Our next road trip was down the west coast and I experienced one of the most beautiful drives I have ever been on. Our first destination was the delightful town of Westport, where we used the Internet and left as quickly as possible, just imagine your typical small town, and that was Westport. On our way out of town we stopped at a seal colony, which was really cool to see, but rather smelly. At the beach nearby, Ashley and I attempted to go for a swim with our body boards, however it was so cold, that instead we frolicked around and had a jelly-fish throwing fight, instigated by me of course.
From there we headed down to Punakaiki along the coast line. It was late afternoon and the sun gave the drive the most spectacular light. The ocean stretched out for miles, a sight that I am still not use to, and the coast is lined with rocky islands upon which the waves were crashing magnificently. In Punakaiki we stopped to see the Pancake rocks, which look like giant stacks of pancakes. It claims to be a scientifically unexplained phenomenon, and was rather curious to look at. We stayed and enjoyed the sun set there, and then enjoyed a meal at the local tavern, the only place open past 6:00pm.
We headed off early the next morning for Greymouth, a town of unexpected excitement for us. With some excellent navigating by Ashley, we found a near deserted beach, where we pulled out our mattresses from the car and enjoyed a relaxing morning of tanning and reading. We managed to drag ourselves off the beach by 1:30 in order to experience a Monteith's Brewery Tour, which is New Zealand's most popular beer. We were guided around this smaller scale brewery by a proud employee of the Monteith tradition, and enjoyed an excellent taste of their beers at the end. We had two favorites, the first was the summer beer which is made with honey and ginger flavours and was so unbelievably refreshing that at the end of the tour we just had to buy ourselves a six pack. The second was a lemon and lime infused beer, which was much better than any shandy I had ever tasted.
After finishing our Summer beer, on our prized private beach and enjoying a swim in the waves, we thought we might head out of town to see some glow worms in Hokitika. However, before we made it out of town, we past a large group of boys and Ashley, in order to ensure that we did not leave town without leaving a friendly name for ourselves, jumped out of the car to see where the party was at. And boy did she find it! We were quickly invited to a keg party, and provided our trusty micro-camper, for the keg's transport.
The party was in the style of a high school kegger, and it did not disappoint. We became known as the Canadians, and everyone knew our names, although we could not tell you any of theirs. Ashley in her truest tradition disappeared on me for part of the evening and partook on an adventure downtown, where she enjoyed some much needed time on the dance floor.
We woke up the next morning with a touch of a headache and a craving for McDonald's. We got ourselves together and pulled into the McDonald's parking lot where we were greeted by a few honks from the Dad and a bunch of the kids from the night before. When we entered the store we were greeted by "Oh! The Canadians!!" Needless to say, we managed to make quite a name for ourselves in the small, unsuspecting town of Greymouth!
Monday, January 29, 2007
Friday, January 26, 2007
Nelson and Abel Tasman
After leaving the sheep farm, Ashley and I headed towards Nelson and enjoyed a wonderful evening of sailing! We went out on a sail boat for $40 each and followed behind the sailing races that were going on that evening. We sat at the very front of the boat with our legs dangling over the edge. It got a bit rough and we both got rather soaked, but loved every minute of it! We brought a few beer on board and with just 4 other girls and the skipper on board, we had an excellent evening.
The next morning (after receiving a fine for where we had parked that night) we headed out on a water taxi for Anchorage, a destination in the middle of the Abel Tasman national park. This park has only been under government control for the past 60 years and those that bought up property before then, are lucky enough to have houses and cabins in a beautiful remote area. We set out on a 4 hour walk with just over 6 hours to do it in. We made a stop about halfway for some lunch and a quick swim and made it to our pick-up destination with an hour and a half to spare! But as we sat there waiting for our water taxi (wondering where it was) we saw a boat, looking very much like our water taxi, fly by. We took out our pamphlet and realised that although our ticket said to meet at Tonga, the actual meeting spot was half an hour past that. We raced up to where we were suppose to be, but besides a few families with their boats, nobody was there.
