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.

Akaroa & Christchurch

After a brief stint in Christchurch we headed down to Akaroa for the night. I say brief stint as Greg and I generally don’t stay in major cities for more than a night traveling, particularly on a camping type trip. Our favorite times are always where we look around and say, “Where are all the tourists”?

Akaroa is beautiful. It is a little gem situated directly on a large ocean bay nestled in between grass, tree and sheep covered hills. It is a scenic hour and a half’s drive south of Christchurch.

Akaroa is famous for the Hector dolphin, apparently the world’s smallest and rarest dolphin breed. Of course, numerous excursion shops litter the waterfront promising various interactions with the little creatures, the most popular of which is swimming with the dolphins. The only available time left was 7:30 am the next morning. I’m sure they are cool, but for me they are not 7:30 am in the (forecasted) rain and freezing cold water cool.

Many of the other promoted excursions were booked up, canceled due to wind or just weren’t grabbing our attention, so we settled on doing a hike. There were various trips to pick from; hikes through the woodlands, hikes along the ocean, and for the more adventurous, hikes up to various peaks of the surrounding hills. We decided on the 4-7 hour, 800-meter vertical hike to the top of Stony Bay Peak, estimating that is usually takes us half the suggested amount of time on most walks and hikes on the tourist trail.

It’s too bad you can’t bank “sweat hours” for when you are feeling particularity lazy, as we would have earned a few get out of workout free cards.

As we began the hilly trek I decided we were the workout equivalent of having eyes too big for our stomachs. It was extremely challenging but, as most things that you have to work for, extremely rewarding. As many of the roads in New Zealand are windy treks up and down the sides of steep hills, we have seen our fair share of beautiful views. Nothing however, has compared to the views we experienced hiking this trail. I’m not sure if that’s because we had the time to properly absorb it, or because we got to take in equally beautiful little details like wild flowers along with the panoramic views.  Regardless, it was breathtaking.

We both are fully aware that the following pictures are a little cheesy, but we don’t care… we worked hard for those suckers. Please, in particular, enjoy the picture of Greg jumping in the air and me doing some sort of dance move that was lost in the early 80’s. The camera was propped up with a piece of dry sheep poop to accurately document that shot.

I will say that there is a big difference between eating because you are hungry and consuming calories because your body needs to fuel. One of my favorite feelings is eating after a heavy and intense work out. It’s hard to describe, but “fueling” your body feels so good when it is well earned. That being said we fueled ourselves with (health conscious stop reading here) ice cream, lattes and a well-deserved pizza.

Up next, Mt Cook, the largest glacier in the southern hemisphere. I can guarantee we won’t be hiking that one to the top!

Lots of love to everyone back home!

The last few days - an update

After all my “photo journalism” it seems as though I have not done much by way of update to what or where were are going. At this point we have driven 2500 km, and have made our way to a small place called Hanmer Springs about 1.5 hrs north of Christchurch on the south island.

After the caving experience, we traveled to Rotorua, a small town in the middle of the north island. It is here that we spent an uneventful new years eve listening to some kiwi reggae concert on the beach - which I though was fantastic - followed by some fine wine. The next day we visited a Spa called Hell’s Gate. It is only at this location could you actually name a spa “Hell’s Gate” without alienating you clientele. This spa was located on some of the most active geo-thermal and volcanic activity in the region and world. Pools of acidic water boiled at in excess of 110 degrees Celsius. Sulfur seeped into our pores, and we bathed in mineral rich mud. It was an amazing experience.

The next town of Lake Taupo, was home of some great shops and café’s, and we spent a couple days on the beach, drinking lattes and detoxifying from the sulfur. Driving south to the capital of Wellington was uneventful, more small towns, more lattes and bakeries, all topped of with a night of steaks and wine with our good friends Dean and Tara who are capping off a one-year, study/backpack excursion through this country.

Jumping on the ferry the next day, we made our way to the south island and an awesome hippie town of Motueka. Some amazing beaching in the Golden Bay, the windiest road in NZ with over 400 turns in 30km, and more lattes and wine. Every morning filled with a run in the cool sun by the beach or past the closed shops and café’s

So not to bore you all with the details, but we love the scenic driving, the lattés and the wine. Life is awesome!

