New Zealand Wrap Up
I arrived in Queenstown at about 5:30 a bit sore from my morning workout at the climbing gym in Wanaka and after a brief trip to the original bungy jumping site – a 43 meter bridge over a local gorge near Queenstown. It was here that local legend AJ Hackett first had the bright idea that people might pay him to tie a glorified rubber band to there ankles and throw them off the bridge. Hitherto, this idea would have been considered more than a little “crazy”. Shortly after AJ popularized this bizarre ritual, Queenstown began its transformation from a quaint ski town and summer holiday destination to the “adventure capital of the world”. Apart from bungy jumping (including the formidable “Nevis” – a 147 m jump from a small pod suspended by wires and accessible only by a small gondola - AJ’s latest monster, visitors to Queenstown can also indulge in a bevy of other adventure activities such as: jetboating, canyoning, canyon swinging, helihiking, helibiking, heliskiing, paragliding, parasailing, skydiving (which includes parachuting), and any other activity which begins with “para” or “heli” - you could probably even buy a helilatte if you have $250NZ burning a whole in your pocket. Your author, however, did not partake in any of these activities so if you want to know what it’s like you’ll just have to go yourself.
I should also explain that Queenstown is a beautiful little mountain town on the shores of a large glacial lake, so apart from tricking your brain into thinking you're going to die, it turns out the town has a lot else to offer… like drinking. OK, seriously though, I woke at dawn the first day for a day trip to Milford Sound, which is actually a fjord (don't get me started). After an uneventful couple hours on the road, the bus finally found itself in Fjordland national park which was stunning. The bus continued down a flat valley which glowed yellow with the local grasses slope and height of the mountains led you to believe you’d have to strain your neck and bend backwards to look straight up and see the tops. The road to Milford is often closed because of rockslides and avalanches and also passes through a dramatic 1 kilometer tunnel through one of the mountains. This trip was also my first and (sadly) only view of the Kea, the only alpine parrot in the world. In this episode two of the inquisitive creatures were on top of a tourist’s car jumping up and down and pecking at the rubber seals while the driver dutifully stood by and took pictures. Our driver pointed out that he should probably have been scaring the birds away before they ruined the car but I'm sure it was probably a rental so no worries!
Mirror Lake
Fjordland National Park
Once at the sound we boarded a small boat for a quick tour. Like the drive in, the sound was impressive with rising mountains over the water, lots of gushing waterfalls and the occasional fur seal. We wound through the narrow sounds out to the Tasman Sea and then turned around for the long return journey to Queenstown.
Milford Sound
Milford Radar
The next day I woke at dawn again and immediately set out from my hostel for the hike up Ben Lomand peak which was equally stunning to Milford Sound, while requiring significantly less time and money and a much larger effort on my part. On the way up I encountered mountain goats, a host of different birds and a bunch of sheep whom looked lost. The hike went up through a low forest and then onto a dramatic saddle and a ridgeline which curved around to the summit. Halfway up two helicopters came from the seemingly endless mountains to the west and whizzed over the saddle as I admired them from eyelevel on the mountain. At that moment, I wanted their job. Since it was early the clouds still clung to the lake and moved quickly down the valley before being burned away from the mid-morning sun. Once at the top, I found a spot in the sun and sheltered from the wicked wind and sat for an hour amazed by the stunning views of Queenstown, the lake and the surrounding mountains and also amazed by the complete peaceful silence at the top saving the occasional cry of a far-off bird. I was halfway down the mountain before encountering my first person of the day and then they started up in droves.
Lake Wakatipu in the Morning
View From Ben Lomand Saddle
I arrived back in town at about lunch time feeling quite accomplished, but also with an intense grumbling in my stomach and so I head for the famous Fergburger for a lamb burger roughly the size of my inflated head, which I promptly devoured along with a large portion of fries. Then, before I knew it it was Good Friday. Usually such a development would completely slip my conscious, but in this instance it was hard to miss because they closed all the bars at 12 am sharp Thursday night (Friday morning) cause it's illegal to serve liquor on Good Friday. What the hell? Good Friday isn’t a holiday! That’s the southern hemisphere for you... Luckily a repeat trip to Fergburger raised my spirits and allowed me to intake 25 times my daily allotment of grease in a 24 hour period.
