TravelStream™ news feed for member pauldebi on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/pauldebi en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Tue, 23 Sep 2008 04:03:27 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pauldebi/1/1222156920/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pauldebi/1/1222156920/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pauldebi/1/1222156920/tpod.html Tue, 23 Sep 2008 04:03:27 -0400 Debi & Paul's Excellent Kiwi Adventure

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Los Angeles, California, United States

We sleep in; until after 6:00 at least, which has been about our normal wakeup time. We had an excellent meal last night at the Grove, hosted by Michael, an American transplant from Connecticut by way of California. The food was wonderful.
It is a cloudy morning and we lazily read the newspaper, drink coffee and surf the internet for email and news. We see the Chiefs have performed poorly, only slightly less so than the stock market.
We head up Queen Street a couple of blocks to Ronnie's for breakfast. The intersection of Queen Street and Custom Street has the world's most unique pedestrian crossing process. Somewhere there must be a YouTube video of it on the internet. Its fun to watch and even more fun to be in the middle of as the "walk" light goes on in all directions simultaneously and a human free-for-all ensues.
We then stroll along the waterfront as the day warms. There are boats large and small, power and sail, private and commercial, fancy and tacky with several for sale. The same is true for condos which ring the wharf area.
Back at the hotel, we pack for the trip home. It is time for lunch and we yearn for one final order of fish and chips. The concierge says to go to the Waterfront which we do. Snapper and fries and our favorite N Zed varietal, sauvignon blanc. We have time to kill so we skip dessert and opt to walk up town for that. Seeing Starbucks, we grab some good American coffee and dessert. We walk across the street to a bookstore and spend an hour looking at books, and eventually buying 2 for the plane ride. Then, after strolling still more we settle in at the Hilton lobby for one final glass of wine and are entertained by two tug boats which nestle a Panamanian freighter into a mooring immediately outside our window. Tugboats have amazing maneuverability and it is fun to watch the two of them work in tandem.
It is time to head for the airport so we gather up the Holden Commodore, stopping en route to top off the fuel tank and return it to Avis, none the worse for wear.
Just down the hall is the check-in counter for Air New Zealand and no one is in line. Check in complete we head for immigration and security. Again, no one is in line. I love travelling off-season.
We have $18.90 of New Zealand currency remaining. The airport bar has $9.00 glasses of sauvignon blanc. We leave the ninety cents on the table and head for Air New Zealand flight number 2 to London with an intermediate stop in Los Angeles. We have plenty of time. We are to take off at 9:30pm Auckland time (2:30am LA time) on this Tuesday night and arrive at LAX at 2:30pm on Tuesday afternoon making this a scheduled 12-hour flight. We are in premium economy in an exit row on the upper deck of a 747. Our plan is to sleep immediately upon departure for as long as we can. If we sleep six hours, we would awaken sometime around 9:00am LA time (11:00am Kansas City time). The plan is to jolt our body clocks back to US CDT as rapidly as possible. It is a good plan but it has a low probability of success.
New Zealanders are a mostly happy, almost always friendly lot, delighted to have you in their country. In the cities, the younger people exhibit signs of discontent and rebellion similar to what one sees with "kids" in any and every country I have ever visited. But anyone in their late twenties and older seems happy to be living their lives as they are. Their economy is in the doldrums just like to rest of the world but it doesn't seem to weigh on anyone very much. They are totally consumed with "sport" (rugby, soccer, netball, Australian football, and cricket), are well versed on world affairs and are very interested in American politics, asking many questions about our presidential election. They universally believe the duration of our campaigns-and the amount of money we spend on them-to be exorbitant. They like Americans and, for the most part, like America. Most believe that either Obama or McCain will be an improvement over Bush. They think McCain is too old and are a bit amazed that a black man could be elected in the United States to the position of President. They like Palin but can't imagine her being qualified to succeed McCain as the most powerful person on the planet. Biden is a non entity.
Twenty-three years ago, when Debi and I left Australia after a short visit, we said to each other that we thought we could live there. We like New Zealand but neither of us would want to live here. We can't say why, really. It is beautiful without question. It is relatively inexpensive. Infrastructure and services are adequate. Maybe the rural areas are too rural and the urban areas are too European; I don't know. Anyway, we won't be moving here soon.
I would recommend a trip to New Zealand for travelers who don't require fancy accommodations and who like to drive around (on the left) and see nature at its unspoiled best. I would spend more time on the south island than on the north island. I would definitely jump out of and off of things. I'd come in the off season as we did and I would travel without a plan, letting whim and whimsy determine my next steps. I would smile at people and rest assured that they would smile back. I'd drink a lot of white wine and eat a lot of "chips." I would travel light with only three changes of clothes and plan to do laundry at my place of lodging every other night. I would bring a couple of credit cards and just a "wee bit" of cash to convert to New Zealand dollars. And I wouldn't think of being without a GPS and a camera...and an iPod with speakers for the car.

