NZ -- Thursday, 10/26 (Routeburn Track)

Got up at 7:30 and hit the road today. Not a really long driving day. Just a few hours to the north and east up to Queenstown. It goes without saying that this is a very pretty drive. Made it into Queenstown alright and found a hostel called the Deco Backpackers Hostel.

We had a quick start and it’s not a long drive from Te Anau to Queenstown so we decided there was time to have an afternoon hike on the Routeburn Track. The Routeburn is one of the most famous treks in New Zealand and normally takes about 3 days to complete. It is in fact so popular that if you are going to stay on the trail overnight, you have to book a spot months in advance. The Routeburn starts about a 45 minute drive from Queenstown so we drove up into the mountains past Glenorchy to the trailhead. We found it alright and set off about 1 in the afternoon.

The trail starts by crossing a swinging suspension bridge which was quite a fun experience since I'd never been on a suspension bridge before. It then quickly enters what looks like a type of pine rain forest. This start area is dominated by large evergreen trees with lots of moss everywhere. The walk also travels along and across several mountain streams for the first part (as well as later parts of our walk). After several more suspension and wooden bridges we started to see glimpses out of the forest of the mountains above.

One interesting thing I saw was a new sport that I hadn’t known about before. On one of the wooden bridges that crossed a pretty impressive set of rapids and waterfalls we saw a guide taking a group of 4 people down the river -- through the waterfalls and all. They were using a combination of techniques – rappelling, sliding, or downclimbing – to descend the raging water. It looked like a whole lot of fun.

After a long, slow ascent, the trail breaks into its first breathtaking clearing. The trees cut away for awhile in an area known as The Flats and unobstructed views of the peaks above come into view above. Soon after this (a little over 2 hours from the start) we reached the first hut on the trek – known as the “Flats Hut”.

After the first hut, the trail turns sharply uphill -- the next hour proved to be much harder than the entire hike so far and really let us know how out of shape we were. Finally after completing this section and several more bridges we reached the second hut. Along the way, we passed perhaps the prettiest spot I’ve ever seen. On the side of the hill, just below treeline (or “bushline” as a local called it) the trees clear away and great view appears of the flats, now far below, and the peaks towering all around in every direction. Truly awe inspiring and impossible to describe. The pictures really don't do it justice.. Soon after this we reached the second hut – the “Falls Hut”. We hung out for about 30-45 minutes and after eating some food and checking out the falls we started back down.

A couple hours later and the hike was over. In all we were on the trail for 6 hours. We checked a map at the trailhead afterwards and we hiked 7 km as the crow flies one way, which probably means 9 – 10 km with all the curves each way, or 18 – 20 km total. Not bad for a quick afternoon hike. The one blister I got is one perfectly fine price to pay for this truly memorable hike. I would love to go back and do the rest of it someday.

NZ -- Wednesday, 10/25 (Milford Sound aka 'most beautiful place on earth')

The alarm went off at 6 am this morning. By 7 we were on a Rosco’s Sea Kayaking van heading toward Milford Sound. The drive between Te Anau and Milford is even more stunning than everything we’ve seen to this point. It climbs up to the divide and back down to sea level through some incredibly rugged mountain terrain. At the top the road goes through a roughly kilometer long tunnel that is very poorly lit (one light every 100 yards or so) and dripping water from the roof and walls. We stopped on the way up at a place called Mirror Lakes. They are a set of pools on the side of the road that in the early morning are completely calm and perfectly reflect the mountains above. Also in the van were a couple from Colorado who both grew up in Minnesota. It was fun talking to them after hardly seeing another American for the trip so far.

After arriving at Milford Sound, we were all provided with a full set of kayaking clothing and gear that we got changed into. After a brief explanation of how the things work, we were on the water. The sea kayaks we were in were the two-seater variety so me and Eric were in a kayak together. There were 8 – 10 kayaks in all in our guided trip.

It was a “bluebird” morning – as our guide Tex described it – as we set off. The sound is at least 10 – 15 km long and perhaps 3 – 4 km wide where we were paddling but it was calm as we set off. It was a great environment to enjoy the view. The cliffs rising out of Milford Sound really cannot be described. In the cliffs, several waterfalls cascade down. They don’t look too big compared to the cliffs towering above them, but the closer one we were told was 3 times the height of Niagara. We later got to kayak right underneath this waterfall into the mist and see it's power up close.

In addition to the scenery itself, there was a lot of wildlife to be seen. One interesting thing we saw was a penguin hanging out on the rocks. The real show, however, was a whole school of dolphins that we chased across the sound that ended up swimming right by us. They were literally a boat’s length away from us. They are quite large as well – nearly as long as the kayaks we sat in.