The next morning we boarded the bus for the epic (and by epic I mean epically boring and uneventful) drive to Dunedin where I got to go on a great wildlife tour with flying Albatross (they’re huge!) and a private conservation beach covered with sea lions and waddly and rare yellow-eyed penguins. Also of note was the World’s steepest street which I was very excited for and was not disappointed – it was steep alright! Sorry Dunedin that’s all you get – just two sentences. Next time try being more interesting.
Frisky Sea Lions
Hello, Yellow-Eyed Penguin Style
Life on the World's Steepest Street
After Dunedin, the bus wound (buses tend to do this a lot in New Zealand in my experience) through the plains and along pristine glacial lakes and long canals which feed New Zealand’s many hydropower plants. The lakes and canals are a brilliant teal blue from the glacial sediment filtering the light reflecting through the water. We finally arrived in a sleepy little town with one main street and a tiny stone church on the lakes edge. We stayed at a hostel at the lakes edge and I decided to book an extra night and take a trip to Mt. Cook national park for Easter Sunday. Mt. Cook is New Zealand’s largest peak and is named after the famous captain cook who explored much of Australia and New Zealand. It’s also just on the other side of the mountain range from Franz Joseph and Fox glaciers which I had visited on the West coast.
Blue Lake Pukaki
Mt. Cook Over Lake Pukaki
The shuttle arrived at the park at 9:30 am and as usual I headed out on an overly ambitious hike right away. I figured it would be cold so I brought 5 layers and my brand new possum/merino wool hat which turned out to be four layers and one possum/merino hat too many, with a day of brilliant clear blue skies and a strong, hot sun. The first 30 minutes of the hike took me through low meadows of yellow grass and low shrubs and then I was at the crossroads looking down the nicely grated, flat path in one direction and the path straight up a steep slope in the other, and with only the slightest hesitation sighed quietly to myself and bound up the steep path past the sign telling me it was a 6 hour return and knowing I only had 4. Well, the hike was amazingly difficult but equally rewarding. After rising high above the glaciers and grey glacial melts (with much higher levels of glacial sediment than the rivers and lakes) I got great views of the valley fading into the distance and of Mt. Cook and the surrounding mountains. Pushing further up the trail I found myself scrambling up boulder fields and onto a high ridgeline which was little more than a pile of rocks left behind by long receding expanses of ice. After a full 2 hours of uphill battle I reached the hut which had been my goal and took 7 minutes to bask in the sun and down a small round of brie, half a baguette and a stick of Chorizo, and then headed back down. The trip down was easier on the lungs, but harder on the knees and treacherous as I tried to maintain even footing on the loose rocks. Slowly but surely I made my way down the trail and nearly ran back across the plain to reach the shuttle bus a mere 5 minutes before departure.
Path to the Mountain
Mt. Cook and Hooker Glacier
The next day, I treated myself to the first (and also my last) adventure activity of the trip and went white water rafting. I found myself decked out in a wetsuit, raincoat, safety vest and helmet and floating down the Rangitata River. As we followed the glacial blue river as it gently dropped through the valley our Kiwi guide, who was about 17 times cooler than I’ll ever be, explained how he was going to get us through the two grade five rapids alive. Well, what followed was amazing. I absolutely loved it and here’s why: it’s so participatory and team oriented. Everyone gets a paddle and within 30 minutes of climbing in the boat we’d all learned the basic strokes and commands and our guide could navigate the boat around the water at will simply by shouting commands at the 7 of us whom had never done this before. Everyone paddles and when someone falls out of the boat they rely on the closest person to pull them back in. I also liked it because our guide did a great job of scaring us senseless while simultaneously convincing us that we’d get through unscathed. For the next 3 hours we did all the rapids, jumped off cliffs and floated down through the 8 degree C water and our guide even flipped the boat on purpose just to mess with us. The trip entered with a huge BBQ at the end where we all relived the adventure before being taken off to Christchurch.
On the Rangitata
Bravely Rafting the Rangitata
I had a day to kill in Christchurch and killed it with style. I ran some errands, drank some coffee and took a nap in one of the many parks. My last night I joined some friends from the Magic Bus (which has redeemed itself after having some cool drivers and getting to know many cool people) for a BBQ at their hostel. We ate like Kings (and Queens) drank some NZ wine and beer and even sat in the sauna for a good spell. I was in bed by midnight and slept for four hours before waking to catch my early morning flight. Roughly 24 hours later I touched down in San Francisco at 10 am the same day, so for now I’m relaxing in California, enjoying the spring weather and trying to reacclimatize to the states while preparing for my long trip home with some small detours to Seattle, Vancouver and Washington, DC.
