Queenstown
An hour and a half drive took us to the lively city of Queenstown. It was Saturday evening so we participated in a bar crawl where we visited among the many bars we went to, we visited the World Bar that sells mixed beverages in teapots! The following day we had class and then went bungy jumping, a few did the “Thrillogy,” which includes the Nevis (440ft), the swing, and the ledge where you can do flips, etc. As far as the bungy jumping is concerned, it was so awesome! Although I had done it before, this was easily three times taller than what I had experienced, and I was attached by my feet rather than a waist harness. We jumped by weight, so I was last, and had to have a double countdown because I looked down right at “1.” It was awesome though! I don’t know if I quite enjoy hucking myself off of tall things, but apparently my “Swan Dive” form was spectacular. I have a video. After everyone was done bungy-ing, we went luging and I am proud to say that I beat the group of competitive boys on the run I went on with them. That evening we discovered crates (12 bottles) of 40’s that we used to play beer pong because we also found large enough cups! The following morning we had class and then roamed the city. This was also the day the Christchurch earthquake happened. I was outside so I didn’t feel anything but some of our group members were in the shopping center and felt the building sway. All the restaurants with televisions had live updates. The country was called into a state of national emergency and the city we just visited was in ruins. We have plans to fly out in just a week. This was also my birthday where we had a costume party with the theme of Euro bros and Bike Hos. The second Pacific Challenge group also arrived from their hike and many of them came out to celebrate as well. It was so different not being with friends and family from back home, but everyone ensured that I felt at home with friends. I am so thankful! The following day we had an exam for a class and then practice rugby game against the other PC group. It was another short drive to Wanaka.
Wanaka
Wanaka is beautiful and has amazing access to outdoor activities. Heli-skiing in the winter, watersports, mountain biking, or climbing in the summer, Mt. Aspiration for mountaineering, not to mention the skydiving and other “extreme” available opportunities. It was a pretty lowkey couple of days. We did go mountain biking on a country gravel road where we keptrunning into herds of cows and sheep. The following day some people went to “Puzzle World” but I stayed around to lay in the grass by the lake and read. We also went climbing! It was easy top roping, but it was great to get on some rock! I got several comments about how it was great to see me “in my element.” I also watched a couple movies but stayed pretty close because I feel like I am coming down with something. Nothing serious and a cold type thing has been moving through the group unfortunately.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
Fjordland
Fjordland National Park
Milford Sound
We arrived to our campground a little later than expected because of a late start in Dunedin. Nevertheless, after the long drive set up camp, made dinner, Cody practiced his flyfish casting, some watched a movie, and our night concluded with star gazing. The following morning we went on a cruise within Milford Sound. It was beautiful! Unsurprisingly though, it was a bit cloudy and our pictures don’t look nearly as good as the advertisements. We then went back to camp, packed up and got ready for our two day hike on the Routeburn Track.
Routeburn Track
The Routeburn Track is 32km and we planned to do it in two days, with a campout in the middle. The first day was a bit of an incline, but all in all, relatively easy. We had to stop every hour to wait for others to catch up and fortunately on our second stop there was a boulder on the side of the trail that I cleaned/climbed around on for a bit. It took some of us just under three hours. After a few jumps in the lakes on the way up and misty views, we made dinner and played a movie/actor correlation game. Cody, bringing his two fly fishing rods, and Dash, who the day prior got a fly fishing license, planned to get up early, hike out before everyone else and go fish. Cobi and I decided to join, intrigued by the option to be on a ridge by sunrise. So the following morning we got up at 4, left by 4:30 and managed to cut an hour and a half off of the anticipated hike time to the hut where we took a break for an hour and made breakfast. It was the start to probably one of my favorite days here! We find out that there isn’t fishing on the trail and instead walk all the way to the carpark, (a total of 8 hours—including our breakfast break and random creek inquiries) to have lunch by 12:30. Our group leaders Bree and Doug drove around (since the hike was a crossing) and got there two hours later. I went down to the river with Dash and Cody, Cobi watched our belongings, to take pictures of the action. Cody hooked and caught a Rainbow Trout! Ohh, and with my lack of hiking shoes (intentionally) I hiked the whole thing in my Chaco’s with wool socks. It worked out stellar :)! Especially walking through the creek with the boys!
