TravelStream™ news feed for member wenzels on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/wenzels en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sun, 01 Nov 2009 09:27:21 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wenzels/4/1063011840/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wenzels/4/1063011840/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wenzels/4/1063011840/tpod.html Sun, 01 Nov 2009 09:27:21 -0500 Peter does New Zealand and Australia

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Wellington, North Island, New Zealand

The North Island - southern half! Wellington, the capital of NZ, has very nice camera shops. We saw most of them as Kathryn's camera's display was bust and mine had got sand into it on the beach in Abel Tasman, blocking the lens. As the warranty didn't cover this I thought I'd have a go hoping to activate some of my dad's craftsman genes, but after completely dis- and reassembling the unit with 2 screws left at the end and a major jolt from the flash I found out that dad had selfishly kept those genes to himself. Needless to say the camera was completely ruined. After investing the unnecessary sum of NZ$800 each we were now both owners of new and improved cameras. The old one was crap anyway.... :-( Wellington also boasts an unusually designed honey-comb shaped government building, colloquially termed "the Beehive" ; a quaint little observatory with planetarium and sun telescope (and for the 3rd time now a completely cloudy sky did not allow us to view the southern sky, biaaaaatch!); and "Te Papa", the national museum with highly interesting exhibits in an architectural masterpiece of a building where I sucked at virtual sheep shearing; and a beautiful old wooden church, "old St Paul's Cathedral". Next stop was Mt Bruce Wildlife Sanctuary where we could see the rare Takahe, a Kiwi and other birds and then travelled on to Tongariro National Park. This proved to be our most impressive stop on the North Island for several reasons yet to follow... The National Park is a Plateau of several active volcanoes, 2 of which last erupted 1997 (I think). There's great video footage of skiers looking at the mountain they're on erupting and saying such memorable things as "Strewth! I paid a hell of a lot of money for my ski pass and now this. I want my money back! Aaaaaaarghh!" The main mountains are mounts Tongariro, Ngauruhoe (a perfect conical shape) and the 2770m high Mt Ruapehu, highest mountain on the North Island and home to 2 Ski areas. We wanted to do the Tongariro crossing, a 7 hour crossing of the 1700m high pass between Mts Tongariro and Ngauruhoe. That could only be done with crampons and an ice axe which we rented and donned like the cheerful little dwarves we are. Ice picks make for great pictures but I was glad I had one as I spontaneously decided to scale 2300 m high Mt Ngauruhoe which is not only stunningly beautiful, but also Mt Doom in the Lord of the Rings (LOTR), and thus irresistable. I happily scaled it and snuck a peek into the "Cracks of Doom". So if you see Frodo, Sam, and Smeagol lugging themselves up this baby round Christmas, just remember who did it first: Me, Baby, Me! On the way down I met John, a true Aussi outdoorsman who was carrying his skies up here and under my envious eyes skied back down later. Respect! Still taken in from the view across most of the central North Island and Lake Taupo from this stunningly attractive mountain I rushed onwards as I was 3 hours behind all the other walkers and thus had some catching up to do was I to reach the shuttle bus in time. The beautiful Red Crater with it's smoking caldera and the green, mostly frozen, Emerald Lakes absorbed my attention so much that I missed the whopping great sign that would have told me I was from now on heading the completely wrong way. Unaware of this I followed Mel and Trina's example and started running to get to the pick-up bus in time. I did a Forest Gump through Mordor which was most impressive. Steep lava drop-offs, barren lava flows and ashen black deserts with hardly any vegetation and no birdlife or visible other animals whatsoever, they could not survive here as the sulfurous water is absolutely poisonous. I kept running through beautiful mudplanes and forests until I came to a walking hut at sunset. A shy glance at the map there (the one thing I didn't do before going on the trip, d'uh!) assured me I was right in by now thinking I was completely lost and had, in fact, strayed another 