I got a little excited at the thought of being stranded and proceeded to attempt to build a fort. However the novelty of that wore off pretty quickly, so we decided to walk down the beach and ask the boaters for a ride. In the friendly kiwi tradition, they were nice enough to drive us to the beach they were heading for. The ride was actually quite fun, as it was kind of rough and we were bumping all over the place. After being dropped at this beach we realised that it was going to be a 4 hour walk back to our car, so we called up the water taxi company and had them pay for a boat to get us back. Finally, we reached our car and headed back to the next down to load up on groceries.
Unfortunately Ashley then realised that her purse was missing from the vehicle, so we headed for the police station to make a report. Ironically, we had earlier thought that our day could not get any worse, however for Ashley it did! The only thing of real value was her passport, but all her makeup, journal and contact info was in there as well. We went through the process of filling out the report, and then decided to stay in that town till we could call the passport office the next morning. We drove out to a nearby river to camp for the night. As we were setting up our micro-camper for bed I noticed that Ashley's bag was indeed in the car, but had been hidden under our mattresses! We both ecstatically jumped around, and decided it would probably be a bit too embarrassing to go back to the police station to tell the officer. Unfortunately for Ashley though, this story is one I will never let her live down, buahahah!!
The next morning (after receiving a fine for where we had parked that night) we headed out on a water taxi for Anchorage, a destination in the middle of the Abel Tasman national park. This park has only been under government control for the past 60 years and those that bought up property before then, are lucky enough to have houses and cabins in a beautiful remote area. We set out on a 4 hour walk with just over 6 hours to do it in. We made a stop about halfway for some lunch and a quick swim and made it to our pick-up destination with an hour and a half to spare! But as we sat there waiting for our water taxi (wondering where it was) we saw a boat, looking very much like our water taxi, fly by. We took out our pamphlet and realised that although our ticket said to meet at Tonga, the actual meeting spot was half an hour past that. We raced up to where we were suppose to be, but besides a few families with their boats, nobody was there.
I got a little excited at the thought of being stranded and proceeded to attempt to build a fort. However the novelty of that wore off pretty quickly, so we decided to walk down the beach and ask the boaters for a ride. In the friendly kiwi tradition, they were nice enough to drive us to the beach they were heading for. The ride was actually quite fun, as it was kind of rough and we were bumping all over the place. After being dropped at this beach we realised that it was going to be a 4 hour walk back to our car, so we called up the water taxi company and had them pay for a boat to get us back. Finally, we reached our car and headed back to the next down to load up on groceries.
Unfortunately Ashley then realised that her purse was missing from the vehicle, so we headed for the police station to make a report. Ironically, we had earlier thought that our day could not get any worse, however for Ashley it did! The only thing of real value was her passport, but all her makeup, journal and contact info was in there as well. We went through the process of filling out the report, and then decided to stay in that town till we could call the passport office the next morning. We drove out to a nearby river to camp for the night. As we were setting up our micro-camper for bed I noticed that Ashley's bag was indeed in the car, but had been hidden under our mattresses! We both ecstatically jumped around, and decided it would probably be a bit too embarrassing to go back to the police station to tell the officer. Unfortunately for Ashley though, this story is one I will never let her live down, buahahah!!
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Wellington to Bleihnem (South Island)
Our trip down to Wellington felt very very long. We were unbelievable tired from our ventures the night before, and I was very thankful that it was Ashley's turn to drive! We stop off in a town called Woodsville and took a 3-4 hour nap in our car at a park. Once we made it to Wellington we were still very tired, and after much searching around we found a place to park, made a sandwich and went to bed.
The nest morning we, being the rebels that we are, snuck into a nearby campsite in order to shower (the first real shower I had had in few days). We also made ourselves some breakfast and discovered a TV room, which we made plans to come back to later. We then hit up a beach outside of wellington, but were very disappointed when the clouds and wind prevented us from leaving our car.
We had a very early start to the following day. We woke up at a quarter to 6 (or so we thought) to make it to the ferry for the South Island by 7. By the time we got driving there, we discovered that it was quarter past 7 (note to self: don't trust ipod clock ever again). Luckily we made the ferry, although I almost got trapt in the car for the 3 hour sailing because I had hid myself in the back of the car (in order to only pay for one person to board the ferry) and there were many ferry officers standing around our car when we boarded. Then an officer approached Ashley and told her she needed to go upstairs because they lock the area where the cars are. He stood there until she left, but luckily, me being the stealth person that I am, I was able to sneak out of the car and upstairs without being detected.