We arrived to our campground a little later than expected because of a late start in Dunedin. Nevertheless, after the long drive set up camp, made dinner, Cody practiced his flyfish casting, some watched a movie, and our night concluded with star gazing. The following morning we went on a cruise within Milford Sound. It was beautiful! Unsurprisingly though, it was a bit cloudy and our pictures don’t look nearly as good as the advertisements. We then went back to camp, packed up and got ready for our two day hike on the Routeburn Track.
The Routeburn Track is 32km and we planned to do it in two days, with a campout in the middle. The first day was a bit of an incline, but all in all, relatively easy. We had to stop every hour to wait for others to catch up and fortunately on our second stop there was a boulder on the side of the trail that I cleaned/climbed around on for a bit. It took some of us just under three hours. After a few jumps in the lakes on the way up and misty views, we made dinner and played a movie/actor correlation game. Cody, bringing his two fly fishing rods, and Dash, who the day prior got a fly fishing license, planned to get up early, hike out before everyone else and go fish. Cobi and I decided to join, intrigued by the option to be on a ridge by sunrise. So the following morning we got up at 4, left by 4:30 and managed to cut an hour and a half off of the anticipated hike time to the hut where we took a break for an hour and made breakfast. It was the start to probably one of my favorite days here! We find out that there isn’t fishing on the trail and instead walk all the way to the carpark, (a total of 8 hours—including our breakfast break and random creek inquiries) to have lunch by 12:30. Our group leaders Bree and Doug drove around (since the hike was a crossing) and got there two hours later. I went down to the river with Dash and Cody, Cobi watched our belongings, to take pictures of the action. Cody hooked and caught a Rainbow Trout! Ohh, and with my lack of hiking shoes (intentionally) I hiked the whole thing in my Chaco’s with wool socks. It worked out stellar :)! Especially walking through the creek with the boys!
Monday, February 14, 2011
Mt. Cook National Park
Mt. Cook
We stayed at a hostel within Mt. Cook National Park boundaries. The visitor center with a view of Mt. Cook was a short walk away. We didn’t do much the first night because we arrived in the late afternoon and it was my cooking group’s turn to make dinner. Afterward, we did watch “The World’s Fastest Indian,” a movie about an older Kiwi man whose dream was to go to Speed Week in the USA to race his motorcycle and his journey to get there. I loved it! The following day, a few of us (Dash, Tommy, Cody, Cobi, Valerie, and Sarah) decided to hike to Mueller hut and stay there overnight. The weather wasn’t great and it was definitely going to be rainy with high winds up top with possible flooding on the trail. We decided to go anyway and two and a half hours in, of nearly straight vertical ascent, Sarah did not feel well and we had to turn back just a half an hour from the top. It was a scary situation as her eyes rolled back into her head and we had to stop and warm her up in the pouring rain. It was probably a good thing to head down though, because we were planning on having an early morning to get down for glacier kayaking. That evening we again watched a movie, this time “Vertical Limit.” In the morning, Christina, Dash, Valerie, Sarah, Cobi, and myself went to Tasman Glacier to kayak and check out some icebergs. Out guides were great, and one of them was actually on the set of Vertical Limit, while the other was really useful for an interview for a report about the Marine Ecology of New Zealand (for class). It was a quite a peaceful experience, but very graphic in contextualizing glacier recession; over the past 30 years, the lake we were kayaking on was created, with an average recession of two football fields a year. Afterward, we met back up with our group and headed out to do the Hooker Valley trail where most of us jumped in the 32degree water for a quick dip. David and I were planning on bouldering nearby but didn’t have the coordination in order to do so unfortunately. All in all, this was (again) a spectacular stop!