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

The letter ‘Z’ caused me significant heartache. The roads in this country are insane. I would imagine the average speed would be 70km per hour even on a main route, and 40 km per hour on a secondary highway. I thought I had a good Z – a winding road – but it looked more like an S, so it was back to the drawing board. This Z is a highway on the side of a mountain; we drove it today in the mid part of the north island. Today we actually drove a road that is one of the windiest in the region, with over 400 turns in less than 30 km. It was the first time I have ever felt a bit road sick while I was the driver. This is not a back road but rather the main route in and out of some major cities.

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

The letter ‘W' has been the second toughest to find, behind only the Z. I was torn between some hills and this tree. The trees in this country are amazing and deserve a letter. We went for a run through some 500 year old Californian Redwoods. This specific tree was in a small town on the northern tip of the south island called Motueka.

Lululemon Athletica

Indecisiveness can have its advantages. To a large degree, it is the reason we are writing about our current travel adventures in this blog.

It was a week before our trip and I was desperately searching for a backpack. After hitting most of the usual haunts and coming up empty handed, I had pretty much given up.

We were in the Chinook Lululemon Athletica determined to knock everyone off of our Christmas list in one foul swoop when I noticed that they now carry backpacks.  Unfortunately for me (which would be fortunately for most normal people), they have several to pick from so I was forced to make a decision.  

After quite a lengthy contemplation the Assistant Manager Dan, took pity on me, and came over to help. I had already attempted to force the decision on Greg, who was resisting, so I gave up and forced it on Dan. In doing so, I gave him as many details as possible to help him make an informed decision, including that I needed it for our upcoming trip to New Zealand.

Dan proceeded to ask Greg and I questions such as to why we decided to go to New Zealand and what inspired us to travel. For the next 15 minutes we relived our adventures in Southeast Asia and Australia. The spontaneity of our decision to leave, the one-way plane ticket, and best of all how we missed the three flights to get back to Canada. All of which left us stranded in Byron Bay, retrieving all the camp gear we had given away to the fellow campers that morning. (see Background blog for details).

He asked if we had ever considered writing about our travels in effort to inspire others to do something similar. He explained that part of the Lululemon culture is to seek inspiration in our own lives as well as inspire those around us.

The answer was an enthusiastic “yes”. We jumped at the opportunity to share our experiences in hopes of inspiring others to do something similar. We had done a blog of our last trip to keep friends and family up to date on our whereabouts, but the potential of inspiring others who we don’t know to travel through that writing is much more exciting!

Over the next 5 days we exchanged emails and met with Dan who shared a bit more of the Lululemon Athletica story and company culture and philosophy. A big part of which, he explained, was goal setting. When I told Dan, much to Greg’s astonishment, that I was contemplating the Nevis Bungee jump, he jumped all over me! He even made me write that I WILL HAVE jumped the Nevis by Jan 2010 and stuck it somewhere in the store. Seems as though there is no backing out now… crap.

Lululemon was also gracious enough to hook us up with some awesome gear to test in the elements of New Zealand, for which we are extremely grateful. While 50% of our luggage consists of Lululemon clothing, it is 95% of what we have been wearing on this trip. One such item is my original pair of Groove pants.  They have now traveled to over 9 countries over the last 5 years and are still going strong as one of my travel staples. It is essential travel gear and has been a perfect match to the climate and lifestyle of New Zealand.

I somehow also managed to convince half of my coworkers to buy the Cruiser backpack that I bought for the trip (before I had even tried it out). I can now say with conviction that I made a great recommendation. It may be my favorite Lululemon purchase ever! It is the ultimate pack for traveling; there is a pocket for absolutely everything. After using a pack with magnetic flaps and a wet/dry compartment I have been spoiled for all other backpacks.


I’ll save some of my raves for other posts, but the gear has been amazing, so thanks to Dan, Lululemon Athletica and the generous Santas back home!

