(no subject)
Hello All!
Again, it's been awhile so I thought a new update would be called
for... I guess it's ok, have to wait awhile so we can actually do
stuff to have an update I 'spose.
Anyway, it is now June 10th and I am writing you from Taupo, which is
located on the North Island conveniently by Lake Taupo. More on that
later though.
Phil and I have been busy since we last wrote. We went through the
Caitlins which basically is the very southern tip of the South Island
of NZ - we saw markers for the South Pole (pretty cool!), lots of neat
coast line (think Inishmore Priya), beaches, PENGUINS!!!, and various
other naturally amazing things (as is all of NZ so we have
discovered). We drove up to Dunedin and stayed with Liz and Steve, two
professors at the university there (biology and marine biology
respectively), which was very nice. We had a nice homecooked meal,
great conversation as the two are incredibly knowledgeable and well
traveled, and a nice rest from running all around... plus their house
overlooks a magnificent view of McAndrews Bay which had a very lovely
sunrise.
The next day we explored Dunedin as only two geeky yet childish people
would do... we started out the morning by going to the Royal Albatross
colony (trivia fact: NZ and the specific colony we saw are the only
place that albatross roost that is on the mainland of a country... or
even easily accessible by people for that matter). It was really
really awesome since neither of us knew much about Albatross or other
NZ wildlife for that matter (so we learned all about seals,
cormorants, shags, penguins, whales, dolphins, etc) and saw the birds.
We only saw chicks which were incredibly huge and heavy (like medicine
ball heavy - they weigh them about once a week). Very impressive.
Of course, that was our educational part of the day. After that we
went and toured the Cadbury factory (FREE CHOCOLATE!!!!!!!!!) and saw
a Chocolate waterfall (woot woot) in addition to learning a few random
facts (i.e. NZ'ers eat 3 kilos of Choc/year... Europe 12... USA... 16.
Go US). Much fun.
After that we strolled around the city just checking it out before
driving to Oamuru and then driving on the next day to Mt. Cook.
Unfortunately, the weather was so bad at Mt Cook (rain, avalanche
danger, etc) that we didnt do anything but we did see amazing
turquoise lakes (coloration due to glacier particles suspended in the
water and refracting/reflecting the sun) and drove through Lake Tekapo
before ending back up in Christchurch.
In Christchurch we did some strolling and shopping and then headed to
the Antarctic Center. The US/Italy/NZ union was formed to promote
Antarctic expedition and they have a base there where they added a
museum and learning center - it was really neat and something totally
new for me. We played in a simulated snow storm and learned all about
Antartica - what an amazing place!
Finishing up that, we headed to the banks peninsula to stay with
Raywyn for a few days and recharge. On the drive we opted for the
longer yet more awesome tourist drive which takes you all around the
top of the hills and summits that surround the bays - amazing amazing
views. Luckily for us, we did this because once we got down into
Robinson Bay, we hit rain for two days... but that was ok. It was
great to stay with people (laundry! food! fireplace!) and to spend
time with the Evans family. We had many homecooked meals, met so many
people, and even watched some rugby (which is a way awesome sport made
even better by people who can explain it to you!). It was a very very
cool few days and the hospitality shown to us was truly amazing.
But alas, we eventually had to leave so we shipped off to Blenheim.
On our way, we drove through Kaikoura which had an amazing coast line
and such. We didn't do whale watching because we were running out of
daylight but we did and up seeing walking up to a group of seal by the
side of the road. Phil got a bit close to one... who promptly
vocalized his displeasure ;)
In Blenheim we did an all day bike tour of the wineries in the area.
Mmmm. It was a holiday so about half were closed but the half that
were open - yum! We had a merry time sampling the regions white wines
(Marlborough region is known for that) and even liquors (they give you
shots!) and olive oils. It was a really nice day just peddling around
with the mountains surrounding you. We did this as part of a package
deal which came with a nice Bed and Breakfast which was really awesome
- we basically had our own house complete with a goat (named Ben... he
had dreadlocks) and a fireplace... and cable tv with british comedy
(it gets dark early b/c it's winter so yay!!). Very nice.
In the morning we headed up to Nelsonand spent the day walking the art
circuit since Nelson is known for it's artisans. Phil was very excited
because we saw The One Ring (or rather all 10 of them at different
sizes and materials) since we found the jewler who was commissioned to
make them - very very impressive work. We stayed in some bizarre
hostel that was cookie themed... very interesting place.
Next day we headed up to Abel Tasman National Park (gold coast) where
we did a two day forray into the park. First day we did Sea Kayaking -
I looked quite the site in a teal wetsuit, gray fleece, purple hat,
and purple waterproof jacket, plus the kayak skirt. We had an amazing
self-proclaimed hippie guide named Daryll who was so knowledgeable
about all the animals, land, history, and so on in the park. We
paddled around with a Dutch couple in and out of rivers, coves, bays,
the sea and did a full out grill out on the beach. After lunch we
paddled to a seal colony to check it out... very fun.