After a few hours of cruising around, we got introduced to “The Day Winds”. Every day in the early afternoon, the air on the sound between the valleys has been warmed sufficiently to be lifted up out the area and the cold air out on the ocean rushes in to take its place. The result is a literal wall of wind that comes crashing in and makes the water really choppy all at once. We went from calm water to 5 and 6 foot rollers in a matter of minutes. This was really intense. The wind blew hard and we had to fight through the waves to get back. I'm really glad we were in a kayak and not an open canoe. Got soaked through and through – which was fine thanks to all the waterproof gear they gave us to use. We made it through all right for an adventurous end to a great day.

After spending 45 minutes or so in the town of Milford we got back in the van and made the hour trip back to Te Anau where we ate a really nice dinner at the Redcliff Restaurant and headed to bed early again.

NZ -- Tuesday 10/24 (Dunedin to Te Anau)

Today was another day of a lot of driving. We drove from Dunedin on the east coast all the way across to Te Anau – the gateway to the Fiordlands in the West. We took the Southern Scenic Route along the Southern coast. Today was the day the scenery that was really nice yesterday got really, really good.


We stopped at two waterfalls as we drove through the Catlins along the south coast – Barss Falls and Parakaunui Falls. I think the water levels are below normal as I was a bit disappointed by the small amount of water coming over them. They were nice walks in to see them, however.


The further West we went, the more spectacular the scenery became. Perfect, pastoral farmland (mowed down to a nice lawn height by the sheep) lined the roads the entire way. As we approached Te Anau, the mountains got larger and larger and mile after mile went by of perfect scenes of perfect farms and rolling hills in the foreground which snow capped mountains in the background. The sun came out in full for the last 100 km or so of our trip that really highlighted the scenery before us.


Te Anau was also very impressive itself. A small resort town of only 7500, it serves as a base for the outdoor activities that occur throughout the region. It is on the shore of Lake Te Anau – the second largest lake in the New Zealand -- and ringed by mountains.


We found a place to stay at the Te Anau YHA in a tiny, but colorful room that unfortunately has too thin walls but otherwise nice. We spent the afternoon checking out the scenery by the lake and preparing for a kayaking trip tomorrow on Milford Sound. We also went to a local pub – The Moose -- to try a local drink.

NZ -- Monday 10/23 (Auckland to Dunedin)

Got up extremely early this morning – about 4:30 am and drove down to the Auckland airport. Eventually found our proper car drop-off point and made it through the relatively lax security (compared to what I’m used to back home) and got on our flight to Christchurch. It was a quick flight – just over an hour. Sat next to a friendly young guy from Christchurch who had been up in Auckland listening to bishop T.D. Jakes (or something) speak to his church. Most of the flight was cloudy but as we descended into Christchurch the clouds parted and we got a glimpse of the mountains to the west. I was very impressed. Actually, this is the first moment we used the adjective 'ridiculous' -- the first of many times over the trip.

After landing we called up Scottie himself of Scotties Rent-A-Center who picked us up and drove us back to get our car. This is a very laid back country we were quickly learning by this point – he swung by his place on the way to get our car to pick up his wife, Moira, to help him at work. When we got to the rental center we spent about a half hour watching as they pulled our car from out back (behind about 3 rows of other cars that needed to be moved first). The wait probably would have been annoying in the States but these folks were so friendly I didn’t mind at all.


After finally leaving with our car from Christchurch – a 5 speed manual on the left side scarily enough – and driving about 5 minutes down the road we had our first mishap. After pulling over to get gas (in NZ you typically receive your car empty and then return it the same way) the battery failed to start us back up. So we had to wait for Scottie to come replace our battery, which he did and we were on our way.

Spent the next 5 or so hours driving south on and off the Eastern coast to Dunedin down NZ Highway 1. It was all pleasant farm land. Learned that nobody was kidding when they said NZ had a lot of sheep. They are everywhere. After a bit of a stressful start, I eventually got used to the manual shifting with the left hand and driving on the left side started to become more comfortable as well.

We arrived in Dunedin, this day’s destination at about 3 or so and found a decent hostel – the Manor House. We got a 4 bed dorm room but fortunately we were the only two that stayed in the room. Dunedin is a very interesting town of about 110,000. It’s either the oldest or second oldest British city in the country (I read both in different places). Because of this, there are a lot of large and old Colonial style buildings in the city center along with dozens of little cafes and shops.

Coming out of Dunedin is the Otago Peninsula. It is famous for how much wildlife can be found on it. Albatross, penguins, sea lions, seals, and many more animals can be found on it. We drove out to the end of the peninsula along 25 or so kilometers of winding road literally right on the Otago Harbor. At the end there’s a scenic overlook and visitor center perched high on the cliffs above the crashing waves below. Tens of thousands of sea gulls flew around the cliffs near by and over our heads. There also were many other sea birds of various species that I did not recognize swooping by. Far in the distance, I also saw several Albatrosses with their 11 ft wingspans floating on the wind.

