I have wanted to go to New Zealand ever since I saw the Lord of the Rings films, and I also am a nature lover, so this was basically a dream come true. And the trip was AWESOME! There were a couple of mishaps along the way (what vacation doesn’t have some?) but overall, it was probably the best vacation I have ever had.
I planned the entire trip by myself and traveled there by myself, which was a first for me, and made me a bit nervous. I flew from Fukuoka to Bangkok to Auckland, spent a couple days in Auckland, flew to the South Island for a 9 day tour, and then spent a couple extra days on the South Island doing Lord of the Rings tours. :)
When I arrived in Auckland, I encountered my first “mishap.” I had planned on taking a tour of “Hobbiton” (you can still see the movie set) soon after landing. I did not have a very large window of time, because they stopped the tours early on Christmas Eve (the day I arrived) and had no tours on Christmas Day. Everything with my flight was fine, it landed right on time and I went through customs/immigration ridiculously quickly (the airport was almost empty). Then I had to go and pick up my rental car. This was where I encountered the problem….they had told me it would take “15 minutes” to get the car and be out on the road, but it actually took almost an hour! They had to go over every detail with me (and I understand why they have to do that) but by the time they were finished, the tour was starting in an hour and it was a two hour drive from Auckland. I was not happy, but I was able to call the tour company and cancel my tour, so at least I got my money back. And I went out and drove around the countryside anyway, which was nice after being cooped up in a plane for 16 hours. It wasn’t the actual movie set, but I still felt like I was in “the Shire” with the green rolling hills. Plus the weather was gorgeous…sunny and warm!!!
I went to bed pretty early that night, in a hostel in the city.
The next day, Christmas, I had planned on driving to some of the West coast beaches (they can only be accessed by car). I woke up really early (I was still jet lagged, so this was easy) and drove to Piha beach. The drive there was gorgeous, the sun was just rising and I took these crazy mountain/jungle roads to get there. There were flowers and greenery everywhere! The beach was gorgeous, too. There were a lot of really cool rock formations coming out of the water, and the water was soooo blue.
I enjoyed relaxing there for awhile, and then drove to Muriwai beach. This beach was also really nice, the sand was black and there were some pretty sand dunes as well.
After driving to those two beaches, I was exhausted, so I went back to my hostel and took a much needed nap. I was also able to talk to my parents on Skype, which was really nice (it was Christmas, after all). In the evening I checked out Auckland’s Sky Tower, which had really nice views of the city.
It was a nice Christmas, but a bit lonely, so I was looking forward to joining my tour group tomorrow.
The next morning I woke up at an ungodly hour again, returned the car, and flew to Blenheim in the South Island, where my Flying Kiwi tour of the South Island would start! There are a bunch of bus tour companies in New Zealand, but I chose Flying Kiwi because there was more of an emphasis on enjoying nature and getting off the beaten track, and not partying/just seeing the touristy spots (which seemed to be the vibe of other buses). The Flying Kiwi bus met me at the Blenheim train station and I was immediately greeted by Amber and Mike, our tour guide and bus driver. Everyone on the bus was really friendly, too. Most of the people on the bus were traveling alone, like me, and came from so many different countries! We started off with about 15 people. We drove down the east coast that day, checking out some seal colonies. I opted for a bike ride down the coast, 25 km from camp, with my new friend from Canada, Adrienne. (Flying Kiwi has the option of bike rental, and you have an opportunity pretty much every day to bike some distance to camp instead of staying on the bus. All of the bikes sit on top of the back trailer!) The bike ride was beautiful, starting off on the coast and then moving inland, passing through the mountains. After hitting the town of Kaikoura and stopping for a sushi dinner, I managed to fall off my bike (while it was stationary) and cut my knee open. :P Luckily, I ran into a pub and a realllly nice girl working there had a first aid kit and I was able to disinfect it and bandage it up. Adrienne and I then continued to camp, which was another 6km or so away. However, we got lost, and ended up in the middle of nowhere (nothing but cows, farms, and mountains). We turned around, got help from a cute guy working at a hotel in Kaikoura J, and eventually found the camp.
