East Coast - Dunedin/Lake Tekapo/Kaikoura

Dunedin
Late arrival in Dunedin, thanks to Steve for meeting us and getting us back to his home with his parents Gerald & Joan. I tell you it felt absolutely wonderful to be welcomed into their family even for a short time. We even had a real bed and more importantly a real towel and washcloth. Sounds funny but we have been traveling only with a small pack towel and sarong. So, the real stuff felt like a luxury! Thanks so much to Gerald and Joan for driving us around town the next day while Steve was being hardworking! Dunedin is very much a University town and was originally designed after Edinborough in Scotland. It was a surprisingly hilly town with more suburbs then we had experienced in our travels along the west coast of the South Island. Also, thanks to Nick for graciously showing us around and patiently taking us to a shoe store! No purchases but very tempting. We found that in a real city we are pretty lacking when it comes to shoes to go out at night. We'll see what we can find! Girls without one cute pair of shoes is a terrible thing! :)

That night we met up with Nick again and went to Tunnel Beach. It is a very (and I mean it) steep path through some sheep pastures (on either side) down to a gorgeous beach. The sheep were bleeting at us to get a move on! The rock formations were massive and carved out by the powerful surf. Also, there is literally a tunnel of stone steps leading you to the sandy beach. Talk about nature that makes you feel so small but also just encourages you to want to live to the fullest. Nick & Steve, thanks for thinking of this walk - it was incredible. However, the walk back up was a bit of killer although I think the guys weren't even breathing hard. I suppose if we were training every day we would have an easier time! :) After that Nick graciously treated us to an incredible japanese meal at Jizzo in town. A wonderful bottle of New Zealand wine (Church Road Merlot/Cabernet), sushi & sashimi, and teryaki salmon. Oh, I was in heaven especially since I had not eaten any Asian food since I left the States (Korean with Pinling & Chris, yummy!). It looked so beautiful I had to be a tourist and take a photo of the table!

Okay, so Friday was going to be day to visit the Yellow Eyed Penguin Reserve but with foggy weather Gerald recommended we not go. Hmmm, instead we were lazy and did laundry, write in our journals, download photos, and just relax in one place and not drive anywhere. Had some great Indian food that night at Chris & Tara's house (Steve's friends), it was a beautiful home on the hilly part of Brighton Beach. I can't believe that a house like that would go for $250,000 NZ dollars. In the U.S. market for something comparable it would be insane!

Saturday we went with Steve to watch him paddle (surf & ski) for a memorial ride (much earlier day then we were used to but nice to join him). Fairly lazy day and then joined Steve's work Christmas cruise on the Monarch through the Dunedin harbor. Lots of food and fun times! Finally left Dunedin Sunday afternoon, it was difficult to leave our new family. Thanks to Steve, Gerald, and Joan for their hospitality and warmth! Watch out we just might have to come back!

Lake Tekapo\
Nice view of Lake Tekapo when we arrived in the evening and we stayed at a cute place, Tailor Made Backpackers where we had a nice meal of veggie pasta to keep our costs down! Left the next morning to do a hike before heading over to Kaikoura where we hoped to do the swim with the dolphins. So, we decided rather then do the ones the hostel owner suggested we would try another one on the map. Hmmm, turns out it was pretty far out there along a very rocky/dusty road and then we stopped because the sign said it was private property and you couldn't enter without permission. Turns out a couple was already there trying to figure out where the hike was located with no luck. So, we drove all the way out there and then drove back after the guy working on the side told us that hunters were on the private land so no hiking for us!

Luckily, we were on the rocky road with not much on either side when Carrie slid the car on the gravel, yes she does have a lead foot. Scared the shit out of both of us and I was actually looking down reading something to her about hostels and looked up to see the view was sideways now. Everyone was safe and Carrie figured out that you can't drive too fast on rocks and dirt. Good lesson huh!

Kaikoura
Arrived here hoping to do a dolphin swim to find out they are booked through mid-January. Hmmm, so we treated ourselves to a dinner out at Olive Garden. I had a yummy Blue Cod on an asparagus pastry - mmmmm good! No dessert for us though! Trying to be good. This morning we decided to stay another night and do a swim with the seals after talking to some people who went and loved it! Got all suited up in full dry suits with head cover and long sleeves. The shock of the cold water when we first dropped over the side was pretty intense. Once I got moving it felt better but still cold. The seals came so close to us, about 1 foot or less with their funny little whiskered faces coming right at you. And, so many of them swimming around it was so much fun. The way they scratched themselves with the split tail (new zealand fur seals have a split tailfin) was so adorable, it made me giggle in my snorkel as I watched them above and below the water. They are so playful it's a thrill to be swimming with them. When we returned we were freezing but the hot showers helped as did the Seafood Chowder. I guess the apple crumb with ice cream didn't exactly help with warmth but it tasted great and put some smiles on our faces of course!

