New Zealand Travelog

Week 1

5-March-2002

Left Detroit at 12:00 Noon, Nortwest Airlines for LAX, arriving on the west coast of the U.S. at 2:15 pm local time. Since Northwest and Air New Zealand are in the same terminal (phew!) we immediately rechecked our bags for the next leg of our journey. At the Air NZ counter, for some reason, they checked all the bags under one name. We asked why, and if this would limit their liability in case they were lost. The reply was "never been a problem." We thought "OK, good enough for us." This would later turn out to be interesting, but not a severe problem.

Now we had 5 hours to kill around the LA Airport. A good friend had recommended this funky restaurant called "Encounters" which turns out to be in that spidery building that LAX is famous for. It is on a sortof observation deck, that is decked out in 1960s futuristic alien furnishings. Way cool! We could see our plane land, park itself at the gate, and await our boarding.

6-March-2002

Did this day really ever exist? If it did, it passed by in the ethereal night flight between LAX and Auckland. If you do this trip, we have two strong suggestions: Sleeping pills and earplugs. Steve was out like a light for 7 hours, with only a few momentary startling awakenings as the jumbo-747 fell several hundred feet in turbulence.

7-March-2002

Bright and early on March 7, we spotted land out the airplane window and soon landed in Aukland. Before we deplaned, we filled out our customs form. We had heard horror stories about people being fined for not declaring their hiking boots as they entered the country (since New Zealand is very concerned about invasive species being brought in from other countries), so we wanted to be extra sure that we filled the form out correctly. While we were waiting to pick up our luggage, a furry member of the "Beagle Brigade" came through and sniffed our backpacks. Then we had to have our boots inspected, after which all of our luggage was sent through an x-ray machine looking for more living biota (and items that might be carrying such biota). We made it through without a fine, and were on our way to the domestic terminal to check in for the domestic flight to Christchurch (yet another airplane to get on!). This is where the baggage got interesting. We placed all our bags on the conveyor, and the check-in attendant said "Oh, you're over." Hmm, we said. Thinking to ourselves - do we really have THAT much stuff? Then she said - by 0.2 kilos, and she dismissed it as not enough to worry about. When walking to the gate, we realized that she was assuming that all the bags were for one person! Of course we'd be close in that case. Next time we travel, we will make sure that all the bags are checked in our own names.

Our first realization that we were not in the U.S. anymore came outside the international terminal. While waiting for the inter-terminal bus, a vehicle drove by without anyone driving, and only a front seat passenger in the car. At the same time, we both realized "Ah yes, they drive on the left side of the road here, and the driver sits on the right!"

The flight from Aukland to Christchurch was uneventful (Steve was impressed by the fact that Air New Zealand served breakfast, and it was only a one hour flight). Once in Christchurch, we picked up our baggage and snagged a shuttle bus to take us to the Christchurch YMCA, where we would be spending the night. Unfortunately, there was a bit of confusion on the driver's part and he dropped us at the Christchurch YHA, which was several blocks away. By the time we realized we were in the wrong place, the shuttle bus had already left. One taxi ride later, we were able to successfully check in to the Y(MCA).

As it was only 10 a.m., our room was not ready yet. We dropped our bags, and headed out the Christchurch Botanical Gardens to kill some time. The gardens are beautiful, and conveniently located right next to the Y. We wandered around and saw some enormous trees (a euculptus tree bigger in diameter than the length of most cars), a hydrangea garden, and a gorgeous rose garden. The Avon River flows through Christchurch, and parts of the gardens. We saw several people kayaking along the river, and were told you can also "punt" down the river as if you were in Venice.

Our room was ready by this point, so we headed back for some lunch and a much needed nap. We headed out around town again later that afternoon, and poked around at the Art Centre, which is also next to the Y. The city has converted a former University complex into workspace and showrooms for local artists. We saw lots of pottery, woolen items, and a neat toy shop that made full size rocking horses. Dinner that night was at a local Thai restaurant, which was quite good. Our nap had only gotten us so far, so after dinner we headed back to the Y to get to sleep early.

8-March-2002

We woke up bright and early on Friday,, as this was the day we would pick up our campervan. The campervans range from a small, expanded Toyata van for two people to a a more traditionally-looking motorhom, shower included, that can sleep six. Our campervan is the budget version - it has a small sink, cold running water, a two-burner propane stove, small refrigerator, and a sitting area at the back that converts to a bed. It is tall enough that Sarah can stand up completely in it, and Steve only has to duck his head slightly.