By the time you all read this, we will hopefully be snoozing across the ocean. Hope you all slept well and enjoyed reading our travel blog as much as we enjoyed writing it. This has been a fabulous 3 weeks.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pauldebi/1/1222066740/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pauldebi/1/1222066740/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pauldebi/1/1222066740/tpod.html Mon, 22 Sep 2008 03:00:59 -0400 Debi & Paul's Excellent Kiwi Adventure

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Auckland, North Island, New Zealand

It is our last day-and-night in New Zealand (we have tomorrow to spend before our 9:30pm flight) and we start out the day heading on into Auckland, deciding what we want to do today while we drive. Paul had read an article some time ago in the New York Times about a gal who came to New Zealand, took the ferry over to Waiheke Island and spent the week...so we decide we need to check out this island. We check into the Hilton Hotel on the wharf. Our room is ready so we go unload our bags and walk over to the ferry. Our boat is called the Quick Cat and we board for our 40 minute voyage to the island. Paul takes photos and I knit. It is a beautiful day for exploring the island.
We start out on foot and head up the hill - UGH - what a hill and walk around the lovely little town of Oneroa. We are hungry and decide it is time to find lunch. We go to our trusty iSite location and ask for recommendations for a winery that serves lunch. She gives us two, Cable Bay Winery and Mudbrick Winery...both within walking distance. So we head out to walk again and once again are faced with quite a hill and a fifteen minute walk. But our hunger keeps us going and we know we are walking off our breakfast. We'll be ready for a good lunch. Plus, it will all be downhill going home
Once we have arrived at the first winery, we have decided this will be it...we catch our breath and head in for a wine tasting. We have a rather snooty bartender, but we refuse to let her dampen our moods and we try seven different wines, a sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, something I can't pronounce, chardonnay, shiraz, pinot noir, a mix of merlot, cab, and malbec. Our choice for lunch is the sauvignon blanc. We go in and have a delightful lunch looking out over the bay with Auckland's skyline on the horizon. Paul shoots photos while we wait to eat.
On our walk back down to town and the ferry, we stop a few more times for photos of the winery and decide it was well worth the trip over to see Waiheke Island. Even a wee bit of wind on the ferry cannot dissuade Debi from knitting on her socks. Back in the room we are reconnoitering our luggage for our flight back tomorrow night. Once again, I have to say...what a trip we have had!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pauldebi/1/1221978840/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pauldebi/1/1221978840/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pauldebi/1/1221978840/tpod.html Sun, 21 Sep 2008 02:37:00 -0400 Debi & Paul's Excellent Kiwi Adventure

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Hamilton, North Island, New Zealand