As usual, I've posted a boatload of new picks on my Flickr site. Enjoy.
Christchurch Hammock
Tekapo Bench in the Morning
Guarding the Moeraki Boulders
I should also explain that Queenstown is a beautiful little mountain town on the shores of a large glacial lake, so apart from tricking your brain into thinking you're going to die, it turns out the town has a lot else to offer… like drinking. OK, seriously though, I woke at dawn the first day for a day trip to Milford Sound, which is actually a fjord (don't get me started). After an uneventful couple hours on the road, the bus finally found itself in Fjordland national park which was stunning. The bus continued down a flat valley which glowed yellow with the local grasses slope and height of the mountains led you to believe you’d have to strain your neck and bend backwards to look straight up and see the tops. The road to Milford is often closed because of rockslides and avalanches and also passes through a dramatic 1 kilometer tunnel through one of the mountains. This trip was also my first and (sadly) only view of the Kea, the only alpine parrot in the world. In this episode two of the inquisitive creatures were on top of a tourist’s car jumping up and down and pecking at the rubber seals while the driver dutifully stood by and took pictures. Our driver pointed out that he should probably have been scaring the birds away before they ruined the car but I'm sure it was probably a rental so no worries!
Mirror Lake
Fjordland National Park
Once at the sound we boarded a small boat for a quick tour. Like the drive in, the sound was impressive with rising mountains over the water, lots of gushing waterfalls and the occasional fur seal. We wound through the narrow sounds out to the Tasman Sea and then turned around for the long return journey to Queenstown.
Milford Sound
Milford Radar
The next day I woke at dawn again and immediately set out from my hostel for the hike up Ben Lomand peak which was equally stunning to Milford Sound, while requiring significantly less time and money and a much larger effort on my part. On the way up I encountered mountain goats, a host of different birds and a bunch of sheep whom looked lost. The hike went up through a low forest and then onto a dramatic saddle and a ridgeline which curved around to the summit. Halfway up two helicopters came from the seemingly endless mountains to the west and whizzed over the saddle as I admired them from eyelevel on the mountain. At that moment, I wanted their job. Since it was early the clouds still clung to the lake and moved quickly down the valley before being burned away from the mid-morning sun. Once at the top, I found a spot in the sun and sheltered from the wicked wind and sat for an hour amazed by the stunning views of Queenstown, the lake and the surrounding mountains and also amazed by the complete peaceful silence at the top saving the occasional cry of a far-off bird. I was halfway down the mountain before encountering my first person of the day and then they started up in droves.
Lake Wakatipu in the Morning
View From Ben Lomand Saddle
I arrived back in town at about lunch time feeling quite accomplished, but also with an intense grumbling in my stomach and so I head for the famous Fergburger for a lamb burger roughly the size of my inflated head, which I promptly devoured along with a large portion of fries. Then, before I knew it it was Good Friday. Usually such a development would completely slip my conscious, but in this instance it was hard to miss because they closed all the bars at 12 am sharp Thursday night (Friday morning) cause it's illegal to serve liquor on Good Friday. What the hell? Good Friday isn’t a holiday! That’s the southern hemisphere for you... Luckily a repeat trip to Fergburger raised my spirits and allowed me to intake 25 times my daily allotment of grease in a 24 hour period.
The next morning we boarded the bus for the epic (and by epic I mean epically boring and uneventful) drive to Dunedin where I got to go on a great wildlife tour with flying Albatross (they’re huge!) and a private conservation beach covered with sea lions and waddly and rare yellow-eyed penguins. Also of note was the World’s steepest street which I was very excited for and was not disappointed – it was steep alright! Sorry Dunedin that’s all you get – just two sentences. Next time try being more interesting.