The first night, Mike showed me how to pitch my tent, we cooked up some seafood curry (with fresh fish caught that day) for dinner, and I went to bed early, since the next morning I had to wake up at 4:15 to go swimming with wild dolphins!!! We struggled to pack our stuff and tents in the dark, took a van out to the coast, suited up in wetsuits, flippers, and snorkels, and as the sun was rising, got on a boat and headed out into the open ocean. It was a perfect morning, hardly a cloud in the sky and the ocean was glassy smooth. When we got to a place with a pod of dolphins, they stopped the boat and we all jumped out to swim with them! It was an awesome experience. When I sang through my snorkel, the dolphins were attracted to the sound and swam right up to me! They also responded to me turning around in the water and would follow me in a circle. There had to be 100 of them all around us. After swimming with them for awhile, we all got back on the boat and watched them jumping and flipping all around us. The only bad thing about this was that I, along with everyone else on the boat, got seasick and spent a lot of time with my head in a bucket. The waves got a lot bigger as the morning went on, and I swallowed some salt water through my snorkel. I felt a lot better once we got to dry land again!
After that, we spent a little more time in Kaikoura before heading out again, this time to Rangitata gorge (another beautiful campsite in the mountains, with a delicious “smorgasbord” dinner). Every day, Amber would go around the bus and tell us about our activities that we could choose from for the next day. Well, as we were heading towards our camp in Rangitata, she told us that the activity for the next morning was white water rafting. Rafting has always been something I have been afraid of, having heard a lot of horror stories about it. However, the scenery in the place we would be rafting looked amazing, and a lot of people on the bus who had done it before told me how much fun it was. I signed up, and then proceeded to be nervous about it until the next morning, when we took a bus out to the gorge. The guys who were running the company didn’t help, as they kept making jokes about people dying, etc. (everyone else in the group was laughing, but I was not really amused). However, as we suited up, I began to feel a bit better, because we really were protected….wetsuits, 2 thermal layers, waterproof jacket, lifejacket, helmet, and special water shoes. We all looked pretty ridiculous in our get-ups, but I did feel safe. When we got into our rafts, our guide Dave went through all of the different types of paddle motions and told us what to do in emergency situations. As we did this, we moved closer and closer to the rapids (some of them class 5, I might add…which means they are the strongest/most dangerous kind). And once we reached the rapids…I had a blast! It was such a rush, and I have to admit I felt pretty powerful paddling that raft through those rapids. It seemed to be over really quickly, and fortunately, our raft never tipped and no one fell out! It was just a lot of fun. After we got through the rapids, we came to a much slower part of the river and had a chance to jump off of two cliffs by the river. I jumped off of the smaller one (4 meters) but not the largest one (10 meters). The water was FREEZING, I might add! It was an awesome morning.
We then packed up our tents and headed to the next stop, Lake Tekapo. This was a really beautiful lake, surrounded by mountains, with an old stone church on a hill next to the lake. The water of the lake (and pretty much all lakes in New Zealand) was ridiculously blue.
After stopping to take some pictures, we drove a little further and stopped for another bike ride…this time 30 km. I opted to do this one as well, and did not regret it! It was the best bike ride of the trip, hands down. The scenery was stunning, and I had views of Mt. Cook, the tallest peak in New Zealand, pretty much the whole way. I really did feel like I was in Middle Earth on that bike ride.
The campsite was awesome, too, right next to Lake Pukaki and a perfect view of Mt. Cook across the lake.
Dinner was spaghetti with meat sauce and salad, and a bunch of us played a really fun charades game that night.
The next morning, we drove a short distance to Mt. Cook National Park, and got to enjoy a 3 hour hike around the basin. It was a great hike, with views of glaciers, valleys, and peaks, and a couple of fun suspension bridges.