Debi has already pointed out, in yesterday's entry, the idyllic nature of our morning. Birds singing, the sounds of mild surf far below and a view that stretches for miles and miles. Gorgeous. We set out, continuing northward.
Breakfast-our usual "too much" food-and fuel for the car highlighted the morning--we couldn't figure out how to get the gas filler flap open on the Holden but finally cracked the code to the relief of all concerned. In this country, they still come out and fill your tank for you. We decided to head for Kawhia (up the coast) on the advice of Hugh, our host for last night. Not much there other than the general store but the road to get there was stupendous. After stopping off the Holden Beach Road to visit the expansive black sand beach, we took a back road (gravel for 50 kilometers with a couple of washouts) to Raglan. It is a quaint little town and the perfect spot for a late lunch. We decided it didn't warrant a night's stay, however, so we kept on until we reached Hamilton.
The scenery in New Zealand is mindboggling. You find yourself in a valley of rolling hills and then you cross a ridge and you are assaulted by rocky fields. Next, mounds appear, next bubbling streams, then a waterfall, then a cliff, then a mountain. Amazing.
This country experienced a violent birth, that's for sure. The formations of land could only have resulted from unimaginable upheavals. Livestock-sheep and cattle-have carved walkways into the sides of hills giving them a washboard surface. Water flows and flows, often over rocks rubbed smooth and lovely. Verdant green predominates and, depending upon the light, either whispers or shouts at you as you pass. The color is enhanced by constant manicures at the hands of the animals that graze the fields so that they appear to have been freshly mowed. There aren't enough mowers in this country to tend this much acreage. The photographer's problem is that there is often no place to stop by the side of the road to take that prize winning photo. Shoulders don't exist on these narrow roadways and traffic flies at 100 kilometers per hour (or better) which is the national speed limit. As an American driver, I must constantly remember to stay left, particularly at intersections. I've only threatened a head-on collision with an oncoming Kiwi once and that was after a wrong turn resulting in a disorienting U-turn from which I barely recovered. Fortunately, at that particular time, both of us were barely moving so there was no harm done-other than to my pride.
The iPod has been indispensable. We had a small speaker for it for the first legs or our journey which became unnecessary when we got the Holden which has an auxiliary input which plays our music through the car's stereo system. We've listened to music not heard for years. The Garmin GPS has been of even more value, guiding us flawlessly. The only problem with it is that the voice cannot seem to correctly pronounce any of the Moira street names and even struggles on many English word names. I'll never travel without one of these gadgets.
A final observation is about "Motels." There are almost as many motels in this country as there are people. They are mostly bright, shiny and all are welcoming. You park right next to your room which is almost always entered by way of a sliding glass door. Each unit contains, in addition to the expected bed, bathroom, TV, etc., a mini-kitchen including, at a minimum, a refrigerator and microwave. Not one of these rooms has central heat or air conditioning which is typical of homes here, we are told. If you want heat, you turn on the portable electric heater that plugs into the wall. If you want cool air, you open the windows. Viola. Our weather has been mostly cool but we've never really been cold in our rooms.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pauldebi/1/1221886800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pauldebi/1/1221886800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pauldebi/1/1221886800/tpod.html Sun, 21 Sep 2008 01:02:23 -0400 Debi & Paul's Excellent Kiwi Adventure

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New Plymouth, North Island, New Zealand

We started out our day thinking we would head on north and see where we would stay for the night...our goal was at least to get to New Plymouth. Our first thought was breakfast so we ask at our hotel for a recommendation and headed there. It was good enough and they were a Pepsi account. All the better.
As we started our trek for the day we are feeling like we have come to the end of our sightseeing and how could we possibly top what we have seen or done thus far. It will be hard. At one little town, Waimarie, we spot a Saturday market and stop to stroll. We end up stopping a short while later on the highway and taking pictures of sheep grazing on the hillsides. When the animals graze on the hills, they leave these ridges along the sides of the hills. Today, when the sun was shining on them, the greens of the grass, with the blue sky and white clouds behind, they were very lovely to see.

We stop for lunch in another little town, Opunake, in a little hippy restaurant. The diversity here is no different than in the states. You never know when you walk in what you might find...but with a name like Sugar Juice Cafe, we should have known. The male cook is wearing a somewhat skirt - somewhat pants outfit. It looked like a skirt from the back, until you got to his knees and then it became pants! It went along very well with his toupee ponytail! On the wall across from Paul was a picture of Iman, the black model, not sure if I have her name correct...nude from the waist up! Who da thunk it!