2 day hikes onwards into the center of the National Park. Great. I had no supplies and was concerned about Kathryn worrying about my whereabouts. Thankfully there were very helpful people at the hut. One had a mobile phone that even had reception. So I called the hostel we were staying at who in turn put out a sign for Kathryn telling her I was ok. She, though, jumped off the shuttle bus and headed straight for the car to pick me up at the track end as agreed as an emergency measure, so the hostel then tried to reach her at any of the public buildings near the track end and finally got the message through to her as she was just giving my personal details to the police and department of conservation rangers having unsuccessfully waited for 2 hours at the track end. The lovely people at the hut gave me some food and a plastic bag to sleep in (!) that made such terrific noise that I didn't dare turn over; and it wasn't exactly suitable insolation on a friggin' cold night as the one we were having. So I was glad when the sun rose and I could wander on to Whakapapa Village early the next morning where Kathryn was to meet me. I passed the waterfall where Gollum is captured by the Gondorian rebels under Falamir (LOTR) and arrived in Whakapapa village to receive the biggest hug of my life from a completely shaken Kathryn. And to top it all it was her birthday. So my first step to consolation was to dig out the birthday presents from Ping, Donna, Martyn and myself. I also invited her out for a yummy dinner. Poor Kathryn really suffered a blow through my unpreparedness while I have to admit that I quite enjoyed the little detour and was proud of the fact that I had just managed to walk/run a 4-day circuit within 27 hours.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Jetzt das ganze auf Deutsch: Kathryn und ich haben von Picton durch die beeindruckenden Marlborough Sounds über die Cook Straight nach Wellington, Hauptstadt von Neuseeland und Südzipfel der Nordinsel übergesetzt. Dies ist ein schönes, europäisches Städtchen. Hauptmerkmale der Stadt sind das Bienenkorb-förmige Regierungsgebäude, das schöne moderne Nationalmuseum "Te Papa" (unser Land) und die Tatsache, dass Peter Jackson hier sein Weta Works Filmstudio hat. Davon sieht man aber nix. Leider haben wir die meiste Zeit in Kameraläden verbracht, da ich meine Digitalkamera im Abel Tasman Nationalpark  versandet habe und Kathryn der Bildschirm an ihrem beim Ski-Sturz  im Tiefschnee zerstört hat. Da die Garantie die Kamera bei Sandschaden nicht deckt, dachte ich mir, dass ich doch bestimmt was vom handwerklichen Geschick meines Vaters geerbt haben muss, das Gerät also selbst reparieren kann. Hab mir also einen Satz Präzisionsschraubenzieher gekauft und das Ding komplett auseinandergebaut. Dabei hab ich mir zunächst einen wuchtigen Elektroschock am Blitz zugezogen und bin dann nach Zusammensetzen der Maschine (hatte nur 2 Schrauben übrig...) leider nur durch ein wehleidiges Winseln der Kamera von ihrem terminalen Zustand informiert worden (Bitte kein Kommentar, Elmar!). War ein teurer Spaß! Ich weiß nicht, wie oft ich in meinem Leben schon die ernüchterte Feststellung machen durfte, dass Papa dieses eine Gen wohl doch für sich behalten hat. Ich werd's aber weiter versuchen... Wir können jedenfalls wohl zu Recht behaupten, jetzt jeden einzelnen Kamera Shop in Wellington zu kennen und waren froh, als wir beide nach 3 Tagen mit funktionierenden neuen Knipsmaschinchen endlich die Stadt verlassen konnten. Nach kurzem Zwischenstop im Mt Bruce Wildlife Center (gab's ein paar ultrarare Vögel, die ich noch nicht gesehen hatte) ging's dann in den Tongariro National Park in eine Jugendherberge mit Kletterwand. Da also schön gekraxelt als Übung für das, was am nächsten Tag kommen sollte... Der Tongariro National Park beinhaltet im wesentlichen einen Haufen aktiver Vulkane, von denen 3 herausragen: Mt Tongariro, Mt Ngauruhoe und Mt Ruapehu. Das Tongariro Crossing ist die meistbeschrittene Tageswanderung Neuseelands führt zwischen den ersteren beiden über einen Pass hindurch und dauert etwa  8 Stunden. Da es dort noch stark verscheit war, haben wir uns Steigeisen und Eispickel ausgeliehen und sind losgekraxelt. Auf dem 1700m hohen Pass konnte ich meine Augen nicht von dem perfekten Vulkankegel des 2200m hohen Mt Ngauruhoe lassen, der im "Herrn der Ringe" Mt Doom darstellt. Da konnte ich mich der Versuchung nicht widersetzen, ihn erklimmen zum müssen, habe also Kathryn ihres Weges geschickt und den 3 Stunden Umweg