When we arrived on the South Island it was a beautiful day and so we rented bikes and set off to do some wine tasting at the vast amount of vineyards in the area. We had a great time doing that, although with the wind (and my poor physical condition), it was fairly slow going. We picked up a nice pino rose and headed out to a sheep farm owned by a friend of Ashley's mom. We arrived to nobody home, but Ashley had been told where the key was, so we went inside and made ourselves at home. Snow and Judith arrived home later in the evening, and were so friendly and interesting to talk with. Judith made us some diner, and we chatted until it was time for bed. As we quickly have learned, the kiwis are so friendly and unbelievably generous!!!
Link to pictures of the North Island: http://uvic.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2026911&id=122502204
The nest morning we, being the rebels that we are, snuck into a nearby campsite in order to shower (the first real shower I had had in few days). We also made ourselves some breakfast and discovered a TV room, which we made plans to come back to later. We then hit up a beach outside of wellington, but were very disappointed when the clouds and wind prevented us from leaving our car.
We had a very early start to the following day. We woke up at a quarter to 6 (or so we thought) to make it to the ferry for the South Island by 7. By the time we got driving there, we discovered that it was quarter past 7 (note to self: don't trust ipod clock ever again). Luckily we made the ferry, although I almost got trapt in the car for the 3 hour sailing because I had hid myself in the back of the car (in order to only pay for one person to board the ferry) and there were many ferry officers standing around our car when we boarded. Then an officer approached Ashley and told her she needed to go upstairs because they lock the area where the cars are. He stood there until she left, but luckily, me being the stealth person that I am, I was able to sneak out of the car and upstairs without being detected.
When we arrived on the South Island it was a beautiful day and so we rented bikes and set off to do some wine tasting at the vast amount of vineyards in the area. We had a great time doing that, although with the wind (and my poor physical condition), it was fairly slow going. We picked up a nice pino rose and headed out to a sheep farm owned by a friend of Ashley's mom. We arrived to nobody home, but Ashley had been told where the key was, so we went inside and made ourselves at home. Snow and Judith arrived home later in the evening, and were so friendly and interesting to talk with. Judith made us some diner, and we chatted until it was time for bed. As we quickly have learned, the kiwis are so friendly and unbelievably generous!!!
Link to pictures of the North Island: http://uvic.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2026911&id=122502204
Monday, January 22, 2007
Rotorua - Taupo - Napier
We made our way into Rotorua, which smells like rotten eggs, and then headed out to a volcanic valley for our first tour of thermal activity. The valley we went to was last active in 1886, and it was amazing to see how much vegetation had sprouted up since that time. It was beautifully lush with lakes and rivers, that were steaming and bubbling. One of the lake had the most gorgeous coloured water I had ever seen. It was a deep turquoise color and was calling us to jump in for a swim (however the high acid level and temperature (45 degrees) prevented us from doing so). We hiked up the more challenging trail and I was amazed at all the noises, frogs, crickets, and birds filled the air with all their sounds.
We continued on down to Taupo in search if a free campsite we had heard about. We found it, and it could not have been more perfect. It was situated right along the river and surounded by trees and srubs. We jumped in for a bit of a swim and were carried quite quickly down stream. I found myself screaming as I ripped through some rapids in about one foot of water, and felt lucky to still have my bathing suit on by the time I was through it! That night we had our first succesfully cooked diner of saussage sandwhiches, and began to feel much better about our camping abilities.
The next day (after a rather late start) we headed in to town bought some beer and body boards and headed out to the hot stream. It's an area along the river were a smaller river with extremely hot water runs down into it. We putz around there for quite awhile until the sun began dip down behind the trees. After stealing some wood from behind some dumpsters in town we headed back to the campsite. We ended up joining up with some Czech guys who were camping next to us and managed to keep a fire going for quite some time (which was much better than our fire from the night before which was made from scrap wood from around the site and lasted about 20 minutes).