We take an occasional detour from the main road in search of the beaches along the Tasman Sea. It is rather amazing that they design this road call the Surf Highway but then always seems to have either industry or homes or vegetation blocking your view.
So we head off the road a few times, one in particular was of interest. As we passed the local golf course, men and women were teeing off right by the road...but what makes it more interesting is that scattered throughout the greenway, sheep were grazing! Maybe it's their goal to not hit them, but I can't believe one has been whacked before. Paul's comment was "if one gets hit in the head, it won't make them any more stupid then they already are!" It puts a whole new meaning on the term shanking the ball!

As we head into New Plymouth we decide we need to find a room with a view of the Sea. Well this turns out to be totally frustrating. The whole sea side of the city is only walkable, not used for the hotels and motels. One hotel has a view, but you still walk to the Sea. Throughout New Zealand there are places called I Sites...nearly every town has one and they are the information hub of that town. So we find the I Site and they find us a place out of town called the Cottage by the Sea. Well, we head out to have a look, feeling like we are possibly on a wild goose chase only to come upon this little piece of heaven tucked back off the road and right by the sea. There are only 3 cottages here and we have the one furthest from the main house with our own private view of the sea and, I am not kidding about this next part...this morning, the birds woke me up singing. It is that quiet and peaceful here. Magically beautiful. The perfect way to end our trip before we head toward the big city of Auckland.

After we walk out on the boulder-strewn black sand beach, we decide we need to figure out dinner. We are thinking, it is probably going to be wine and cheese in the room...because there is nothing around us - not a street light, not a car passing by, not a restaurant of any kind. But Paul asks the proprietor, Hugh, and he sends us down the road for dinner to a place called Waiau Estates. It is 5 minutes away and again we think...there is nothing here...then we turn the corner and into the driveway of this delightful little restaurant and winery. It is a small place and bustling with people. It appears to be a local favorite as well as the place to send tourists. Otherwise, you would never find it. Our dinner is delicious and our wine is very good. We headed back to organize our packing and write on the blog...only it's my turn and I am feeling quite brain fried and so head to bed...to finish in the morning.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pauldebi/1/1221856500/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pauldebi/1/1221856500/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pauldebi/1/1221856500/tpod.html Fri, 19 Sep 2008 16:37:29 -0400 Debi & Paul's Excellent Kiwi Adventure

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Palmerston North, North Island, New Zealand