That night we stayed on a house boat with a British couple, Swiss guy,
and a girl from Ireland. We again grilled out and watched a Maori
movie that was... interesting. We had a merry time, though everyone we
talk to seems to be traveling for 12 months or more (even some without
doing a working holiday. sheesh, i wish i could do that!). The next
day we headed to shore and Phil and I took a leisurely tramp back
while seeing many wildlife (more penguins, Oystercatchers, Pukake's,
etc).
After Abel Tasman, we drove to Picton where we managed to make a ferry
to Wellington by 20 minutes. It was a rather uneventful ride as it was
dark but we did laugh at the truckloads of stacked sheep that were on
the ferry (we had to drive the car on). Poor sheep. We arrived in
Wellington around 9 and found a place to stay after some frustration
(the city is laid out terribly and NOTHING is marked!).
We left Wellington this morning and drove up to Napier, Art Deco
capital of NZ. It was pretty cool - we walked around looking at
architecture and their beach... which was a strange beach b/c it was
all rock. Not rocky like North east beaches but more like
aquarium-gravel rocky. Very cool. We also went to some oddball
attractions which proved... amusing. Silly Kiwi's.
After Napier we drove up to Taupo where I am writing you from.
Tomorrows plan is lunar landscapes, mud pools, champagne pools (in
appearance, not actuality unfortunately), geysers (including a
sideways one?), and I forget whatelse - basically coolness. Also on
our list to do here is Tongariro national park which some of you know
as Mordor, and Phil wants to do skydiving (crazy Phil) so I may do
more tramping or horseriding in the mean time. Then it's off to
Rotorua, Hamilton, and then Aukland before spending another 12 hours
in the exciting and very enjoyable LAX. Woot.
So there you have it. An interesting sidenote is that this whole
business with Russel Crowe (for those that don't know, he threw a cell
phone at some hotel clerk inNYC) has been NON STOP MAIN STREAM news
down here. I imagine it's barely getting coverage in the states but,
since he was Kiwi born, they won't stop talking about it. It's really
funny.
Ok tis enough for now - Philbert and I are off to scrounge up some
dinner and then maybe kick back and enjoy a beer over a nice view of
the lake and the stars (which are AMAZING out here!) since we did so
much driving today (we're at over 3000km on the car so far... woot for
unlimited km's). Until next time...
Editor's Note: Actually we're doing the Tongariro Circuit tomorrow which is snow trekking between active volcanoes (Mordor/Mt Doom), then going to Rotorua for Zorbing, Geothermal coolness, Maori, then Waitomo for blackwater rafting and absailing down the caves (gloworms!)
Again, it's been awhile so I thought a new update would be called
for... I guess it's ok, have to wait awhile so we can actually do
stuff to have an update I 'spose.
Anyway, it is now June 10th and I am writing you from Taupo, which is
located on the North Island conveniently by Lake Taupo. More on that
later though.
Phil and I have been busy since we last wrote. We went through the
Caitlins which basically is the very southern tip of the South Island
of NZ - we saw markers for the South Pole (pretty cool!), lots of neat
coast line (think Inishmore Priya), beaches, PENGUINS!!!, and various
other naturally amazing things (as is all of NZ so we have
discovered). We drove up to Dunedin and stayed with Liz and Steve, two
professors at the university there (biology and marine biology
respectively), which was very nice. We had a nice homecooked meal,
great conversation as the two are incredibly knowledgeable and well
traveled, and a nice rest from running all around... plus their house
overlooks a magnificent view of McAndrews Bay which had a very lovely
sunrise.
The next day we explored Dunedin as only two geeky yet childish people
would do... we started out the morning by going to the Royal Albatross
colony (trivia fact: NZ and the specific colony we saw are the only
place that albatross roost that is on the mainland of a country... or
even easily accessible by people for that matter). It was really
really awesome since neither of us knew much about Albatross or other
NZ wildlife for that matter (so we learned all about seals,
cormorants, shags, penguins, whales, dolphins, etc) and saw the birds.
We only saw chicks which were incredibly huge and heavy (like medicine
ball heavy - they weigh them about once a week). Very impressive.
Of course, that was our educational part of the day. After that we
went and toured the Cadbury factory (FREE CHOCOLATE!!!!!!!!!) and saw
a Chocolate waterfall (woot woot) in addition to learning a few random
facts (i.e. NZ'ers eat 3 kilos of Choc/year... Europe 12... USA... 16.
Go US). Much fun.
After that we strolled around the city just checking it out before
driving to Oamuru and then driving on the next day to Mt. Cook.
Unfortunately, the weather was so bad at Mt Cook (rain, avalanche
danger, etc) that we didnt do anything but we did see amazing
turquoise lakes (coloration due to glacier particles suspended in the
water and refracting/reflecting the sun) and drove through Lake Tekapo
before ending back up in Christchurch.
In Christchurch we did some strolling and shopping and then headed to
the Antarctic Center. The US/Italy/NZ union was formed to promote
Antarctic expedition and they have a base there where they added a
museum and learning center - it was really neat and something totally
new for me. We played in a simulated snow storm and learned all about
Antartica - what an amazing place!