Next plan is to do a hike tomorrow then head further north to Blenheim and possibly Nelson before taking the Ferry from Picton back to the North Island around Christmas. Miss you all but love the trip and everything I'm experiencing.

South Island - Second Leg: West Coast

So, nice drive from Queenstown to Te Anau but very foggy and drizzly when we arrived. We treated ourselves to a steak dinner at our hostel, yummy if the chef says so herself! Next morning took the drive down Milford Road. There were some beautiful vistas to stop and take photos (I'll add a few more to the blog eventually). A field of purple and pink wildflowers, wish I knew the name to tell you. Mountains and creeks of course! When we got to the end of the Road to Milford Sound (actually a fjord) we were immediately attacked by sand flies when we exited the vehicle. AHHHHHHHH! Little but more annoying then one big fly or a bunch of mosquitoes.

Turns out the walk to Bowen Falls was closed so we got in the car and headed back to make our first stop at The Chasm ( a gorgeous chasm of water forcing it's way through the rocks to create beautifully sculpted rocks that reminded me of something living). It was a quick stop and thank goodness because our next stop was a difficult 3 1/2 hour or so tramp (hike to us Americans) to Lake Marian. It was a tough one with lots of steep climbs and rocky paths but worth it when we arrived at the lake. As, I lay on the rock formed perfectly to serve as my makeshift lounge I looked up and saw the mountains and blue sky surrounding us. The water of the lake was crystal clear and cool (good for our weary feet and hot sweaty faces). That is one thing that is consistently beautiful here in New Zealand, the clearest water with varying colors of blue to entice you.

We did make it out and drove from there back through Te Anau to arrive in Manapouri for the night before our kayak trip in Doubtful Sound. When we arrived at Freestone Backpackers we encountered the owner of the hostel, Jimmy, singing Elvis Karaoke pretty much by himself in the main living room. He was funny but we were too tired to join in the revelry (my friend Dudley will be disappointed in me but I just couldn't do it without her!). Beautiful landscaped area with cute cabins and he let us have one all to ourselves, too bad we couldn't stay another night we might have been singing some John Denver if Carrie had to choose. :)

Next morning was an early start, 6:30 a.m. at Adventure Kayak & Cruise for our trip to Doubtful Sound by boat, bus, boat/kayak and home in the evening. The boat across Lake Manapouri was fun (I always love being on the water) and it is the 2nd largest and 5th deepest of the lakes in NZ. A fairly short bus ride through a windy road down to another boat ride to Deep Cove (time to pull on the cute wet suits). A mini kayak instruction and off we went in our kayak with the small group of fellow travelers (10 including the guide). Carrie took the first turn steering and did a nice job. It was really peaceful there, we only encountered one other kayak group (and they were always on the opposite side of the fjord) and saw one bigger tour boat. Doubtful Sound is much wider and deeper then Milford Sound (and less crowded evidently).

Exciting moment was the visit from a group of dusky dolphins swimming around us. The peace and beauty of this natural environment was overwhelming. And the highest rock face climbed so high you strained your neck looking at the top. Also, we kayaked by a seal lazing on the rocks - no swimming for him with us tourists ruining his play area! I took my turn at steering after our lunch break on the main boat. It wasn't too cold but enough to keep us chickens from taking a dip in the sound! :( It was worth the money to have experienced the peace of the water, mountains, and marine life!

We got home around 6ish and the rain came at us hard on our backs as the boat brought us back. Just in time to jump in the car and go ahead and drive on to stay with our friend Steve and his family in Dunedin. He offered for us to come that evening instead and we just trucked on with a quick food stop in Gore (I have to admit we ate Kentucky Fried Chicken, yikes I don't even eat that at home!).

South Island - First Leg: West Coast

Wow, so much has happened that I just haven't spent any time updating the blog. I absolutely love New Zealand, it is such a beautiful small country but with incredible beauty, gorgeous vistas, friendly and fun people, many mountains and lakes, and lots of wildlife.