After all the features of the van were explained to us, the rental company sent us off with only a small warning to "Stay left!". Steve braved the helm first as we headed back to the Y to gather our belongings and head out for the day. A brief stop at a grocery store to stock up and we were on our way. The day's drive (331 km) was to take us from Christchurch to a campground just before Mt. Cook village. We figured we would have plenty to time to drive, take pictures, and still get to the campground at a reasonable hour. However, time seems to expand on NZ roads, probably due to the fantastic scenery that is around each corner. The scenery for the day took us from coastal low lands, into the Canterbury plains, and finally into the foothills of the Southern Alps.

Getting back into the van after lunch, we noticed several vehicles stopped in the road behind us, and heard someone whistle. We were trying to figure out what was going on when a large flock of sheep came running across the road. The whistles were for the sheep dogs, who then hopped in the back of the pick up truck to head to their next position

A trait particular to NZ roads is the one-lane bridge. If you get to the bridge and someone is coming towards you, you wait. Hopefully they wait for you when the situation is reversed. Some of the bridges are long enough that there is a wider section in the middle for cars to pass.

Another highlight of the day was a side route we took between Lake Tekapo and Lake Pukaki. The region generates much of its power from hydoelectricity. Both lakes were formed by damming wide, shallow rivers of glacial meltwater. Minerals in the meltwater cause the water to be a brillian turqoise color. A canal had been built to channel water from Tekapo to Pukaki, and this road was on top of the canal wall. Salmon are raised in part of the canal, and we could see the stocking pens as we drove by (the place was closed, so we were unable to try some for ourselves). The road went right by the dam, so we were able to explore it a bit.

In Twizel, at the base of Lake Pukaki, we filled up on gas and checked to make sure there was still space at the campground. We finally arrived at the campground around 8 p.m., after several more photo opportunities between Twizel and Mt. Cook (including a stop at "Peters Lookout").

The campgrounds in NZ are quite interesting. For about $10 NZ per person, you get access to a campsite with electricity and water. In addition, there is generally a common building with bathrooms, showers, laundry facilities, a sitting area, and a kitchen. The kitchen usually has several stoves and/or stove tops, refrigerators, sinks, and on demand heaters for hot water.

After a quick meal of lambchops (actually hogget, a yearling sheep), pasta and broccoli we hit the sack. It had been a long day, and we were still feeling the effects of the long flight and time change.

9-March-2002

We awoke to a beautiful day, and could see Mt. Cook from our campsite. We didn't realize how unusual this was until the next morning, and all we could see were clouds.

It took us quite a bit of time to actually make it from the campground to Mt. Cook village, as we kept having to stop to take pictures. Each corner we turned revealed a view more spectacular than the one before.

After checking in with the Dept. of Conservation office (DOC), we decided to hike into the Hooker Valley. The hike took us up the valley, across two suspension bridges, to a lake at the base of a glacier. We didn't see any chunks of the glacier break off while we were there, but there were some large hunks of ice floating in the lake.

The day and the views were amazing. Even when the temperatures are cool here, the sun is quite intense. We both got sunburned while on hike. The hike took about 4 hours, and then we returned to camp.

10-March-2002

Today was a "driving" day. We've set up our schedule such that we have one day of lots of driving, followed by two nights in one location. This helps us (hopefully) avoid having to switch campgrounds every night. We drove south and east from Mt. Cook to reach the city of Dunedin and the Otago Peninsula.

During the day, we made a point to stop at any and all tourist attractions, scenic overlooks, or funky natural occurrences we saw. In Oamaru, we saw a blue penguin nesting area, but no blue penguins (they come ashore at dusk, and we were there earlier in the day). We saw the Moeraki Boulders, round rocks along the coast south of Oamaru. We watched a fur seal preen itself from no more than 10 feet away at Shag Point.

We stopped in Oamaru for lunch. Most of the shops were closed up, as it was Sunday, so the town seemed a bit dead. We had a bit of trouble finding somewhere to eat lunch, and finally ended up at JR's Diner. It was quite a random place - they advertised fish and chips, and chinese food as their specialties. It was kind of like a terrible cross between chinese and american fast food greasy spoons.

It seems that NZ doesn't believe in using guard rails too excessively. Just before Dunedin, the topography becomes very hilly. It seemed like quite a crazy road, until it got worse later in the day when we were driving along the Otago Peninsula to Portobello. The road is right on the edge of the water, and extremely curvy. In many places there is no shoulder - the edge of the road just drops off into the water.