Finishing up that, we headed to the banks peninsula to stay with
Raywyn for a few days and recharge. On the drive we opted for the
longer yet more awesome tourist drive which takes you all around the
top of the hills and summits that surround the bays - amazing amazing
views. Luckily for us, we did this because once we got down into
Robinson Bay, we hit rain for two days... but that was ok. It was
great to stay with people (laundry! food! fireplace!) and to spend
time with the Evans family. We had many homecooked meals, met so many
people, and even watched some rugby (which is a way awesome sport made
even better by people who can explain it to you!). It was a very very
cool few days and the hospitality shown to us was truly amazing.
But alas, we eventually had to leave so we shipped off to Blenheim.
On our way, we drove through Kaikoura which had an amazing coast line
and such. We didn't do whale watching because we were running out of
daylight but we did and up seeing walking up to a group of seal by the
side of the road. Phil got a bit close to one... who promptly
vocalized his displeasure ;)
In Blenheim we did an all day bike tour of the wineries in the area.
Mmmm. It was a holiday so about half were closed but the half that
were open - yum! We had a merry time sampling the regions white wines
(Marlborough region is known for that) and even liquors (they give you
shots!) and olive oils. It was a really nice day just peddling around
with the mountains surrounding you. We did this as part of a package
deal which came with a nice Bed and Breakfast which was really awesome
- we basically had our own house complete with a goat (named Ben... he
had dreadlocks) and a fireplace... and cable tv with british comedy
(it gets dark early b/c it's winter so yay!!). Very nice.
In the morning we headed up to Nelsonand spent the day walking the art
circuit since Nelson is known for it's artisans. Phil was very excited
because we saw The One Ring (or rather all 10 of them at different
sizes and materials) since we found the jewler who was commissioned to
make them - very very impressive work. We stayed in some bizarre
hostel that was cookie themed... very interesting place.
Next day we headed up to Abel Tasman National Park (gold coast) where
we did a two day forray into the park. First day we did Sea Kayaking -
I looked quite the site in a teal wetsuit, gray fleece, purple hat,
and purple waterproof jacket, plus the kayak skirt. We had an amazing
self-proclaimed hippie guide named Daryll who was so knowledgeable
about all the animals, land, history, and so on in the park. We
paddled around with a Dutch couple in and out of rivers, coves, bays,
the sea and did a full out grill out on the beach. After lunch we
paddled to a seal colony to check it out... very fun.
That night we stayed on a house boat with a British couple, Swiss guy,
and a girl from Ireland. We again grilled out and watched a Maori
movie that was... interesting. We had a merry time, though everyone we
talk to seems to be traveling for 12 months or more (even some without
doing a working holiday. sheesh, i wish i could do that!). The next
day we headed to shore and Phil and I took a leisurely tramp back
while seeing many wildlife (more penguins, Oystercatchers, Pukake's,
etc).
After Abel Tasman, we drove to Picton where we managed to make a ferry
to Wellington by 20 minutes. It was a rather uneventful ride as it was
dark but we did laugh at the truckloads of stacked sheep that were on
the ferry (we had to drive the car on). Poor sheep. We arrived in
Wellington around 9 and found a place to stay after some frustration
(the city is laid out terribly and NOTHING is marked!).
We left Wellington this morning and drove up to Napier, Art Deco
capital of NZ. It was pretty cool - we walked around looking at
architecture and their beach... which was a strange beach b/c it was
all rock. Not rocky like North east beaches but more like
aquarium-gravel rocky. Very cool. We also went to some oddball
attractions which proved... amusing. Silly Kiwi's.
After Napier we drove up to Taupo where I am writing you from.
Tomorrows plan is lunar landscapes, mud pools, champagne pools (in
appearance, not actuality unfortunately), geysers (including a
sideways one?), and I forget whatelse - basically coolness. Also on
our list to do here is Tongariro national park which some of you know
as Mordor, and Phil wants to do skydiving (crazy Phil) so I may do
more tramping or horseriding in the mean time. Then it's off to
Rotorua, Hamilton, and then Aukland before spending another 12 hours
in the exciting and very enjoyable LAX. Woot.
So there you have it. An interesting sidenote is that this whole
business with Russel Crowe (for those that don't know, he threw a cell
phone at some hotel clerk inNYC) has been NON STOP MAIN STREAM news
down here. I imagine it's barely getting coverage in the states but,
since he was Kiwi born, they won't stop talking about it. It's really
funny.
Ok tis enough for now - Philbert and I are off to scrounge up some
dinner and then maybe kick back and enjoy a beer over a nice view of
the lake and the stars (which are AMAZING out here!) since we did so
much driving today (we're at over 3000km on the car so far... woot for
unlimited km's). Until next time...
Editor's Note: Actually we're doing the Tongariro Circuit tomorrow which is snow trekking between active volcanoes (Mordor/Mt Doom), then going to Rotorua for Zorbing, Geothermal coolness, Maori, then Waitomo for blackwater rafting and absailing down the caves (gloworms!)