We stayed at a hostel within Mt. Cook National Park boundaries. The visitor center with a view of Mt. Cook was a short walk away. We didn’t do much the first night because we arrived in the late afternoon and it was my cooking group’s turn to make dinner. Afterward, we did watch “The World’s Fastest Indian,” a movie about an older Kiwi man whose dream was to go to Speed Week in the USA to race his motorcycle and his journey to get there. I loved it! The following day, a few of us (Dash, Tommy, Cody, Cobi, Valerie, and Sarah) decided to hike to Mueller hut and stay there overnight. The weather wasn’t great and it was definitely going to be rainy with high winds up top with possible flooding on the trail. We decided to go anyway and two and a half hours in, of nearly straight vertical ascent, Sarah did not feel well and we had to turn back just a half an hour from the top. It was a scary situation as her eyes rolled back into her head and we had to stop and warm her up in the pouring rain. It was probably a good thing to head down though, because we were planning on having an early morning to get down for glacier kayaking. That evening we again watched a movie, this time “Vertical Limit.” In the morning, Christina, Dash, Valerie, Sarah, Cobi, and myself went to Tasman Glacier to kayak and check out some icebergs. Out guides were great, and one of them was actually on the set of Vertical Limit, while the other was really useful for an interview for a report about the Marine Ecology of New Zealand (for class). It was a quite a peaceful experience, but very graphic in contextualizing glacier recession; over the past 30 years, the lake we were kayaking on was created, with an average recession of two football fields a year. Afterward, we met back up with our group and headed out to do the Hooker Valley trail where most of us jumped in the 32degree water for a quick dip. David and I were planning on bouldering nearby but didn’t have the coordination in order to do so unfortunately. All in all, this was (again) a spectacular stop!
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Christchurch and Peel Forest
Christchurch
So immediately upon arriving in Christchurch, we went to the found a bar playing the Superbowl and preceded to start our evening early. We found a Greek place, Dimitris, that we became obsessed with (well ate there three times during our short stay), and also made friends with the owner’s son (he and a friend are going to roadtrip to Queenstown while we are there!). Our time in cities is characterized by attending classes, trying to get online, shopping, and partying. We also had to do a “cultural safari” where we roamed the city and had to interview citizens. There was an earthquake here not too long ago and many places were closed for repairs. We also played Rubgy in the park. Scary fricken game! We were then off toward to Peel Forest.
Peel Forest
We were going to camp here, but an “eco-lodge” opened up and we stayed there instead (which was great because it ended up raining lightly that night). The toilets were composting ones and we had a lengthy explanation about how to use it. Sawdust, water, got it. I got more of an instruction here than India! Anyway, the following morning we went down the Rangitaka River for class two kayaking. SO MUCH FUN! We split off into groups and practiced in an eddy before lunch, came back to shore, and then were in the rapids for a couple hours. It was great. A lot of people fell and I was fine, until (or course) right before the end. We were told to stop but I was being carried away with the current and tried to come to shore but wasn’t making it to anything where I could hold onto. Sarah had a branch so I pulled up next to her, but I was still in the current and while pushing away, I flipped, causing her to flip. I had my boat and paddle, but a tree was coming and I was trying to get out of the way. Somehow I lose my paddle, then my boat, and it was just silly. I ended up floating down a bit, then we had to go back to retrieve my paddle. Very fun though! Fortunately we had wetsuits because it was glacier water. We stayed another night, played Catan, Jungle Speed, and Yucer. The following morning we stopped in for groceries in Geraldine and hit up the Farmer’s Market. I (of course) got earrings and got some lunch; they also had a folky band playing. Ohhh how I miss Farmer’s Markets, they really are just so great!