We camped that night in Portobello, on the Otago Peninsula. We had originally planned on staying there two night, but given the quality of the roads and the fact that the campground was basically a grass parking lot for RV's, we decided to limit it to one night.

The campground was very small, and the sites were less than 10 feet apart. We decided to take a site without electricity, and had about twelve sites around us all to ourselves. Most of the campgrounds, or "holiday parks" as they are called here, have been quite impressive. While the spots can sometimes be a bit close to each other, they all have hot showers, laundry, and kitchen facilities with gas stoves, refrigerators, freezers, etc. All this for about $10 US.

11-March-2002

Dreading the coastal drive back to Dunedin along that terribly curvy road, we decided to spend some time out on the Otago Peninsula. Out on the far end, there is a Royal Albatross Colony. They require you to take a guided walk, and we didn't want to see them that much. The colony had live video cameras feeding several display TVs inside the visitor center. We could see just fine from there - probably much closer than we could get in person.

However, we did decide to go on a guided walk at the Penguin Palace, which turned out to be very cool - We got to see fur seals, a blue penguin, and yellow-eyed penguins. They've dug a series of tunnels to get very close to the birds, and the tour took nearly 2 hours.

On the east side of the peninsula, we hiked to Lover's Leap, the Chasm and the Summit. Sort of an easy walk, but gave us a good appreciation for the steepness and rockiness of the eastern coastline. It looked somewhat like the Maine coast, though the cliffs were quite a bit higher. The roads seem to have been designed by the same crazy fellow who made the road to Portobello we mentioned before. Absolutely crazy! - one lane dirt roads with big drop offs or right along the water's edge.

On the way back through Dunedin, we stopped off at the public library to check email. We think the whole library must share a single dsl or 56K dialup line - the connection was soooo slow.

Steve almost got into an accident in downtown Dunedin. They have a peculiar rule about right of way when turning - evidently if you are turning left onto a side road, the cars in the oncoming lane, if they are turning the same direction, they have the right of way. It is excatly the opposite of the rules we were used to, and Steve caught a toot on someone's horn when he tried to turn left on a green light - before letting everyone else go from the oncoming lane. Guess we learned our lesson there.

Headed out of town to camp along the shores of Lake Waihalo just southwest of Dunedin. We're beginning to notice a trend of trailers permanently parked at these holiday parks. We think they must be locals who reserve the site for the whole summer, and then come out to relax every weekend. There are these camper trailers that have grass growing up around the edges, and bare ground underneath. We guess that some have been permanent fixtures for several years.

We dined on a great Fresh Cod battered and fried - with a healthy portion of chips. After this we decided we'd had enough of Fish 'n chips for a while.

12-March-2002

Woke up to a beautiful, yet chilly fall morning. Fog was heavy over the lake and slowly burned off as the sun rose higher in the sky. Hit the road for the drive to Te Anau. Arrived in town around 1pm, and ate lunch near the lake. Courageous birds seem to be the thing here. A particularly gutsy seagull (?) landed near the table, and was making motions to steal our lunch when we weren't looking.

We checked in at the DOC office to pick up our tramping tickets, and arrange transportation for the Milford Track. Noticing that the track was booked solid until April 12th, we were very glad that we had made prior reservations. The DOC was very organized, and had all our information in hand when we arrived.

After reading nice reviews of the Lake View Holiday Park in Te Anau, we checked in for the night. Our neighbor to one side is a vacant trailer - one of those "permanent" residents that we suppose only comes out on weekends to inhabit their camper. On the other side, we have an interesting asian couple, who forgot to put their waste bucket under their camper. When you rent your campervan, they give you a 2.5 gallon bucket to put under the sink drain, and then you go empty that bucket at the restrooms. Evidently the campground owners can get quite upset if you just dribble your waste all over the site. Needless to say our neighbors had a small flooding problem when they did their dishes.

Because the huts on the Milford Track provide mattresses and cooking gas rings, we needed only to rent a pot and pan set. There are two places in town that rent them - one is a sports center in the downtown area, the other appears to be a family operation out of their private home (Bev's Rentals). We ended up renting from both of them - a small pot from the sports center, and a large pot from the Bev's. Sarah had to leave her drivers license with Bev. I guess we hope to see it again someday.

Beautiful sunset over Lake Te Anau. Red sky and pink clouds. Steve hopefully got a picture or two before the sun went down completely.