Our next destination was Napier, a town known for its art deco collections. We rolled into the visitors center, hoping to find a campsite as great as our last one, but were disapointed to learn that no such place existed. So we headed for the beach to enjoy the sun, however we only stayed for about an hour because we felt ourselves burning (the ozone is said to be the thinest down here). So we haulled ourselves and our mattresses to a park and took a litlle siesta under a shady tree. We then drove around for a bit and got ready to go out on the side of the road in a residential area. After being asked if our car had broken down and if we needed help, we had to laugh at ourselves, and continued on our way, with an unknown destination, but ended up parking at the beach where we saw 7 or 8 campervans ligning the lot. It turned out to be a great desicion as we met a ton of people (Dutch, German, French, Canadian) and eventually headed out to the bar, where Ashley and I got a much needed fix for Dancing! I ended off the night taking a swim in some nearby pools and then enjoying a beautiful sin-rise!
We continued on down to Taupo in search if a free campsite we had heard about. We found it, and it could not have been more perfect. It was situated right along the river and surounded by trees and srubs. We jumped in for a bit of a swim and were carried quite quickly down stream. I found myself screaming as I ripped through some rapids in about one foot of water, and felt lucky to still have my bathing suit on by the time I was through it! That night we had our first succesfully cooked diner of saussage sandwhiches, and began to feel much better about our camping abilities.
The next day (after a rather late start) we headed in to town bought some beer and body boards and headed out to the hot stream. It's an area along the river were a smaller river with extremely hot water runs down into it. We putz around there for quite awhile until the sun began dip down behind the trees. After stealing some wood from behind some dumpsters in town we headed back to the campsite. We ended up joining up with some Czech guys who were camping next to us and managed to keep a fire going for quite some time (which was much better than our fire from the night before which was made from scrap wood from around the site and lasted about 20 minutes).
Our next destination was Napier, a town known for its art deco collections. We rolled into the visitors center, hoping to find a campsite as great as our last one, but were disapointed to learn that no such place existed. So we headed for the beach to enjoy the sun, however we only stayed for about an hour because we felt ourselves burning (the ozone is said to be the thinest down here). So we haulled ourselves and our mattresses to a park and took a litlle siesta under a shady tree. We then drove around for a bit and got ready to go out on the side of the road in a residential area. After being asked if our car had broken down and if we needed help, we had to laugh at ourselves, and continued on our way, with an unknown destination, but ended up parking at the beach where we saw 7 or 8 campervans ligning the lot. It turned out to be a great desicion as we met a ton of people (Dutch, German, French, Canadian) and eventually headed out to the bar, where Ashley and I got a much needed fix for Dancing! I ended off the night taking a swim in some nearby pools and then enjoying a beautiful sin-rise!
The Kauri Coast and Raglan
The Kauri Coast was beautiful. We stoped along the way to see the largest tree I have ever seen (which is saying a lot for a girl from B.C.). It is the oldest Kauri tree and is named Tane Mahuta. It is said to take approximately 18 people to stretch the whole way around the base of the trunk. It was rather incredible! We made our way down to Raglan, a little surfing town on the west coast, and took a little nap, as we tend to do fairly often. When it began to get dark we headed down to the beach for a bit of a picnic. However with a rather intense wind our noodles barely cooked, and our corn was not as good as it could have been! After being heckled by two guys sitting on the bluff above us, laughing at our lame attempt at a meal, we called it a day.
First thing the next morning, after some tea and a muffin in a cafe, I rented a surf board and we made our way to the beach. I had a lot of fun playing around in the waves, although the current was very strong. We headed over to Manu Bay to witness on of the longest left breaking waves in the world, and we were not disappointed with the site we saw. Some unbelievably good surfers were out there, and we spent some time there just sitting and watching. That night we splurged a little and had diner out. I had a greek salad and I don't think it has ever felt so good eating vegetables. We ended our night with an attempt to set up our car for bed without getting out (because it was raining) it took some time, but we did managed to do it!
First thing the next morning, after some tea and a muffin in a cafe, I rented a surf board and we made our way to the beach. I had a lot of fun playing around in the waves, although the current was very strong. We headed over to Manu Bay to witness on of the longest left breaking waves in the world, and we were not disappointed with the site we saw. Some unbelievably good surfers were out there, and we spent some time there just sitting and watching. That night we splurged a little and had diner out. I had a greek salad and I don't think it has ever felt so good eating vegetables. We ended our night with an attempt to set up our car for bed without getting out (because it was raining) it took some time, but we did managed to do it!