Our first stop after going through Arthur's Pass (beautiful views along this road) was Greymouth along the west coast. Had to stop for lunch to get some nourishmnet and do a little walk around the small town before heading on to the glacier areas. Our drive took us by Franz Josef Glacier kind of late so we ended up going just a bit furtrher to stay in Fox Glacier for the night at Ivory Towers where we were able to make some phone calls to our families. Carrie tried to get us a free helicopter ride to the glacier (it costs $90 for a 10 minute ride) but no luck so we decided to walk to the base of the glacier the next day. In preparation for the short walk we needed some dinner and turns out some drinks were in order as well. :) Met up with some locals at the bar Cook's Saddle when the noise drew us in. Turns out a cricket game was happening and it was New Zealand vs. Austalia. Big rivalry there, sorry it didn't turn out better for you Kiwis! Tried the local beer, Speights Old Black for me - okay maybe a few of the local beers might be more accurate. :) Met some fun locals who also gave us more info on our next stops and some possible free places to stay! Thanks.

Woke up to pouring rain but after we had some breakfast we drove to the Walk to Fox Glacier. Turned out to be a great wee walk to the base with some great views along the way. A glacier evidently moves 100,000 times slower then a river. Crazy huh! Oh, we also saw the only alpine parrot, the Kea. Wicked! The glacier makes you realize how tiny and insignificant we are and also shows you the power of nature. On to Wanaka, and let me tell you when we drove in we immediately loved it there. I think for me it reminded me a bit of my hometown because the town is right on the lake and we also just had a beautiful sunny two days there! Carrie was excited because we ordered some pizza which she had been craving for awhile. Ended up staying at a cute hostel, Wanaka Bakpaka's. Beautiful view of the lake and the mountains surrounding the town.

Did a great walk around the lake and then a hike (tramp in Kiwi speak) on the Millennium Walkway which ended at a gorgeous rocky beach on the lake. It was so peaceful there and I just wish I could share that feeling with everyone. Oh, there were some sheep who turned up to join us briefly. The tramp back was a little more difficult, feeling the workout. Met up with some friends in the area for a drink at Shooters and Carrie got me out dancing for a bit as well. Good night's sleep and hung out by the lake just a bit before making the drive on to Queenstown.

The drive to Queenstown was a bit of a hell drive with lots of switchbacks and by the time we arrived early evening my head was pounding. I had to take a short nap and I never nap. Carrie on the other hand absolutely loves her naps and since we've been in New Zealand she hasn't had much opportunity for napping. Turns out we felt better and went out for a nice dinner, a treat! I had some great grouper and tried some green lipped mussels. Pretty good I must say! Joined a Fox Glacier friend Jeremy who was in town and ended up staying at his friend Marty's place up on the hill right around Queenstown. Thanks so much Marty! Took the day to drive to Glenorchy with some pretty views along the way, good food when we arrived, and a bit of relaxing by the beach. Previously, we booked ourselves to do the Canyon Swing at 5:30pm. Gulp. So, we returned and were so nervous about it - the anticipation was killing us. So, Carrie and I did rock/paper/scissors because we both wanted to go first and I won. Hmmm, is that really winning?

The van finally arrived and drove us up a bit to the jumping point where we harnassed up and I volunteered to go first among our entire group. Gulp again! The canyon swing is 109m high (a wee bit over 300 feet), with a 60 m frefall and 200m arc. You can pick all different ways to jump and I decided just to do a forward jump (probably the easiest). I remember the guy saying it's best if you do it quick and before he could countdown evidently I actually jumped/dove off with arms and legs spread like I was flying. The feeling was exhilarating and the swing across the canyon at the bottom was so free. When they reeled me back up the guys said that it was a great dive and they totally didn't expect me to do it that way. Well, neither did I!

We celebrated by going with Jeremy to the bar where Marty was working, the Cow. Cute bar/restaurant and I tried out another Speights beer, the Summer Ale which had a good ginger honey flavor. Also, I had an incredible veggie pizza with blue cod. All I can say is wow! I probably could have eaten the whole thing myself! Yummy! Off to Marty's spare couch to crash for the night. So, no bungee for us but the canyon swing was incredible! And safe! :)

I'll continue with the Second Leg of the West Coast later!

Driving Around New Zealand - Yikes!

Our first night in Auckland we stayed at X Base Backpackers hoping to meet up with a friend from the Cook Islands but he already left. We hated the feel of the place, 7 floors and they PACKED you in a dorm room with 8 beds and not nearly enough space for eight people's crap! Had to do some laundry but Carrie almost scrapped with a girl who took our still wet laundry out! UGH! We realized we like much smaller backpackers with a more chill atmospher.