angetreten. Ganz schön steil, aber mit Steigeisen und Eisaxt schnell bewältigt, konnte ich dann nach 90 Minuten in die "Cracks of Doom" blicken. Ein wahrhaft erhebendes Gefühl! Wenn ihr also an Weihnachten Frodo, Sam und Smeagol hier hoch ächzen seht, denkt immer daran, wer zuerst hier oben war: Ich, Baby! Musste mich jetzt beeilen, wieder Anschluss an die anderen Wandersleut zu finden und bin  über den eisenhaltigen dampfenden Red Crater zu den vereisten kritzegrünen Emerald Lakes gestiegen, deren Schönheit mich so in ihren Bann gezogen hat, dass ich leider die richtige Abzweigung nicht gesehen habe und nichtsahnend immer weiter in den Nationalpark geirrt bin (hatte dummerweise keine Karte, da man mir gesagt hatte, es gäbe nur einen Weg und man könne sich unmöglich verlaufen). Zu der Zeit war ich schon im Laufschritt unterwegs und bin durch wunderschön abwechslungsreiche Landschaften gejoggt: die Lavawelt von „Mordor", Asche- und Sandwüsten sowie uralte Wälder. Irgendwann war mir dann klar, dass ich mich wohl verlaufen haben musste. Ich kam gerade rechtzeitig zum Sonnenuntergang zu einer Hütte, wo schon einige andere Wanderer waren und ein Blick auf die Karte mir klarmachte, wie sehr ich mich verlaufen hatte: anderthalb Tageswanderungen weiter im Herzen des Nationalparks! Ich war sehr besorgt, dass Kathryn sich Gedanken machen würde und Gott sei Dank hatte da jemand ein Handy mit Empfang über das ich dann die Jugendherberge anrufen konnte, die ihrerseits alle Cafes und Restaurants in der Nähe des entlegenen Streckenendes anrief und Glück hatte, die völlig aufgelöste Kathryn gerade rechtzeitig in dem Moment zu benachrichtigen, also sie dabei war, den Park Rangers und der Polizei meine Personenbeschreibung durchzugeben Somit war alles ok. Die netten Leute haben dann ihr Essen mit mir geteilt, mir trockene Socken und eine Plastiktüte als Schlafstätte für die Nacht gegeben. So eine Plastiktüte ist nicht nur unglaublich laut bei jeder Bewegung, sondern biete auch keinerlei Isolierung in der Winterkälte. Ich war also froh, als die ersten Sonnenstrahlen den Himmel erleuchteten und ich meine Wanderung zurück in die Zivilisation fortsetzen konnte. Bin noch an dem Teich und Wasserfall vorbeigekommen, wo Gollum von den Rebellen unter Falamir festgenommen wird ("Herr der Ringe“). Bei meiner Ankunft on Whakapapa habe ich dann die dickste Umarmung meines Lebens von einer völlig  verstörten Kathryn erhalten, die an dem Tag auch noch ihren Geburtstag hatte. Die Arme! Mir hatte es ja bis auf die verfrorene Nacht echt Spaß gemacht und ich war ganz stolz, eine wunderschöne 4-Tage Wanderung in nur 27 Stunden zurückgelegt zu haben. Das Geburtstagsessen an dem Abend ging dann natürlich auf mich.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wenzels/4/1062621240/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wenzels/4/1062621240/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wenzels/4/1062621240/tpod.html Fri, 16 Oct 2009 20:46:18 -0400 Peter does New Zealand and Australia

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Kaikoura, South Island, New Zealand

Christchurch to Abel Tasman National Park (top=English, bottom=German) I've learned to budget myself after spending extortionate amounts of dough while travelling New Zealand and now find myself forraging for cheapo food, camping as much as possible and generally living very "backpacker". My last accounts left off middle of the South Island, crossing Arthur's pass to ski Mt Hutt. We needed two attempts at that, as it was initially closed due to heavy snowfall and avalanches and thus had a few wonderful days in Cristchurch with the ever present and very talented Ping. Most notable things to do there are visiting the very good Canterbury Museum that has the usual array stuff from Maori and pioneer memorabilia to stuffed birds, but also a good section on the antarctic and is a good alternative to the relatively expensive, but none-the-less interesting Antarctic Centre that is the launch base for American, Kiwi and Italian antarctic operations. The Port Hills south of town boast nice coastal scenery and have a very Devonian, Dartmoor-ish appearance. Big hit was the crazily kitschy Wunderbar for a snack in Lyttleton. Mt Hutt had great views from east coast to snowcovered alps and was fun to rip down on the old snowboard. Long live butt pads! Next stop was Kaikoura after a life-endangering drive along the windy coastal road that Kathryn and I will never talk to anybody about. Not good! Kaikoura on