Also while out on the peninsula, we stopped to take a penguin tour. For $30 NZ you can take a guided tour into a Yellow-Eyed Penguin reserve. The reserve is complete with underground tunnels, trenches, and viewing stations to allow you to get literally just feet away from the penguins in the wild. The reserve is also on the beach so if your timing is good (which ours was fortunately) you can watch the juvenile penguins return from a day of feeding at sea and wade up on the beach and back to their nests. We were lucky to be the only two on our tour (the next tour had 15 or so) and had a good time with our guide who was a really friendly, helpful guy named Dave. He showed us a few things he only shows small groups – like a nesting bird right by the path.

After the wildlife viewing we headed into the city center and took a quick self-tour of the train station and ate in a cool café and drank hot tea with milk – something I find myself enjoying here, even though I’ve always disliked tea back in America.

NZ -- Friday 10/20 - Sunday 10/22 (to Auckland)

My brother Eric and I finally left for New Zealand. Our plane left Minneapolis on-time at 5:15 pm on Friday, 10/20 and headed for Los Angeles. We arrived for what should have been a 2 hour or so layover but the 747 that was to take us on arrived later so we ended up waiting at LAX for around 3 ½ hours. When we finally did get underway, it was in the largest plane I’ve ever been on -- 10 seats across and 75 or so rows and 2 decks. This flight was a 12 hour flight, also the longest flight by far I’ve ever been on. Surprisingly, this was a really comfortable flight. I guess Qantas knows how to take care of its international travelers.

We arrived in Auckland at 8am on Sunday, 10/22. It was just an overnight flight, but since it crossed the international dateline, our 10/21 simply vanished. But no worries, we’ll get that day back when we return. We got through customs ok, despite having the guards hand search my tent and our hiking boots. They are very serious about not introducing foreign plant species so wanted to be sure our outdoor equipment didn’t have any seeds along for a ride.

We were greeted at the terminal by a man working for the rental car company – Scottie’s Car Rental (a branch of Advantage) holding a sign with my name on it. He was our first point of contact w/ a New Zealander (called 'Kiwis') and he was very friendly. I had reserved a car to be picked up and dropped off in Auckland but he helped us arrange a domestic flight tomorrow morning to Christchurch where we’ll pick up a car and drive it one-way back to Auckland. This should save us several days of driving and the money saved by only having to take the ferry once will completely offset the money spent on the domestic flight (only $95 NZ each w/ tax).


An unfortunate American couple who traveled with us to the car rental place were having a rough start to their trip and giving the poor rental car man a bad day as well. They were a bit upset by the delays in processing (locals don't seem to always be concerned about doing things as quickly as possible) – on top of the lost luggage they had – and when they finally left with their car they came back 5 minutes later with a flat tire. “It’s always the Americans” the rental car guy muttered as they rolled in.

The problem was with driving in the left lane. He took a round-a-bout too tight and hit the curb. I don’t blame him. This is my first time driving on the left side of the road as well, and I must say it has been a pretty harrowing experience on my first day. Feels like I’m 16 again learning to drive all over again – constantly thinking about what I’m doing, hitting the wipers instead of the turn signals since they're on opposite sides of American cars. I hear when people return from NZ they get the opposite problem since they’ve acclimated to the left way of doing things.

Today was a pretty boring day. Once we found a hostel (Oaklands Hostel) we basically just loafed around and walked to a few cafes. The most exciting thing was a trip up to the top of Mt Eden. It’s an old volcano a few blocks from where we’re staying with incredible views across all of Auckland and a giant crater at the top.

We’re both extremely exhausted now from traveling and have been fighting to stay awake all day to ensure our sleep patterns match up with the day and night correctly. We’ll be going to bed shortly (6 or so) and will have to get up early (4:30ish) to catch our flight tomorrow to Christchurch.

(Not much for pictures w/ this post as neither of us took too many in Auckland)

New Zealand Part 1

I have made it back from two great weeks in New Zealand. Words don't describe how beautiful this country is. The only adjective my brother Eric and I kept coming up with that seemed to come close was "ridiculous".

Here a few pictures of general NZ goodness..more to come..(Be sure to click on them for larger views)


On the shores of Lake Te Anau


On the road from Queenstown to Christchurch. This is what the whole 5 hour trip pretty much looked like.


Thermal Hot Pools near Turangi


A stream by the Routeburn Track


A lake (Lake Pukaki I think) on the drive from Queenstown to Christchurch. I didn't mess with the colors -- it actually looked like this. Just about all the water is as blue like this.


Trout fishing at the "Trout Fishing Capital of the World" on the Tongariro River near Turangi. The minimum size there to keep a fish would be a fish of a lifetime here.