After the hike, we got back on the bus and drove to Oamaru, a really small seaside town. We were supposed to camp in a bush camp on the beach, but it started to rain, so we “upgraded” to a campsite adjacent to a little bed and breakfast with an ocean view. We got to enjoy using the kitchen and cozy living room in the B and B, as well as…SHOWERS AND INTERNET! That night, after a dinner of chicken wraps, a small group of us did a “penguin tour.” We first went to a beach and saw some really rare yellow eyed penguins, and then went to a bigger penguin “show” where we got to see literally hundreds of penguins swim to the coast after a day of feeding and waddle in groups back to their homes. The penguin habitats are protected by a local organization, and they have been raising and keeping track of these penguins for about 20 years.
The next morning we drove to the Moeraki Boulders, which are these interesting, perfectly round rock formations that jut out of the ocean. They have been shaped over time by the waves. Picture opportunities abounded, as you can see…..
Our next stop was the town of Dunedin. We got to bike ride into town, which was awesome because it was ALL downhill.
The first thing we did was check out Baldwin Street, which is the world’s steepest street. I climbed to the top and then took some pictures pretending to slide down the street (and it actually felt like I was going to!) People actually live on the street, too!
After that, I opted to take a tour of Speight’s brewery, which involved a 30 minute walk around the brewery and then 30 minutes in a bar with 6 taps….and a glass which we could use to drink all that we wanted (I should also mention that before the tour, we ate in the brewery’s restaurant and had beer with lunch, too….). The four people who I went with and I stumbled out of the brewery around 2 p.m. drunk (classy, I know). Mike and Amber had told us that morning to find something “crazy” and “inappropriate” to wear the next day for New Year’ Eve, and so the 5 of us somehow managed to find this thrift shop called “Purple Rain.” We all picked out hideous outfits; I found this really ugly green dress that looked like it belonged to a bag lady for 10 dollars. Then it was on to our camp in the Catlins (I slept off the brewery shenanigans on the bus) and time for another bike ride, this time from our camp out to Nugget Point lighthouse and back. Mike told us that it was only 8km each way, but that the hills were “gnarly.” I did it anyway, and soon realized Mike wasn’t kidding. About 4 km was flat, but then the really steep hills started. The scenery was fantastic…the coast was on the left and rolling fields filled with sheep were on the right, but it was NOT easy getting up there. However, I finally, finally, made it up to the lighthouse, and the view from the lighthouse was worth the climb. There were some jagged rocks sticking out of the ocean (hence the name Nugget Point) and the sun was just beginning to set. I had an uninterrupted view of the coast.
We then had burgers in an outdoor restaurant near our campsite, which was a lot of fun. The owner played some really good music (mostly Oldies) and we got to enjoy each other’s company.
The next morning was hilarious, because everyone dressed up in their outfits. It was truly a sight to behold. Two of the guys cross dressed. One of the girls in our group dressed up as Mike, our driver! He wore pretty much the same thing every day—black Flying Kiwi shirt, shorts slung down (usually showing his boxers), sandals, and a baseball cap. Well, this girl had it down perfectly. It was great seeing Mike’s reaction. We all piled in the bus in our getups and drove to a town called Gore, which is the “Brown Trout Capital of the World.” We then took a group photo in front of and around this gigantic brown trout fish statue (we got a lot of amused stares, and some random strangers even took pictures of our group.) After two great bike rides and a stop in Te Anau to buy booze (it was New Year’s Eve, after all) we got to our campsite in Hollyford Valley. The site was, once again, beautiful, but the only downside was that there were sand flies EVERYWHERE!! Sand flies are these horrible little insects that are like mosquitoes, but worse. They are so damn persistent, and there were hundreds of them. Luckily, I had opted for an “upgrade” that night and was staying in a cabin as opposed to a tent. We had beef stroganoff for dinner and Mike gathered the 5 of us who were starting the 2.5 day Routeburn track hike the next day to give us our food and cooking/eating gear. After he had given us our supplies and briefed us, we gathered with everyone else around a campfire and enjoyed a New Year’s Eve drinking game (which basically involved throwing a sack of wine from a cheap box to different people around the fire, and when it was thrown to you, you had to chug). We counted down to midnight and then everybody hugged each other (we were all very happy at that point). In my tipsy state, I laid down in the grass and looked at the stars, which really were amazing……I could see the Milky Way and I had never seen so many stars in my life.