Friday, January 19, 2007
The Bay of Islands and 90 Mile Beach
Ashley arrived safe and sound and after catching up we mad plans to get out of Auckland the nest day! We woke up bright and early and headed down to another hostel to meet a guy named Tom who found us a rental car. We were looking for a camper-van, and instead for the cheapest price of $60/day we got a micro-camper. It is a stationwagon which converts the back into a sleeping area, that works for us, but anyone over 5'6'' I wouldn't recomend it!
I began the drive (which is on the opposite side of the road) a bit nervously, but so excited to begin our road trip. Our first destination was the Bay of Islands and a town called Paihia (no clue how to pernounce that)! Unfortunately, it was raining when we got there, but that didn't stop us from touring the town. We stumbled in out of the rain to a hostel and read some of the guest books there where travellers had left info on places they'd been. We then headed to the beach and took a siesta in the back, which didn't end untill well past 8:00pm. At this point we were unsure of where to stay so Ashley boldly went up to a house that had a camper-van, that was brightly decorated, in the front yard. She ran back to the car saying that the home-owner Dean said we could park in his yard and to come in and join him and his friends for a drink. His friends were Simon and Will from Sydney and Fraser from Auckland and he had only met them today. He works with Frasers Dad, and was letting them stay at his place for the night. After a few drinks we headed out to the bar, where Ashley and I downed a piece of pizza, since niether of us had eaten anything besides fruit since breakfast. We had a great night, which led us to another bar later to play some pool (however I was the only one who ended up playing with some guys from Irealand, needless to say I lost pretty badly), and ended with a nice swim to top off the night. We ended up crashing in Dean's guest room, which he graciously offered us, and got a few hours of sleep before we were awaken with talk of a juice stand right across the street, which got us out of bed.
After exchanging e-mail addresses, Ashley and I said our thanks to Dean, and head up towards 90mile beach. We drove right up onto the beach and raced along doing over 120 clicks untill we reached the end. The waves were crashing in and the ocean stretched out forever, with nothing but more water on the horizon. The view on our other side was massive sand dunes, that looked just like I imagine they look in the desert. We were a little unsure of how to get back to the main road without driving all the way back down the beach and after talking to a few guys we headed for this turn off, which unfortunately got us stuck in the sand! I began digging and Ashley went ou to flag down some help. She came back in a truck and with a few pulls we were out of the sand! The guy in the truck told us to follow him back up the beach to a river that we could drive up and would lead us back to the main road. Driving up the river was halarious, we closed our windows pretty quickly as the water was flying up beside us.
Eventually we made it to Cape Regina at the top of the North Island. Here the Tasman sea and Pacific Ocean meet, and it made for a breathtaking view! Then we got back in our car and attempted to reach a town called Oponoto, however, due to poor navigating by me (that led us to the end of the road with a no exit sign on our right and left) and lack of gas, we stoped in a town called Rawene. We arrived there at 7:30 and everything was closed! We managed to find a campsite though and enjoyed a miraculous sun set, that made the stop so woth it! We had to laugh as we looked at the sight seeing map for the town, which included the grocery store, gas station, and practically every building on the main street, which took as 5 minutes to see. The next morning we got some good tips from the campers around us and made our way down the Kauri Coast.
I began the drive (which is on the opposite side of the road) a bit nervously, but so excited to begin our road trip. Our first destination was the Bay of Islands and a town called Paihia (no clue how to pernounce that)! Unfortunately, it was raining when we got there, but that didn't stop us from touring the town. We stumbled in out of the rain to a hostel and read some of the guest books there where travellers had left info on places they'd been. We then headed to the beach and took a siesta in the back, which didn't end untill well past 8:00pm. At this point we were unsure of where to stay so Ashley boldly went up to a house that had a camper-van, that was brightly decorated, in the front yard. She ran back to the car saying that the home-owner Dean said we could park in his yard and to come in and join him and his friends for a drink. His friends were Simon and Will from Sydney and Fraser from Auckland and he had only met them today. He works with Frasers Dad, and was letting them stay at his place for the night. After a few drinks we headed out to the bar, where Ashley and I downed a piece of pizza, since niether of us had eaten anything besides fruit since breakfast. We had a great night, which led us to another bar later to play some pool (however I was the only one who ended up playing with some guys from Irealand, needless to say I lost pretty badly), and ended with a nice swim to top off the night. We ended up crashing in Dean's guest room, which he graciously offered us, and got a few hours of sleep before we were awaken with talk of a juice stand right across the street, which got us out of bed.