This morning we had a look at our calendar and realized that it would be prudent to head north as we have but four nights remaining in New Zealand. Trusting our off-season/shoulder-season good fortune, we simply set out for the ferry with no booking. The drive from Nelson to Picton was sunny and gorgeous. Debi (and the Garmin GPS device) chose a shortcut for us which led us over two mountains via hairpin turns and sheer drops protected by painted lines on the too-narrow pavement. At one point, a sheetrock delivery truck which was in front of us came upon an approaching tandem log carrier and we all came to an abrupt stop. It was great fun watching the truck in front of us hang the outermost rear dual wheel over airspace as he cleared the other truck which was nearly wedged against the rock ledge which walled the inside lane. We didn't make up much time on this routing.
Upon arrival in Picton we filled the Avis Ford Falcon (unlike the Falcons we knew in the U.S.) with petrol and handed it over to the very nice rental car lady who assured us another car would await us when we docked in Wellington. Avis on the ground here really has its act together (unlike Avis on the toll-free "Zero/Eight hundred" number where they are clueless about all things). We drove 3004 kilometers on the South Island which equals 1867 miles. We were on the South Island for ten nights. The South Island covers about the same amount of square miles as the states of Kansas and Missouri combined and has a population of just under a million people. It isn't crowded. For me, highlights were bungy jumping, watching Spark muster sheep, and hanging with the seals. Debi says hers are: chasing down the "sunset that didn't happen" to Gillespie Beach, sipping wine in Akaroa, Pancake rock, the seals, and jumping off the Kawarau Bridge.
Heading for the North Island on the 1:45 sailing, we upgraded on the InterIslander Ferry Kaitaki to "Kaitaki Plus" Class and took our choice of couches in a large lounge area reserved for folks who are willing to pay $40 over the $52 passage. We did. We were the only ones who did. Wine flows, there are mini-mince pies and a toaster along with various fruit, dessert canopes and the like. And, wireless internet is included. We Skype Megan and then Cianan and Debi tries the McLaughlin sisters who are in Chicago with their friend Oprah. Nobody is answering in the Windy City, however. We assume they're being Wicked. After texting Shannon, Debi grabs her knitting and her crosswords.
The minute we clear the sound and enter Cook Strait-after about an hour-the seas turn on us, becoming "moderate: and our ferry begins to rock and roll a bit. Debi warns me there are 'pukers" outside the Kaitaki Plus Lounge.
An official announcement warns us to take care when moving through passageway doors as the wind and sea conditions may cause the heavy doors to slam on our various body parts and cause us great discomfort. Good to know.
At 3:15, the Captain's voice comes on the loudspeaker announcing that we are cruising at 20 knots and that he will be holding an exercise for the crew. Then, "for a drill only" seven short bells and whistles sound followed by one long one and that means, "We've got a fire on deck five where all the vehicles sit." The crew scrambles; we're told that we're not expected to participate. Debi knits. We're on deck seven where there are no vehicles. Later, I see the crew strapping a volunteer onto a backboard and affixing a neck brace and other emergency equipment. I have another glass of Sauvignon Blanc. It's lovely. We pass a pair of lighthouses heading into Wellington on the North Island.
Upon docking at Wellington, we seamlessly grabbed a replacement Avis car-a Holden Commodore-and set out. We didn't find anything to our liking until we made it all the way to Palmerston North, much farther than we had intended to travel. We had the best dinner of the trip in a nice restaurant-maybe the first that would be a success in the U.S.
New Zealand tip: come in September. The weather is mostly nice. There are no tourists. You have the roads, lodging, sights and sounds to yourself. The lambs are newly born, the countryside is green and the prices are much lower. Be prepared to eat lots of chips (french fries). Oh; and there will be an option of having a fried egg on top of nearly everything: hamburgers, fettuccine, steak,
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pauldebi/1/1221730260/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pauldebi/1/1221730260/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pauldebi/1/1221730260/tpod.html Thu, 18 Sep 2008 05:36:42 -0400 Debi & Paul's Excellent Kiwi Adventure

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Nelson, South Island, New Zealand

It is Thursday, the 18th, and we are headed out to see the sights along the West coast of South Island...still in the rain. We leave Greymouth and find breakfast on farther down the road at the Punakaiki Resort in Punakaiki which is also the home of Paparoa National Park and the Pancake Rocks. The rain lets up and we stop to see the Rocks and they are quite amazing. The blow holes and the rock structures were spectacular. We continue on down the road (or up the coast I should say) to Westport and Cape Foulwind where we find a seal colony and the weather is become quite nice. The seals are so cute to watch and entertaining...it is hard to pull ourselves away but we have a drive ahead of us and so we head away.
Stopping in Westport we eat a bite at Gilly's Cafe and start our trip to Nelson where we have decided to spend the night. It is a four hour drive that is mostly around mountains...so we are spending the time driving the curvy roads of New Zealand. Every so often we get a straight road and make up some time. The scenery never disappoints.
We arrive in the delightful town of Nelson which has the highest sunshine rate in the country and we are counting on this as we have had 2 days of gray and rain. As we drive in, the sun is shining...through a light rain that has begun to fall and in the distance is a rainbow!
We head to town later and get a steak at the Lone Star and return to our room to get settled in for the night.
There is one new twist to the one lane bridges in this country. We crossed over two more one lane bridges that also have a railroad track down the middle. Word is that the trains have the right of way. Weird. We are of the opinion that the absence of a "tipping" custom here for servers has one unintended result: the servers don't work very hard at what they do.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pauldebi/1/1221677820/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pauldebi/1/1221677820/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pauldebi/1/1221677820/tpod.html Wed, 17 Sep 2008 14:59:07 -0400 Debi & Paul's Excellent Kiwi Adventure

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Greymouth, South Island, New Zealand