So immediately upon arriving in Christchurch, we went to the found a bar playing the Superbowl and preceded to start our evening early. We found a Greek place, Dimitris, that we became obsessed with (well ate there three times during our short stay), and also made friends with the owner’s son (he and a friend are going to roadtrip to Queenstown while we are there!). Our time in cities is characterized by attending classes, trying to get online, shopping, and partying. We also had to do a “cultural safari” where we roamed the city and had to interview citizens. There was an earthquake here not too long ago and many places were closed for repairs. We also played Rubgy in the park. Scary fricken game! We were then off toward to Peel Forest.
Peel Forest
We were going to camp here, but an “eco-lodge” opened up and we stayed there instead (which was great because it ended up raining lightly that night). The toilets were composting ones and we had a lengthy explanation about how to use it. Sawdust, water, got it. I got more of an instruction here than India! Anyway, the following morning we went down the Rangitaka River for class two kayaking. SO MUCH FUN! We split off into groups and practiced in an eddy before lunch, came back to shore, and then were in the rapids for a couple hours. It was great. A lot of people fell and I was fine, until (or course) right before the end. We were told to stop but I was being carried away with the current and tried to come to shore but wasn’t making it to anything where I could hold onto. Sarah had a branch so I pulled up next to her, but I was still in the current and while pushing away, I flipped, causing her to flip. I had my boat and paddle, but a tree was coming and I was trying to get out of the way. Somehow I lose my paddle, then my boat, and it was just silly. I ended up floating down a bit, then we had to go back to retrieve my paddle. Very fun though! Fortunately we had wetsuits because it was glacier water. We stayed another night, played Catan, Jungle Speed, and Yucer. The following morning we stopped in for groceries in Geraldine and hit up the Farmer’s Market. I (of course) got earrings and got some lunch; they also had a folky band playing. Ohhh how I miss Farmer’s Markets, they really are just so great!
Sunday, February 6, 2011
North to South
Mangaweka
We camped along the Rangikei River for two nights. The first day we went on a rafting trip, followed by lounging in the sun, studying, etc. Some people found a bungee jump option available and did that. I almost said yes, but having already done it (in Whistler), if I do it again it’ll be in Queenstown, the second highest in the world! Cody, Tommy and I made an awesome fajita dinner and afterwards, along with others, led by David, went and hanged out with other campers (a couple girls from NZ, a German and Canadian guy).We were invited to a party in Wellington so we’ll see if we make it! I went on a 25minute run and finally did some core, and a few others went bridge jumping. We also went into town and had fish and chips with the Expedition group and hit up the bar afterwards.
Wellington
I had already been to Wellington, so this stop was quite anti-climatic, although it was a really nice to spend more time here during the daytime. It was a great time to hit the city, do some laundry, and just hang out. We also “started” classes, which consisted of meeting for five hours over two days. We hit up the Te Papa Museum and meandered around the city. We had a group dinner at Monsoon Poon, an Indian restaurant that had “Love You Long Time,” on the steps leading up to it that we all found quite humorous. In the evening we went up Mt. Victoria for a nighttime view of the city. We also, of course, hit up the bars and had a great time! It was really funny when a couple people decided to do a “reverse bungy” every night, although I declined… We had an early morning to catch the inter-island ferry to take us to the South Island. It was a three and a half hour ferry ride on a boat that had ten decks. There were reclining lounges, a children’s play area, theater, café, bar, sun decks, etc. Quit awesome! It was even better that as we traveled South, the weather just got better. The views reminded me very much of the West. I knew I was going to love this place.