After exchanging e-mail addresses, Ashley and I said our thanks to Dean, and head up towards 90mile beach. We drove right up onto the beach and raced along doing over 120 clicks untill we reached the end. The waves were crashing in and the ocean stretched out forever, with nothing but more water on the horizon. The view on our other side was massive sand dunes, that looked just like I imagine they look in the desert. We were a little unsure of how to get back to the main road without driving all the way back down the beach and after talking to a few guys we headed for this turn off, which unfortunately got us stuck in the sand! I began digging and Ashley went ou to flag down some help. She came back in a truck and with a few pulls we were out of the sand! The guy in the truck told us to follow him back up the beach to a river that we could drive up and would lead us back to the main road. Driving up the river was halarious, we closed our windows pretty quickly as the water was flying up beside us.
Eventually we made it to Cape Regina at the top of the North Island. Here the Tasman sea and Pacific Ocean meet, and it made for a breathtaking view! Then we got back in our car and attempted to reach a town called Oponoto, however, due to poor navigating by me (that led us to the end of the road with a no exit sign on our right and left) and lack of gas, we stoped in a town called Rawene. We arrived there at 7:30 and everything was closed! We managed to find a campsite though and enjoyed a miraculous sun set, that made the stop so woth it! We had to laugh as we looked at the sight seeing map for the town, which included the grocery store, gas station, and practically every building on the main street, which took as 5 minutes to see. The next morning we got some good tips from the campers around us and made our way down the Kauri Coast.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Auckland
My trip to Auckland began with a few tears as I said goodbye to my parents at the airport. Although I have travelled many times by myself, this time felt particularly unique as I was going away for a long time, and had no one waiting for me on the other end. The long flight from San Fransisco (12 Hours) to Auckland was surprisingly not as bad as I would have thought. With our own personal TV screens at each seat, and with almost an entire row to myself, I was able to watch a movie, eat some dinner, pop some gravol, and fall asleep. Although I woke up several times throughout the trip (twice to lightening striking every 5 second - It was so cool to watch!), I felt fairly rested when we landed at 5am in Auckland. I gathered up my 70 pound suitcase, back pack and shoulder bag and headed out to the "Super Shuttle" which took my to my hostel the Central City Backpackers. I got into my room right away, and lay down with my book for awhile until it was a decent time to go out and explore.
I began by walking down Queens street (the main shopping street) and felt right at home after passing four Starbucks in the span of 5 minutes. I walked down to the wharf, picking up pamphlets and schedules and decided I would head out to Mission Bay a nearby beach. I spent a few hours there relaxing on the grass, wishing the sky wasn't so overcast, and then grabbed a smoothie and headed back into the city. Unfortunately as I got off the bus the skies opened and I had to briskly walk home in my tank-top in the pouring rain. Back at the hostel I took off my sunglasses and had a gander in the mirror, only to see the worst sunglasses burn i have every witnessed. Apparently the sun is a tad stronger down here, and easily penetrates clouds! You think I would have learned this lesson after several burns throughout my lifetime... but no!
Today, I got off to a late start. I woke up way to early (6am) and took some gravol to fall back asleep, unfortunately I didn't wake up until 11:30 ...opps! I got myself ready and headed down to the ferry docks (after picking up a Starbucks latte, sunscreen, and aloe), where I caught a 10 minute ferry to Devonport. Devonport is a very quaint town with old Victorian style buildings and houses. I wandered around and made my way up Mount Victoria, where I marvelled at the spectacular view of both downtown Auckland and the surrounding Islands. I had to laugh at myself while taking the ferry over as the other tourists were old couples and families with youngish children and wonder if my interest in going there stemmed from the countless similar places I had been dragged to as a child travelling with my parents. Thanks Mom and Dad! Regardless, it was a beautiful place with cute shops, a beautiful park and beach, really the ultimate suburb.
The first few days I have been taking it rather easy and am looking forward to having Ashley join me and getting out of the city. I'm ready to road trip it up, with the tentative first stops being 90 mile beach and the bay of islands.
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