We were awakened by the sound of rain pounding on the motel room window. Get the picture? Our luck with weather has run out. We head to a recommended place for breakfast near Lake Matheson to eat and wait out the rain. After about an hour, two women that we had seen at Bungy and again at a waterfall walked in: Anne-Christine von Wetter, a Parisian real estate person from Los Angeles and Nancy Tompkins, co-owner of the sailboat Flashgirl and spouse of Warwick Tompkins, Jr. (google him).
Anyway, we talked for another hour or more waiting for the rain to stop sharing stories of our lives, families and trips to New Zealand. When the rain stopped, we went for an hour and a half walk around Lake Matherson hoping for a photo opportunity that never came. In the car, we were off for the glaciers for which this district of rain forest along the Tasman Sea is known.
First, to Fox Glacier. It was raining only slightly. The thing about glaciers is that you can't capture their enormity in a photograph, particularly on a grey day. We hiked in beyond the safety boundary (as did everyone else and) after crossing a rocky stream, got close enough to tell that they weren't lying: it is sluffing off front layers. The ice is a deep blue, but again, you can't really tell that in a picture.
Then, we drove north to Franz Josef Glacier but the rain was even more intense. We opted for lunch and, as the sun peaked through, headed back to the glacier. The mist broke for about ten minutes after we hiked about twenty minutes into the observation point. Franz Josef is even more enormous than Fox. It took a moment to notice but the tiny specs on the glacier were not rocks because they were moving. There were people out there hiking on the glacier. Not for us.
Back in the car, we headed north hoping for better weather. Highway 6 runs along the west coast of the South Island and as it jutted inland and coastward, we caught glimpses of the Tasman Sea portion of the Pacific Ocean and more and more mountains.
As sunset neared, we approached Greymouth and decided that was far enough for the day. We snapped a sunset picture, found a motel, grabbed some crackers to eat with the wine and cheese we already have and called it a night.
Tomorrow's weather is supposed to be, as they call it here, "Nice." We're hoping.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pauldebi/1/1221553200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pauldebi/1/1221553200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pauldebi/1/1221553200/tpod.html Tue, 16 Sep 2008 04:22:20 -0400 Debi & Paul's Excellent Kiwi Adventure

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Fox Glacier, South Island, New Zealand

It is Tuesday here and actually Paul's birthday back home. We get on the computer and skype and few folks back home. It is good to hear their voices.
After breakfast we head out to start our trek up the West coast of the South Island and are targeting Haast as our destination. Haast is 2 ½ hours from Queenstown. We stop several times along the way for waterfall pictures There are so many impressive ones. The first one is Thunder Creeks falls, a 30 minute walk from the road. It is beautiful.
Then we stop at the Fantail Falls and only Paul gets out to walk the 2 minute walk and get some pictures. We stop along the road as well to take pictures and eventually come to Roaring Billy Falls. It is quite amazing and the beautiful river that runs between us and the falls is surrounded by a huge rock dry river bed. Spectacular.
We arrive in Haast, eat lunch at a roadside diner and decide to not stay, but continue on to Fox Glacier and stay the night there. It is another 2 ½ hour drive and so we keep on trucking down the road, me knitting when the road is straight - we have traveled over several mountains - and we listen to music on the Ipod.
We arrive in Fox Glacier, find a room and settle in to stretch our legs...it has been a long day in the car. At 6 o'clock,, Paul realizes we have a really good chance for a terrific sunset so we load up and head 30 minutes toward a beach only to get there...and the sunset has disappeared. The interesting thing here is that if you look West, there is the Tasman Sea and the churning water and you turn East and there are the snowcapped mountains. So beautiful. So we didn't get our sunset pictures, but still finding this great little beach was worth the trip.
We decided to opt for cheeses, crackers and chocolate from the grocery store for dinner. Only as we pulled up, she was closing her doors. I asked are you closing, she said if you know what you want, come on and I will wait. You've got to love New Zealand!
It has been a great day...great scenery and great music.
There are dozens of single lane bridges here. You come upon them and find a sign telling you that you have priority or the opposing traffic has it. You wait and then cross once the bridge clears. The honor system seems to work pretty well.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pauldebi/1/1221462600/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pauldebi/1/1221462600/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pauldebi/1/1221462600/tpod.html Mon, 15 Sep 2008 03:13:56 -0400 Debi & Paul's Excellent Kiwi Adventure

