auckland

Flew into Auckland yesterday. It's the largest city in NZ... really big and I haven't really checked anything out yet. I met up with a buddy of mine and we had made separate plans for today but plan on hanging out together. She went canyoning - swimming, rapelling and cliff diving while I had the chance to see glow worms.

I missed it twice on the South Island so I took a bus ride up to Waitomo caves and saw the worms. It was really cool! I thought they would be bigger but they are the size of a pin head. The place didn't allow photos because it dims the the glow worms lights so I got some postcards that will have to do. Anyway, we took a short walk in a cave and saw some limestone stalactites, stalacmites and a column (when the two stalactite and stalacmite join) and ended in an underground stream with a boat ride out.

In the cave, we saw a huge cavern called the cathedral. In the Christmas season, choirs go down with an audience and sing because the accoustics are really great. In the other months, various opera singers have concerts.

On the way out of the cave via boat, there were hundreds of glowing dots on the ceiling. They looked like constellations in the sky but green. They glow because they are hungry - the more hungry they are the brighter they shine - interesting fact. And they only live for 11 months. Once hatched from the glowing larva, they look alittle like a mosquito.

The bus driver was full of interesting facts:
- The Monterey pine trees are imported from the Monterey, California area. In the States, it takes about 80-100 years for the pine trees to grow and be ready for harvest. In NZ, it takes about 25 years. The country has given people tax deductions for those who plant lots of these trees. Considering they only take 25 years to grow and be ready for harvest a lot of people grow a plot full and by the time they want to retire, they have a plot full of pine ready for harvest and a nice retirement fund. 60% of New Zealanders have this retirement fund.

- Birds will not live in the pine trees so the government has a program to plant the blue gum eucalyptus trees for birds and other creatures to create a nice habitat.

- A queen chain is public land between any natural water (creek, river, lake, ocean, etc) to about 20 meters from the high water mark. Therefore, all places with water will always have a walking path nearby for all to enjoy. Private property can start after the queen chain ends so no one can claim waterfront property.

- Manuka trees are locally grown. In the States, manuka is called tea tree and the oil is used as rubbing oils such as in massage therapy.

- Oh and the most interesting was the kiwi fruit. It was imported from China and became a big export in NZ the 1930's. Kiwi's grow on vines just like grapes. I actually took a few pics of this.

Tomorrow if the weather is nice we're going to the beach. It's been kinda rainy and overcast so hopefully, it'll be nice.

Kiwi growing on the vine near Waitomo caves.

Moeraki and Akaroa

So on the way back north to CHC, there's a town called Moeraki. Cute little beach town... if I had an extra day I think I'd of stayed the night there. Anyway, there are these huge boulders near the sea and that's pretty much the only tourist attraction. I thought it was really cool but it's kinda of strange the boulders are only in one part of the beach.

After the Moeraki boulders, I went on to Akaroa where I was going to stay in a hostel. One of the Ice people told me if I'm in that area I have to stay the night at Le Bons Bay backpackers. The hostel owner makes this superb dinner feast and takes you out on his boat to see the dolphins and other sea creatures. So I arrived and it was so strange. I left CHC a day late but arrived at Le Bons a day early. And Moeraki was a 3 hr car ride back south. Being with no vacancy, Gary (the hostel proprietor) called around and I ended up staying in the next bay over - Okains bay.

Both hostels were real nice. The first one in Okains Bay is newly built in November 2006 so everything is brand new. It was a good thing I was a day early since it gave me a chance to go down to Akaroa for a boat tour. The weather was a bit windy to go out on the open ocean so Gary cancelled his tour. I ended up going out on a sailboat and saw Hector dolphins, couple seals and a few albatross. And a huge case of sunburn! It's kinda ironic because someone told me the bugs at Milford Sound were really bad and to get some bug spray. I did that but forgot it in the car when I went on my boat ride. Then for this boat ride, I had gotten sunscreen but of course, it was in the car.



Moeraki boulders in the sea.

I don't know what kind of flower this is but I thought it was colorful. These were at Double Dutch hostel in Okains Bay.

This chapel in Akaroa is dedicated to the fallen soldiers in all the New Zealand wars.

Akarao harbor

Hector dolphins - the smallest in the dolphin family and only found in the New Zealand area.

Sailboats lining up for a race in Akaroa harbor.

Cliffs along the harbor

Akaroa lighthouse

Le Bons bay

dinner table at LeBons backpackers - there were 16 of us seated for dinner from Seattle, Boston, Israel and Germany

Le Bons backpacker hostel - backyard


So this was my South Island trip - Christchurch, Hokatika, Punakaiki, Franz Joseph/ Fox glaciers, Queenstown, Te Anau, Milford Sound, back to Te Anau, Dunedin, Moeraki, Akaroa and back to Christchurch - total about 1,500 miles in 5 days.