Nelson
Nelson is the sunniest city in the country and it was beautiful when we arrived at our hostel. The first activity planned for Nelson was a skydive from 16,500feet where we were given oxygen on the way up. UNDESCRIBABLE. I spent more than I ever had on a video and photos, although it is absolutely worth it. I loved it and am thoroughly considering getting certified. Some other people also flew a plane where they got to do a bunch of tricks, rolls, etc. The following day Dash, Coby, and I decided to walk towards town and swim to this rock and island. We stopped at a café on the water where they agreed to hold our stuff and we told them we would come back for lunch. We swam and then had salads. Perfectly fulfilling after that little jaunt; especially since coming back we were swimming against the tide. Coby headed back to the hostel and Dash and I walked nearly to the next town before heading back to Tahunanui Beach. Fortunately on our walk back to the hostel, Bree and Doug (our trip leaders) drove by and offered us a ride! We figured we walked about 9 miles… Everyone went grocery shopping for camping and I rediscovered Maggi raman noodles that I literally have not seen since I was in India. It decided it would be my dinner for the next couple of days!
Abel Tasman
First of all, it is important to note the beauty of this national park. It was incredible too because we got to kayak in to a spot called “Anchorage,” about three hours. The introduction to kayak, however, took forever! Granted I haven’t kayaked in a while, the instructor was a bit excessive and took over an hour to explain strokes, turning, flipping, etc. I was in a boat with Cody and we easily packed our gear for the next couple of days in our boat. The water was rather pleasant, and only got windy for the last forty-five minutes. When we arrived, we tossed around a rugby ball, I tried to climb on the crumbly rocks, and then went scrambling along the beach rocks to find another beach and a crazy inter-tidal zone where we found out the following day that has a 7ft change in water levels. Dash and I were in our swimsuits without shoes, but still decided to hike to “Cleopatra’s Pool.” We tramped (hiked) for about seven miles to come back to everyone already eaten but a fire going. The following day the group was going to the pool, so again, Dash and I decided to take another track (trail) that would take us to a part of the park we hadn’t gone to. We ended up wading through the intertidal area where I had to swim in parts. We climbed up to meet on the track to Torrent Bay and took the turn to the River Track. It was the unmaintained trail I’ve been on so far in NZ and it was great! Reminiscent of climbing trails- although without a pack; so great! We get back to camp and figure that we hiked about nine miles. We spent our last night with a bit of group bonding, fire time, and then got an early start in the morning to hike out, about seven miles.
Kaikoura
A four hour drive takes us down the coast to another hostel where we had a low key night because we needed to get up early to go SWIM WITH DOLPHINS! I was in the van with the radio that mysteriously stopped working a few days ago but we had a nice singing session. We stopped for a seal viewing and then made it to our hostel (that sits across the road from the beach). For dinner, we had fish and chips and then watched the childhood classic movie with Ben Stiller, “Heavyweights.” An early morning (5am) brought us into the Pacific Ocean for a gorgeous sunrise and a viewing of around 600 dusky dolphins. We stopped three times and were able to jump in and scuba around with them. It was incredible! I am so happy to have an underwater digital camera too! A first grade dream come true :) For the rest of the day we had a class and roamed around the waterfront streets of Kaikoura, saw a few seals, and checked out the nightlife.
Christchurch
Started off with finding a bar immediately to watch the Superbowl!!!
We camped along the Rangikei River for two nights. The first day we went on a rafting trip, followed by lounging in the sun, studying, etc. Some people found a bungee jump option available and did that. I almost said yes, but having already done it (in Whistler), if I do it again it’ll be in Queenstown, the second highest in the world! Cody, Tommy and I made an awesome fajita dinner and afterwards, along with others, led by David, went and hanged out with other campers (a couple girls from NZ, a German and Canadian guy).We were invited to a party in Wellington so we’ll see if we make it! I went on a 25minute run and finally did some core, and a few others went bridge jumping. We also went into town and had fish and chips with the Expedition group and hit up the bar afterwards.