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

The letter ‘E’, I must admit is one of the easier letters to find. Ironically, I took this picture before I was in the “letter hunt”, but never found anything better, regardless I love this one. The next two letters, W and Z, are causing me some headaches!

Cave Adventure

Sometimes people ask me how Greg gets me into certain “adventurous” situations. Let me enlighten you… he lies. Today, Greg tells me we are going black water rafting in the famous Rukuri Caves in Waitomo. I’m all for it! Sit in a raft, check out some glowworms, eat some lunch and call it a day. I was excited. I even packed myself a bag full of snacks, a camera and a change of clothes just in case we were unexpectedly splashed on our tour down the river.  

We show up and 2 guides immediately seek us out and explain that it will be just the 2 of us. They tell us to throw our backpack in the locker, get on a wetsuit, a helmet and strap on a harness… um, a what? What kind of raft IS this? I thought perhaps they were overdoing the safety precautions, but I guess you can’t be too careful these days.

What did we actually end up doing? First, we abseiled vertically 120 ft into a massive, pitch black, underground cave (that is where the harness came in VERY handy). Second, we were handed black rubber tubes, told to jump in the river and preceded to see some wicked sites.

The caves were littered with glowworms, which in the darkness of the cave look as though you are staring up at the Milky Way. We found out later that it wasn’t quite as romantic a scene as we thought; what makes that beautiful glow is the worm’s poop. Following that we climbed through a labyrinth of small caves, scaled 2 waterfalls, and were even coaxed to do a cannonball off of a waterfall in the dark. Our instructor said (and I quote), “Keep to the left. To the right is the blender, step over there and you are done”. Charming.  We even saw an eel. Apparently it was a “baby” as it was only 2 ft in size. I guess they grow up to 8ft in the cave. This is where you take a deep breath and say, “oh well, no backing out now”.

In the end it was the most awesome adventure either Greg or myself had ever experienced. To Greg’s credit, I don’t think he knew what he was getting us into. He booked the tour online and decided to choose the “ultimate” adventure, assuming that the most expensive package would be the best. In fact, the day previous he was worried that we would be sailing down the river with a bunch of tourists snapping pictures trying to fight off our boredom.

Could Greg have got me to sign up for an adventure of scaling through tight caves, jumping off a waterfall and kickin’ it with some 8ft eels… probably not. The funny thing is the whole time I didn’t have so much as a pang of nervousness. It was a little baffling, as I tend get nervous picking a flavor of ice cream!

I guess that is a good lesson in fear for me. When I am deeply immersed in a situation I have full trust in my ability to handle it. I need to convince myself of that ahead of time in the future. Hopefully it helps with the still impending bungy jump!! 

An aside

As an interesting aside, the New Zealand currency is approximately 75% the value of the Canadian currency, but on average you would find that prices were equivalent; hence travelers from Canada enjoy a 25% discount. What I love however, is that there are no pennies, or or nickels. The smallest measure of currency here is 10 cents and prices are simply rounded to the nearest “dime”. The amount of money that is spent so that we can donate all those pennies and nickels to the container at Tim Horton’s is absurd. There must be a good reason Canada still uses these, but I am hard pressed to understand it.

Those of you who know me, also know that I love to stay abreast of news. I have read the newspaper everyday since I was 10, and when I travel the addiction does not subside, therefore, I part of me judges a country, or city that I visit based on the newspapers that I can read. Here on the north island it seems the New Zealand Herald has a near monopoly, it is really the only newspaper, so by default it is the view that mot Kiwi’s read every day unless they now get their news online. The paper is left leaning, almost falling over, perhaps due to my righter wing views, or the countries politic themselves. Today there was one article that caught my attention: a marketing company sent a letter to thousands of people, including the prime minister. This letter was mailed with a small bag of sugar, telling all the recipients to try the drug “P”, known as Meth in Canada. The company is taking a lot of flack for the stunt, but everyone in this county is now talking about the effects of meth, and the surge in addiction, for this reason I love the stunt! The business section is mediocre at best considering the “share-exchange” is peanuts in the world financial system. At least we have NHL scores – Go Flames.