Tasman Sea. Due to the heavy paddling and extra time required for the high winds throughout the trip, we weren’t able to finish the last 4km. It was spectacular regardless and well worth the effort.  

Unfortunately our camera also seemed to be having a bit of difficulty with the 6 am start, as it was slightly on the fritz and subsequently we have few pictures. Not that it mattered as taking it out of the dry bag as you are getting doused by the large ocean waves spilling over the front of the kayak isn’t exactly conducive to photography. It’s also difficult to take lots of pictures when every time you stop to grab the camera out of the dry bag your wife, who is paddling her little heart out in the front seat, yells you at for not pulling your weight. Fortunately, I don’t think it’s a memory that will be forgotten any time soon.

We are now headed back to Queenstown where 2 days earlier we booked a “Queenstown Combo” for Saturday, which consists of the infamous Nevis Bungee jump in the morning and a white water rafting trip in the afternoon. I’m not sure if I’ll be sleeping tonight, but if I survive tomorrow we will write a post immediately and let everyone know how it went.

I guess I’d better end this, as we just got pulled over by the cops for speeding. I’m not sure how that happens in a campervan, but at least the ticket will make and interesting addition to the scrapbook.

n-E-W-Z-E-A-L-A-N-D in pictures : the 'L'

The “L” is the only building in the project, but I thought we needed some architecture. This is the famous cathedral in Cathedral Square in Christchurch. The city also featured an awesome botanical gardens with a massive rose garden and a section with a bunch of Bonzi trees.

Perspective

The first time I ever got on an airplane, I was 17, flying to Regina. It was not until I was 20 that I boarded a plane to experience a different culture. This is not to say I never traveled, I did, camping though many of the provinces and states, and while those were amazing trips, they did little to give me any culture shock, except perhaps the convenience store I visited in the rough part of Anaheim when I was 16.

It was the trip to Mexico when I was 20 that got the traveling juices flowing. I had never experienced sun like that, markets like that, and buses that for 50 cents let you take two beer down to the some of the craziest bars in the world – Cancun.

New Zealand is not culture shock like that, and it is not culture shock like Vietnam and Cambodia, but there are still nuances that keep you excited and always a little “less at ease” than camping in Canada. People are nearly the same, but many times I struggle to understand what they saying all the while you pull out into the oncoming traffic with your windshield wipers flashing (because they are on the opposite side of the steering column) and wave a sympathetic apology of I’m sorry but this is backwards!

I love seeing a country that is so similar but yet so different. This is the perspective that I think you gain. Here the houses are smaller, cars older and less luxurious, and today we watch a handful of people water ski being a 80’s outboard engine boat that reminds me of my first trips to Vernon. But here BMW’s and tournament wakeboard boats are not commonplace; in fact there are no blackberry’s (that I have seen anyways). The excess that the world speaks about in the US that crept into Canada during the credit boom is not here. New Zealand is much like Canada without the influence of the world’s biggest economy next door as your major trading partner.

Some people might incorrectly say well in New Zealand they are just not as consumed with the rat race, or about keeping up with the joneses, but in reality I don’t think you have as much of an option even if you wanted. This has pro’s and con’s. Regardless, a simple thing like proximity to US influences a culture.

For me, New Zealand’s culture, while very similar, has enough differences to make me crave the experience of an every more diverse culture.

N-E-W-Z-E-A-L-A-N-D in pictures : the 'A'

This “A” was taken a week ago aboard the Interislander ferry from Wellington (north island) to Picton (south island). The 4 hour ferry ride consisted of about an hour in open water, and the other three hours within bays and between islands. I am prone to seasickness and I am lucky this hour in open waters was not two because it could have been messy. I occupied my thoughts with trying to find a 'Z', rather than not puking, but I found this 'A' instead. It was Anne's first time on a ferry!

N-E-W-Z-E-A-L-A-N-D in pictures : the second 'E'

I struggled with this “E”, wanting something new and fresh, and since we don’t have any letters with the ocean, now seems as fitting time as any. Also I am running out of time and another sign post would simply not do. This is from the top of a 800M mountain that we hiked (actually halfway down), at a peninsula south east of Christchurch at a town called Akaroa.