Wellington
I had already been to Wellington, so this stop was quite anti-climatic, although it was a really nice to spend more time here during the daytime. It was a great time to hit the city, do some laundry, and just hang out. We also “started” classes, which consisted of meeting for five hours over two days. We hit up the Te Papa Museum and meandered around the city. We had a group dinner at Monsoon Poon, an Indian restaurant that had “Love You Long Time,” on the steps leading up to it that we all found quite humorous. In the evening we went up Mt. Victoria for a nighttime view of the city. We also, of course, hit up the bars and had a great time! It was really funny when a couple people decided to do a “reverse bungy” every night, although I declined… We had an early morning to catch the inter-island ferry to take us to the South Island. It was a three and a half hour ferry ride on a boat that had ten decks. There were reclining lounges, a children’s play area, theater, café, bar, sun decks, etc. Quit awesome! It was even better that as we traveled South, the weather just got better. The views reminded me very much of the West. I knew I was going to love this place.
Nelson
Nelson is the sunniest city in the country and it was beautiful when we arrived at our hostel. The first activity planned for Nelson was a skydive from 16,500feet where we were given oxygen on the way up. UNDESCRIBABLE. I spent more than I ever had on a video and photos, although it is absolutely worth it. I loved it and am thoroughly considering getting certified. Some other people also flew a plane where they got to do a bunch of tricks, rolls, etc. The following day Dash, Coby, and I decided to walk towards town and swim to this rock and island. We stopped at a café on the water where they agreed to hold our stuff and we told them we would come back for lunch. We swam and then had salads. Perfectly fulfilling after that little jaunt; especially since coming back we were swimming against the tide. Coby headed back to the hostel and Dash and I walked nearly to the next town before heading back to Tahunanui Beach. Fortunately on our walk back to the hostel, Bree and Doug (our trip leaders) drove by and offered us a ride! We figured we walked about 9 miles… Everyone went grocery shopping for camping and I rediscovered Maggi raman noodles that I literally have not seen since I was in India. It decided it would be my dinner for the next couple of days!
Abel Tasman
First of all, it is important to note the beauty of this national park. It was incredible too because we got to kayak in to a spot called “Anchorage,” about three hours. The introduction to kayak, however, took forever! Granted I haven’t kayaked in a while, the instructor was a bit excessive and took over an hour to explain strokes, turning, flipping, etc. I was in a boat with Cody and we easily packed our gear for the next couple of days in our boat. The water was rather pleasant, and only got windy for the last forty-five minutes. When we arrived, we tossed around a rugby ball, I tried to climb on the crumbly rocks, and then went scrambling along the beach rocks to find another beach and a crazy inter-tidal zone where we found out the following day that has a 7ft change in water levels. Dash and I were in our swimsuits without shoes, but still decided to hike to “Cleopatra’s Pool.” We tramped (hiked) for about seven miles to come back to everyone already eaten but a fire going. The following day the group was going to the pool, so again, Dash and I decided to take another track (trail) that would take us to a part of the park we hadn’t gone to. We ended up wading through the intertidal area where I had to swim in parts. We climbed up to meet on the track to Torrent Bay and took the turn to the River Track. It was the unmaintained trail I’ve been on so far in NZ and it was great! Reminiscent of climbing trails- although without a pack; so great! We get back to camp and figure that we hiked about nine miles. We spent our last night with a bit of group bonding, fire time, and then got an early start in the morning to hike out, about seven miles.
Kaikoura
A four hour drive takes us down the coast to another hostel where we had a low key night because we needed to get up early to go SWIM WITH DOLPHINS! I was in the van with the radio that mysteriously stopped working a few days ago but we had a nice singing session. We stopped for a seal viewing and then made it to our hostel (that sits across the road from the beach). For dinner, we had fish and chips and then watched the childhood classic movie with Ben Stiller, “Heavyweights.” An early morning (5am) brought us into the Pacific Ocean for a gorgeous sunrise and a viewing of around 600 dusky dolphins. We stopped three times and were able to jump in and scuba around with them. It was incredible! I am so happy to have an underwater digital camera too! A first grade dream come true :) For the rest of the day we had a class and roamed around the waterfront streets of Kaikoura, saw a few seals, and checked out the nightlife.
Christchurch
Started off with finding a bar immediately to watch the Superbowl!!!
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