After some very stressful time trying to figure out our transportation for the almost 4 weeks we have in New Zealand, we rented a car. First we flew to Christchurch because it was cheaper to rent the car there and return to Auckland. Carrie did our first bout of driving, on the WRONG side of the road. Overall it went well, just a bit difficult parking on the left side of the road in the city of Christchurch. There went our cheapy hubcap cover. Despite that we loved Christchurch and stayed with some great people, Sian & Guy, who we met in the Cook Islands. They were sweet to feed us and help us figure out a plan of action for NZ. So here it is:

1. Leave Christchurch going through Arthur's Pass to the West Coast (approx. 7th)
2. Stop off in Greymouth for lunch and head thru the Franz Josef & Fox Glacier (on our drive we decided to stay at Fox Glacier because of the time - 7/8)
3. Head to Wanaka or Queenstown and stay a few days to check out Milford Sound, Bungee Jump (hopefully we'll have the nerve), and possibly do a jet boat shotover. (8-11)
4. Stop in Dunedin (stay with a friend from Cook Islands), maybe check out the Cadbury Factory, and other stuff (11-13)
5. Twizel and see Lake Tekapo and Mount Cook (13/14)
6. Christchurch (either stop or drive by depending on time) (14/15)
7. Kaikoura to swim with the dolphins (15/16)
8. Blenheim to check out some wineries (16/17)
9. Take the ferry to North Island(free with our car rental) from Picton (20/21)
10. Possibley Stop by Wellington but head to Taupo (22-24)
11. Check out the Waitomo Glow Worm Caves (24/25)
12. Mount Manganui/Rotorua for Christmas (25/26)

The dates above are really just basic estimates of when we might arrive mostly. Our drive from Christchurch to the WEst Coast was beautiful and we both drove. A bit windy and very steep roads but incredible mountains and some Hobbit scenery. We are finding some funny sayings that are used a lot by Kiwi's.

• Flash - cool/exciting
• Wee - little
• Wicked - also cool
• Cheers (self-explanatory)
• no worries (said quite often as it's pretty laid back here)

Just a few to give you the feel for things, and the people are incredibly fun and welcoming. We are also getting lots of advice on where to go in other countries we will travel later on! Take care!

Goodbye Cook Islands

When I last left off you were waiting expectantly for my next trip to Aitutaki. What could happen? More rain, crazy adventures, mishaps, who knew! Okay, we arrived in Aitutaki to a beautiful SUNNY day - yes really I'm being serious. We arrived in Paradise, well Paradise Cove to be literal. Gorgeous huts on the beach, oh wait that's not where we stayed - we were in the guesthouse for the low rent travelers! Still, it was pretty nice although our room was just about big enough for the beds and nothing else.

The beach truly was stunning (until you walked into the water and attempted NOT to step on one of the Sea Cucumbers/Slugs)! The water was wonderful, not too warm but so comfortable. Loung chairs right on the beach. Us, and quite a few couples but it was relaxing and nice break from constant rain on Raro. We worked on our tans and didn't really go out except for some fish and chips at Puffy's restaurant next door when we first arrived. Hit another part of the island that was even more gorgeous, Samades (probably out of our budget range as the drinks were pretty expensive).

Did I mention the strange looking dogs that were on Raro? Most of them look like a strange mix of a big dog and one with short stumpy legs. I must say a few looked quite disgruntled with their heritage! Well, instead of dogs there were cats and mostly roosters/chickens on Aitutaki (and yes we heard them most mornings early!). Oh, did I mention the ants and more mosquitoes? They really are the most plentiful, in fact the ants ruled. It's amazing what you get used to though.

We did take a great lagoon cruise that was incredible despite the weather being a bit cloudy. Saw some pretty cool looking fish snorkeling there, realized which ones were the trigger fish everyone was telling us kept biting people. Good thing we finally figured it out. Stopped on Honeymoon Island, how romantic for us. Hmmm, okay not really but it was a cute little island and they had red tailed crane there nesting, got a beautiful shot so hopefully soon I can share more photos with you all!

Stopped on One Foot Island and decided to be economical and Not spend the $2.50 to get a special stamp in our passports. Instead sent a few postcards. Not surprising to hear this from me, but the lunch we had as part of our cruise was INCREDIBLE and a definite highlight! So many different flavors of local foods and fresh fruits, YUMMY! I stuffed myself so much it was probably good our second snorkel stop wasn't too great. The water was cloudy from rain early in the morning so we didn't stay long. Some food highlights were: kumara (local type of sweet potato) & banana potato salad; papaya w/mayo and curry dressing, grilled tuna, marinated eggplant and peppers, and the finale of banana cake with chocolate icing.

I hear it's supposed to snow there in the DC area sometime soon, sorry guys! We arrived in Auckland to a very sunny day in the mid-70's. Now we are attempting to figure out our transportation here for the 3-4 weeks we'll be here. Rental car or a bus pass thing like Scape or Kiwi experience. Thanks to some really nice Kiwi's we met on Rarotonga we have a few places to stay! More later!

Gotta get our plan of action together now!