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Queenstown, South Island, New Zealand

Paul writes: From Te Anau to Queenstown, that's the plan, where we've a reservation at the Copthorne for tonight and Paul has a bungy jump booked for 3:00pm at the original bungy jump location in the world: Kawarau Suspension Bridge, 14 kilometers east of town. That's more of a plan than we have had since arriving twelve days ago.
It's a short drive, only 170 kilometers which, at the speed limit of 100kph (62mph) will take less than three hours on windy roads.
Along the way, we are interrupted by a gigantic flock of sheep being worked by a trio of dogs and their owner and we stop for pictures. We see a deer herd, more mountains, more lakes, more cattle, more sheep. As we near Queenstown, we decide to get the lay of the land and drive by Kawarau Bridge so we'll know the way later on.
Stopping in, we watch half-dozen jumpers leap from the perch on the bridge and rebound high into the air, some squealing in delight and others too scared to squeal. "You've got to do this, Debi," I say. "I think I will," she says, and we sign her up.
She is to go first and I take pictures; then, we'll switch.

Debi writes: Let me just add here...I was scared shit-less...as they say, so much so that when they were strapping my feet together, my legs wouldn't stop shaking. But I kept telling myself, don't be such a baby, just go....what's the worse that could happen!....

Paul writes: What a trooper she is. As she stands on the platform, high above my viewpoint, I can see that she's a tiny bit nervous. The tipoff is the death grip she maintains on the iron rail adjacent to the perch from which the jumpers leap. First, it's both hands hanging on, then only one and, then, she's airborne.

Debi writes: As I stood on the platform...if I could have, I might have backed out...but I just didn't look down and I listened to the words of the instructor behind me and took a deep breath and off I went.

Paul writes: A perfect leap. Its 43 meters (141 feet) to the surface of the turquoise waters of the fast moving Kawarau River. A rubber boat with two jumper-retrievers bobs below. There are many spectators on the viewing platform and all eyes are on our Debi. She free-falls with the gigantic rubber band tied to her ankles, arms spread wide as if she were going to will herself to fly. But fly she didn't. You plummet. The water rushes at you. But then, you slow abruptly. And then, well, you bungy. You spring back into the air. From my point of view, she reached her "low point" with five feet between her and the swirling water and she rocketed back skyward...I don't know...half way back up? Then back down, then back up; you get the picture, until finally, you're at your low point and the support team above lowers your bungy cord and you see the boat crew below you handing up a white pole for you to grasp. Once you've got that pole, they (and you) pull down a bit more until you grasp hands with your catcher who eases you, gracefully to be sure, to the floor of the rubber boat. Your ankles are untied and you slip out of the harness that you've been fitted into earlier and, before you know it, you're back at the dock where you climb out onto terra firma once more.
It's over. She climbs up the path, wanting her glasses back. She sits with me on a bench, her breath having been previously taken by the jump and now taken again by the hike up the hill.

Debi writes: As I climb out of the boat, I am still shaky and glad I did it - if no other reason than to tell Cianan that I did actually jump out of something while I was here...little did he know I felt I had jumped out of my skin!! I am not sure the word to describe this is experience was exhilarating - possibly more like death-defying for me...but there I have done it ! Now it is time to watch Paul do the one thing he was waited for for almost 2 weeks. And he is siked! Watching him will be fun...he is so excited.