Frisky Sea Lions
Hello, Yellow-Eyed Penguin Style
Life on the World's Steepest Street
After Dunedin, the bus wound (buses tend to do this a lot in New Zealand in my experience) through the plains and along pristine glacial lakes and long canals which feed New Zealand’s many hydropower plants. The lakes and canals are a brilliant teal blue from the glacial sediment filtering the light reflecting through the water. We finally arrived in a sleepy little town with one main street and a tiny stone church on the lakes edge. We stayed at a hostel at the lakes edge and I decided to book an extra night and take a trip to Mt. Cook national park for Easter Sunday. Mt. Cook is New Zealand’s largest peak and is named after the famous captain cook who explored much of Australia and New Zealand. It’s also just on the other side of the mountain range from Franz Joseph and Fox glaciers which I had visited on the West coast.
Blue Lake Pukaki
Mt. Cook Over Lake Pukaki
The shuttle arrived at the park at 9:30 am and as usual I headed out on an overly ambitious hike right away. I figured it would be cold so I brought 5 layers and my brand new possum/merino wool hat which turned out to be four layers and one possum/merino hat too many, with a day of brilliant clear blue skies and a strong, hot sun. The first 30 minutes of the hike took me through low meadows of yellow grass and low shrubs and then I was at the crossroads looking down the nicely grated, flat path in one direction and the path straight up a steep slope in the other, and with only the slightest hesitation sighed quietly to myself and bound up the steep path past the sign telling me it was a 6 hour return and knowing I only had 4. Well, the hike was amazingly difficult but equally rewarding. After rising high above the glaciers and grey glacial melts (with much higher levels of glacial sediment than the rivers and lakes) I got great views of the valley fading into the distance and of Mt. Cook and the surrounding mountains. Pushing further up the trail I found myself scrambling up boulder fields and onto a high ridgeline which was little more than a pile of rocks left behind by long receding expanses of ice. After a full 2 hours of uphill battle I reached the hut which had been my goal and took 7 minutes to bask in the sun and down a small round of brie, half a baguette and a stick of Chorizo, and then headed back down. The trip down was easier on the lungs, but harder on the knees and treacherous as I tried to maintain even footing on the loose rocks. Slowly but surely I made my way down the trail and nearly ran back across the plain to reach the shuttle bus a mere 5 minutes before departure.
Path to the Mountain
Mt. Cook and Hooker Glacier
The next day, I treated myself to the first (and also my last) adventure activity of the trip and went white water rafting. I found myself decked out in a wetsuit, raincoat, safety vest and helmet and floating down the Rangitata River. As we followed the glacial blue river as it gently dropped through the valley our Kiwi guide, who was about 17 times cooler than I’ll ever be, explained how he was going to get us through the two grade five rapids alive. Well, what followed was amazing. I absolutely loved it and here’s why: it’s so participatory and team oriented. Everyone gets a paddle and within 30 minutes of climbing in the boat we’d all learned the basic strokes and commands and our guide could navigate the boat around the water at will simply by shouting commands at the 7 of us whom had never done this before. Everyone paddles and when someone falls out of the boat they rely on the closest person to pull them back in. I also liked it because our guide did a great job of scaring us senseless while simultaneously convincing us that we’d get through unscathed. For the next 3 hours we did all the rapids, jumped off cliffs and floated down through the 8 degree C water and our guide even flipped the boat on purpose just to mess with us. The trip entered with a huge BBQ at the end where we all relived the adventure before being taken off to Christchurch.
On the Rangitata
Bravely Rafting the Rangitata
I had a day to kill in Christchurch and killed it with style. I ran some errands, drank some coffee and took a nap in one of the many parks. My last night I joined some friends from the Magic Bus (which has redeemed itself after having some cool drivers and getting to know many cool people) for a BBQ at their hostel. We ate like Kings (and Queens) drank some NZ wine and beer and even sat in the sauna for a good spell. I was in bed by midnight and slept for four hours before waking to catch my early morning flight. Roughly 24 hours later I touched down in San Francisco at 10 am the same day, so for now I’m relaxing in California, enjoying the spring weather and trying to reacclimatize to the states while preparing for my long trip home with some small detours to Seattle, Vancouver and Washington, DC.
As usual, I've posted a boatload of new picks on my Flickr site. Enjoy.
Christchurch Hammock
Tekapo Bench in the Morning
Guarding the Moeraki Boulders
posted by AJH @ 2:13 PM
1 Comments:
At 1:16 PM,
Space Monkey said…
Given that I was busy leading teenagers in Nam for April and part of May, I feel a little ok about reading this so late.
All of you long fast hikes and trials are enchanting. I wish I could have been there with you.
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