The next morning was a bit rough as you can imagine, and I was starting off on my hike that afternoon. Luckily, we were all able to get some sleep on the bus on the drive to Milford Sound. Once we got close to Milford Sound, there was as stunning all downhill bike ride through the rainforest, and then we took a cruise through Milford Sound. It was beautiful…the mountains jutted out of the water, and there were only a few clouds. Some of the mountains were a rich green, and some had snow on them. We also saw some more wildlife along the way.
After the cruise, we drove about half an hour to the start of the Routeburn Track hike! The Routeburn Track hike is one of the “Great Walks” of New Zealand and it is kept up by the Department of Conservation. Only a certain amount of people are allowed to hike the trail at one time, so you actually have to reserve a spot to go on the hike and stay in a hut or campsite. Even though I had booked the hike in October, the huts were already full, which meant I had to carry a tent. Luckily, another girl in our group, Nan, also had the same issue, so we were able to split up the tent and share the load. Even so, my bag was HEAVY. I had the tent, my sleeping bag, extra socks/underwear/raingear, a stove, all of my food, my water pack, utensils, and emergency items/first aid.
Anyway, the five of us doing the hike got all geared up and then said goodbye to the rest of our group, who we would see in 2 days.
I was a bit worried at the start of the hike about the weight of my bag, but luckily the weight was distributed nicely and once I got going, it was fine. On the first day, we started off in a gently sloping forest road, which soon gave way to an alpine track. Nan and I hiked an optional 2 hour track to Key Summit, which offered spectacular views of the snow covered mountains.
We then hiked a few hours more to our first campsite, pitched the tent, and ate a lovely “add water” meal which actually tasted good after hiking that day!
Sleeping was not so pleasant, as it got very cold and the place where we pitched our tent was literally as hard as a rock, but I managed to get a few hours of sleep.
The next day was the longest day, a minimum of 8 hours of hiking with a couple of optional tracks. The scenery was also the best on this day. After climbing through a forest for a couple hours, we began to hike along a path carved into the side of the mountains. To our left was an unimpeded view of the Southern Alps. We were so high up that we could see the Tasman Sea in the distance!
After devouring a lunch of canned tuna, chocolate, and crackers, we did an optional hike—the “Conical Hill” track. This path literally went straight up and was kind of terrifying. I am known to be klutzy and I often lose my balance, and there were loose rocks and smooth, steep slopes all along the path. There was even some snow near the top! Just when I thought I couldn’t do it anymore and after a couple of near tumbles, I reached the summit and saw
An amazing sight……snow capped mountains all around and the ocean in the distance. Nan and I just stayed there for about an hour, enjoying the view and taking a bunch of pictures.
The rest of the hike that day was mostly downhill, and we passed by some reallllly blue lakes and rocky plains. By the time we finally got to our second campsite (after about 11 hours of hiking) we were so tired that we just sat down on some picnic tables there, took our boots off of our throbbing feet, and did nothing for 20 minutes…but eventually mustered enough energy to pitch the tent again and make dinner.
The next day was only a few hours through the forest, and we met up with the rest of our hiking group. When we finally reached the end of the trail, we took some group photos and commented on how bad we smelled/looked….but I think we all felt a great sense of accomplishment!
Next it was off to Queenstown. As soon as we got to Queenstown, we found a restaurant called Fergburger, and there was a huge line waiting outside the restaurant. We waited about half an hour for burgers, and it was TOTALLY worth it. They were huge and it was one of the best burgers I have ever had. We all sat on a bench with our gigantic burgers and devoured them in about 15 minutes.
After that, I finally had a chance to check into my hostel, shower, and relax, and then our Flying Kiwi group went out for a final night on the town. We went to this really famous pizza restaurant called Winnie’s. I really loved the atmosphere of the place…it kind of reminded me of some restaurants/pubs in Chicago. The music was great and the pizza was amazing! We had some really unique toppings, like chicken/bacon/brie and steak/peppers.