Paul writes: Then, I go. Happy Birthday to me. The crew at the top of the bridge, notified by Debi that I was turning sixty this day, were congratulatory. "Do you want to touch the water?"
"Absolutely," I say. "Well, then, you should jump outward a bit. If you do it just right, your hand will reach the water." They had weighed us before hand and it appeared that adjustments and calculations and computations were made regarding bungy length and so forth. But, hell; we didn't have a clue. The form you filled out when you signed in was titled "Toe Tag," so the point was made; you do this and you trust them and it will all turn out OK for you just as it did for all those who preceded you.
There's a DVD movie of what happened next. It records the event from an unbiased and unemotional point of view which is more than I can say for my recollection.
You look down and it's the highest thing you've ever stood upon without a railing and there is this very reassuring person behind you giving you all kinds of instructions which you do not hear. I am reminded of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid standing on that rocky ledge in the movie with the "Who are those guys?" guys coming on fast and then they jump into the water. The only "Who are those guys?" behind me are being paid to get me to jump into the river. So what do I do? I jump. I think of Andy Sears' fear of heights. I think of Linda Lee's gasping at an impending traffic light, crossing car or nothing at all. Then I think of Betsy Sears grabbing an unripe olive from a tree and popping it into her mouth without thinking of the consequences. I think of Megan heading off to Utah to make her professional singing debut or Cianan skipping his senior year in high school and going to Iowa. Or, of Phoebe rushing headlong after a skunk. It's all a blur. As the Nike people, say: Just do it. I do it.
My left hand hits the water...about up to my wrist, and back up I go. The fall happened too fast. I can't tell you about it because it came and went before I was ready.
When skydiving, the fall lasted forever; this lasted for-never. Wow.
We got our T-shirts and our DVDs and two vouchers for a free wine tasting at the vineyard next door. The perfect ending; a great late lunch and some lovely wine.
The rest of this day is anti-climactic, including a purchase of yard at the Queenstown Yarn Shop and dinner. What a birthday it was.
If you make it to sixty, I recommend it.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pauldebi/1/1221382500/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pauldebi/1/1221382500/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/pauldebi/1/1221382500/tpod.html Sun, 14 Sep 2008 04:57:55 -0400 Debi & Paul's Excellent Kiwi Adventure

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Milford Sound, South Island, New Zealand

We were up early to get moving toward out objective for the day: Milford Sound a fiord in Fiordland National Park. We'll have to drive five hours to get there but the scenery is spectacular there. Gorgeous weather and no traffic. Perfect.
However, two hours out from our destination, the weather changed. It turns out that Milford Sound has the highest average rainfall in the country and, to keep its average up, today was a day for dense fog and light but steady rain. As we drove, we noticed signs saying that we were entering "Avalanche Zones" where no stopping at the side of the narrow roadway was allowed. But, we couldn't see where the avalanche would come from because we were enveloped in a cloud.
Upon arrival at the end of the road, we caught a glimpse of the beauty there. Pictures attached include a look at the round-rock beach at "road's end," a sheer rock cliff hosting a multitude of waterfalls, rocky rivers and a couple of hikers posing by Humboldt Waterfall(s) and Debi pondering if the suspension bridge we crossed was too short for a mini-bungy jump. Another hike took us to the "Chasm" a place where the roaring waters have eroded the softrock into gigantic honeycombs and had a conversation with a New Zealand bird, a Kea, looking for a handout.
We backtracked to Te Anau, a village two hours outside Milford Sound on the shores of the South Island's largest lake where we would spend the night. The sky cleared as we left the park and the weather became, again, gorgeous. The temperatures are mild, dropping to chilly at night.
The Kiwi accent is interesting. The number 10 is pronounced "teen." One lunch menu item which cost eighteen dollars was quoted to us as costing "ate-een." The TV newscaster spoke of the New Zealand dollars relationship to the Japanese yen, calling it the "yeen." You get used to it; but you don't. Speaking of TV, the news comes on and after about "teen" minutes, they switch to "The Sport." Rugby is then discussed for twenty minutes while you wait to hear the weather forecast.
Lodging is comfortable and inexpensive. We have paid anywhere from $100 NZ dollars to $165 NZ dollars per night. At 70 US cents to their dollar, that means our rooms have cost us between $70.00 US and $115.00 US. In Kansas City, comparable rooms would go for more. Wine is inexpensive, running about $50 NZ per screw-top bottle but dinner entres run $30 to $35 NZ while a full cooked breakfast is $14 to $18 NZ dollars. Fuel is $2 NZ per liter.
Debi commented at dinner that she is upset that she has nothing for me to unwrap for my birthday tomorrow. I've been celebrating my birthday all month so I have assured her that her concern is misplaced.
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