Dunedin

So Dunedin is a fairly large place. On the way here I took some pics of marshmellows. Just joking, they are green coverings for cow feed. The rest is pics of the countryside.

Feb 23

Leaving the Hokatika area traveling south to Franz Joseph and Fox glaciers.

Both Franz Joseph and Fox glaciers looked alike to me.

Heading to Milford Sound

The boat we took for the cruise

Look closely, there are seals.

The waterfall we got super close to.

This is the mountain you drove through

This is the tunnel that went through the mountain to get into and out of Milford Sound.

Ok, backtrack. I forgot to add in a few places... so after Punakaiki, I went to Franz Joseph and Fox Glaciers. Both glaciers have receded. The ice is really unstable and although they have tours that take you up on the ice accidents still occur. 2 tourists were trapped in when some ice fell on top of them. Minor injuries but they crossed the 'do not cross' roped off section. Americans...

After the glaciers, I stopped in Queenstown and Te Anau then moved on to Milford Sound, which was totally fantastic! It's in fjordland in the southwest portion of the island. It's quite a sight to see the tall mountains and all the water. I took a boat ride out to the middle of Milford and even saw some seals. The ferry captain even drove us so close to a waterfall that you could feel the mist.

After Milford Sound, I had to travel through Te Anau again and missed out on the Te Anau glowworms. It was all booked up until tomorrow and I didn't want to wait around. That's a really nice town too. Seems like most these nice towns have lakes nearby.

I'm currently in Dunedin. Caved in and am spending the night in a hotel. There was a rainstorm last night so I didn't sleep so well. Of course, I am a bit ahead of schedule and there's a Harley Davidson store in town so I'm sticking around just for a shirt to pick up in the morning.

I'm on my way heading north - back to Cheech with a few more stops along the way.

Feb 22

The Jade Experience in Hokatika. Gordon cutting out jade into the shape of a hook.












After 5 hrs of cutting (Gordon), sanding and buffing (done by me) my necklace is complete. The dark spots are iron in the jade. It's a Maori symbol (Maori being the local native New Zealanders).












Punakaiki park - otherwise known as pancake rocks. The layers are about an inch thick.











Walking around Punakaiki















More of Punakaiki - the water is eroding the rocks.












Hey, that's me with a pancake rock!











Kawarau river in Queenstown.














The first bungy bridge ever. Nov 1998 - made famous by AJ Hackett on the Kawarau River in Queenstown


















Te Anau lake... this was a nice little town.










Feb 22

Well, it's been a day of driving. Believe it or not, there's a shortage of rental vehicles. It's the touristy season plus all the Ice folks are returning. I stayed an extra day in Cheech in order to wait for a vehicle to be returned.

I've been just driving around NZ and sleeping in the car. The deal I made with myself was either bus the South island and stay in hotels or rent a car and pull over in camping parks and sleep in it. Haha... yeah, well I chose the car.

Last night, I went to Hokitika and made my own jade necklace. It's in the shape of a hook which represents good health, prosperity and safe travels over land and water. It's really cool. You can see it shine in the sun. It took about 5 hrs to make from cutting it out to the buffing. Crazy thing, my co-worker Will used to work at that place. The guy is a jade carver/ hostel owner. No wonder why Will told me you could carve your own jade! I didn't realize they were the same place. Then I went on to Punakaiki – about 1 ½ hrs north. They are called pancake rocks since the limestone is to thin like a pancake...well, realistically not that thin but that's really what they are called.

Bought my first tank of gas and paid in shock. I forgot they go by the liter here, not gallon like in the States. So for a ¼ tank I paid $30 NZ. Wow. Then I came back south and went to Franz Joseph and Fox Glaciers. Incredible! Seems like there's a drought here. The water is all dried up in the creek and river beds. There were signs that said in 1935 the glacier was here and in 1789 the glacier was here... it's backed up quite a bit. It rained all morning and afternoon so I didn't take too many pics. I kept driving… all the way to Queenstown. It’s soo crowded here! Makes me want to leave town in a jiff! It'd be a nice town to live in but as far as taking it easy, having a quiet relaxing vacation - that is not the place to go. But I promised a friend I'd take tons of pics of Q-town since she's planning on moving there. There's a nice park and a lake close by so that was a nice retreat to hangout at.