We took some final pictures together and said goodbye…it was a little sad to see everyone go.
The next day was my first Lord of the Rings tour in Queenstown, which was really cool. Our guide took our group around to a lot of different places that were used in the films……
And after our tour, we got to hold some of the replicas and wear the costumes!!!
The next day was not very good at all…..for two reasons.
First of all, I had signed up to go skydiving in the morning. I called the company right before my jump time and they said the dives were still going on (they are often canceled due to bad weather or strong winds). I went to the drop zone, got all suited up, ordered my DVD and picture package, and was watching the plane/parachutes come in when someone came and told my group of three (we were next to go) that the dives were canceled for the rest of the morning. This was a HUGE bummer, since I was leaving that afternoon and could not reschedule for later. Also, I have wanted to skydive since I was a kid, so it was really disappointing to not be able to do it. Ah well…it is definitely something that I will do someday.
The afternoon only got worse. I had signed up to do a bungee swing at 12:30, after my skydive. Well, I took a gondola up to the jump off point, watched a couple of other people do it, and then got the harness put on and did it myself. The swing itself was AWESOME…it was a huge rush, just being dropped towards earth with nothing but a cord saving me from the rocky forest below. It was when the operators were pulling me up when it happened…my two front teeth suddenly hit the metal clasp attaching me to the rope REALLY hard. I heard a crunching sound and felt bits of tooth in my mouth….I yelled up to them that something was wrong with my teeth. I felt them and realized that a fairly large chunk was missing from my right front tooth. I started panicking, as you can imagine…luckily, the bungee company team did help me out by getting me to a dentist and getting me another night in my hostel and a plane to Christchurch (where I was supposed to go that evening) the following morning. I went to the dentist and he took an X-ray, told me my teeth looked fine, and quickly added some dental bonding, which did fill in the teeth. I felt better after that and assumed my problems with my teeth were over, but I have since had to go back to the dentist here in Japan FIVE times for a root canal treatment, because the nerve was severely damaged from being hit and the gums/tooth began to become swollen and infected. Now my right tooth, in certain lighting, is slightly darker than my left (a complication of root canal treatment) and you can see the slight color change where my real tooth meets the bonding. It really does suck, but it could be a lot worse…the root canal did save my tooth (if I had waited much longer, the infection would have spread and I probably would have lost the entire tooth, and it may have even affected other teeth). I think that when I go back to the States I will consider getting a crown, especially if the tooth becomes any darker. For now, though, at least I have a functioning tooth. It could be a lot worse, I know…who knows what else could have gone wrong with the bungee swing (i.e. the metal clasp could have hit my eyes or damaged my skull….) Anyway, that was really not a good day on the trip.
The next day was significantly better, though. I took my second Lord of the Rings tour that day, which left from Christchurch. This was a tour of Mt. Potts, which is where the Edoras scenes in Two Towers were filmed. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking, and we got to take a lot of really cool pictures…
That night in Christchurch, I felt not one, but TWO earthquakes. They were not huge, but certainly strong. One was while I was eating dinner and the second was while I was sleeping in my hostel…it shook the bunk bed from side to side. I really feel for the people living there now…a lot of places in the city have been destroyed or are now unsafe, and they have aftershocks almost every day (and have had three major earthquakes just in the last year). It really did put my tooth problems in perspective.
The following morning, I began the LONG journey home…bus to airport, 1 hour flight to Auckland, 4 hour wait, 11 hour flight to Bangkok, 5 hour wait, 5 hour flight to Fukuoka, 3 hour wait, 4 hour bus to Miyazaki. It felt really good to be finally home after all of that!!!
All in all, it was a really wonderful trip. I got to do a lot of really cool things and the people were sooooo friendly…both Kiwis and everyone I met on the tour. There are still a lot of things I want to see and do in New Zealand, so I will definitely be back.
That’s all for now! Thanks for reading that ridiculously long post (if you made it this far!) and love and miss you all.
No comments:
Post a Comment