Anyway, it gets dark around 9pm so I'm calling it a day and gonna spend the night here, eat dinner. I had plans of going to a Maori concert and Hangi feast. Weird because I called from Cheech and they said to call the day of since I wasn't sure when I was arriving. It starts at 7pm and goes to 930...so I was going to cave in and spend 2 nights in a hostel since in the morning I was going to get on a bus charter to Milford sound. But calling the Maori place a few hrs ago, I came to find out that place has been closed for 2 years. I've no idea who I spoke to before. So that being said, I cancelled my hostel and am going to skip the charter and am going to drive there myself. I'm pretty sure there are boats there to take me out on the water. If not, that's ok...something to do on my return trip here if I come back.

So far, I've driven just a bit over 1000km. I wish I knew how much that was. And I wish I knew how many liters are in a gallon. Other than that, NZ is a really nice place to see. Tons of tourists though.

February 19

Going through Arthur's Pass West to the coast.

Somewhere on Arthur's Pass

In Christchurch - hycinths an imported 'weed' in the botanical garden.

I've been on the road for the past few days so here's a backlog...

February 19

I arrived in Cheech! We were slotted to leave on Feb 17 - Saturday but there was a storm in McMurdo and by the time the storm departed, the weather was too cold at Pole. So onto the 18th. Due to the cold weather, the station manager decided to close the station for summer. So all the summer people - the extra 20 were also going to leave.

Cheech or CHC is what we call Christchurch... We got in last night around 11pm. By the time we returned all our ECW gear, got our rooming assignments, and caught the shuttle to our location it was past midnight. I saw dark for the first time in 4 months. It was really strange and my seatmate, Webster and I both commented on how strange it was – the real dark versus a faux dark with blankets covering the windows. I got to my hostel in Riccarton - the suburbs of Christchurch. It was an alright place – in Asian town but about a 45 minute walk through the botanical garden to hangout with my Ice friends in downtown Christchurch. Needless to say, I didn't see very many of them. The 1 room apartment is so huge in comparison to my 5X3' Polie cubicle. I had a kitchenette, bathroom, living area and two beds in a separate room. I had to sleep with the light on to simulate Pole. Course, I was so excited to be back in the real world that I didn't sleep much. Too much space with only me!

I sure did walk a lot today. It was awesome just walking around town in jeans and a t-shirt and not having to bundle up before going outside. I smelled all the flowers in the air and luckily, my nose didn't rebel. I was prepared to get some antihistamines and other allergy drugs to combat the air but it was ok. At lunch, whew! I had salmon fritters at a restaurant called the Honey Pot. Good place to eat. Last time I was in Christchurch on my way to the Ice, I stayed in the hostel next door. Anyway, I could hardly eat the whole thing the portion was so huge! But it sure was good.

I also saw a few other firsts today. During lunch, I was engrossed in a fly. Hadn't seen critters in 4 months, as later on I saw a gnat and a spider. Seeing colors other than white and a bit of blue sky is really appreciative. The birds, trees and massive people were nice to see yet I kind of wanted to crawl back into my ice hole...sensory overload!

Anyway, back to civilization. I'm starting my road trip of the south island in the morning. We were delayed a day due to the weather at Pole/ McMurdo so I'm a day short in my travels. I'm going to try and squeeze everything in there but I might have to cut something out. 7 days doesn't seem like enough time to tour the whole southern island. Then I'll have 3 days to tour the north island. I was thinking, I might have to return...yes, that would be breaking my rule of not working for the same company more than once but the amount of travel is surreal! But then again, a totally different continent sounds good too! Hmmm, I was seriously thinking of settling down in Austin come May finding a permanent job but I'm torn... start thinking of my career or travel. The big debate that's come up so many times within the past seasons. There are a few more things I want to do before I settle down so there aren't any regrets in the adventure field. I'll probably keep postponing the settling.

I ended up leaving Christchurch on the 21st. My bright idea of getting a better rental deal in person didn't work out. All the rental places were totally booked and I had to wait for a car to be returned. I'd even heard stories that there were so many tourists in New Zealand that they slept in their cars (whew! I wouldn't be the only one!) because the hotels were all booked.

To Porky - a tribute

We had a little pet pig named Porky. Unfortunately, one day he disappeared only to re-appear a few days ago... in our oven.

For the superbowl, my boss made a treat for everyone. It kinda grossed some people out. Others thought it was really cool.




James and Porky













Porky will be missed.





He really didn't want to go in the oven. We had to tie him down to quit moving.








Gutted and tied, he was still trying to crawl out of the oven. He made a tasty treat and was gobbled up quickly by all the drunken superbowl watchers. RIP, Porky...



PS - I was joking... he wasn't our pet pig. We found him abandoned in the dome frozen, gutted and stuffed in a plastic bag ready to be warmed up and eaten. Poor poor Porky.