the other hand was fantastic. We went on a dolphin swim. This entailed a plane flying out to localise dolphin pods from the air. They ended up spotting a pod of 1000 dolphins (wild, of course!) So our boats maneuvered us into their midst and we plunked ourselves into the ice-cold antarctic waters in our 7 mm wetsuit and snorkeling gear to hang out with the dusky dolphins. That was absolutely enlightening. While making lots of ridiculous noises we deemed interesting to attract their attention we encountered myriads of the playful little guys in their element. You could discern the old ones with their battle scars and wise eyes sizing you up as they gracefully passed you from the young ones with their mischievous sparkling eyes. These were very fun to swim in circles with or dive down with or just swim side by side with. Afterwards we shivered our way back on board to watch them perform jumps, somersaults, backflips, sideway splashes and other tricks. Absolutely fantastic, only marginally marred by my feeding the fish with some of my precious stomach-muesli on the way back through the choppy sea. We also had a little visit to a seal colony in Kaikoura where I was chased by a raging bull. Thankfully I was faster. Next stop was Blenheim in Marlborough, New Zealand's most productive wine region mainly known for its whites, specifically its sauvignon blancs, and some pinot noirs and sparkling wines. We went on a wine tour with Barry, who drove us around in his bus and told us a lot about the wine that we then necked happily in 6 wineries. Pretty much all the sauvignon blancs from Marlborough are a safe bet for quality, my favorites of the ones we tasted were Fairhall Downs and Lawson's Dry sauv's and Seresin Riesling. We bought a couple bottles that were to sweeten up a few of the subsequent evenings. Next stop was Nelson, an art deco city that I didn't think was that grand and in fact has the ugliest cathedral a morbidly retarded mind can conjure up. Yuck! I guess Nelson's cool if you're a fashion freak (wearable arts exhibition). For us it was the gateway to the Abel Tasman National Park, our next walking destination. Sadly the weather was too rough to kayak parts of the the coastline with its pristine sandy beaches as we had initially planned, so we walked it for three days, taking in the abundance of forests and beaches and fantastic stone arches. It was fun wading through the fords and being the only ones camping on gorgeous campgrounds with our own beach to swim on. Apparently in the summer season this place is completely overrun. Knowing of our luck made the tranquility doubly enjoyable. We then took a water taxi back via a seal colony. It only took us a measly 40 minutes this way to backtrack a 3-day hike. Despite choppy sea no sea sickness here. Hooray! We next made a beeline for Picton, the ferry port to Wellington on the North Island. On driving past and taking the ferry through them we could admire the splendid magnitude of the Marlborough Sounds that dwarf a large ferry or container ship to obscurity. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Zwischenzeitlich haben wir uns noch Christchurch angeguckt und sind da in der Naehe am Mt. Hutt Ski gefahren. Die Staedte in Neuseeland sind alle ganz nett, Staedte halt und sicher kein Grund so weit zu reisen. Christchurch hat auch eine gute Kneipen und Kulturszene (fuer Neuseelaendische Verhaeltnisse). Interessant ist in Christchurch das Antarktiscenter, von dem aus die Amis, Italiener und Kiwis in die Antarktis starten. Wer preisbewusster ist findet eigentlich auch ahnlich gute Qualitaet ueber die Antarktis neben Maori, fruehen Siedler Nostalgika und ausgestopften Tieren im Canterbury Museum fuer lau. Die Port Hills suedlichvon Christchurch sind ganz schoen und in Lyttleton gibt's ein geiles Kitschcafe, total versteckt (was fuer mein Schwesterchen Ati). Ein weiters Highlight war das Delfinschwimmen bei Kaikura. Wir sind mit einem Boot auf's Meer rausgefahren, haben eine Schule von 1000 (!) Delfinen gefunden, sind mit Neoprenanzug ins eiskalte Wasser und sind unter lauten Geraeuschen unsererseits (um das Interesse der Delfine zu erregen) neben ihnen her sowie im Kreis herum geschwommen und getaucht. Es ist ein wahrhaft erhebendes Gefuehl mit diesen Tieren zu interagieren. Sie sind unheimlich ausdrucksstark. Man kann leicht unterscheiden zwischen den jungen verspielten mit ihrem schelmischen Blick und den alten mit Kampfnarben ueberzogenen, deren Augen eine ungeheure Weisheit ausstrahlen.  Danach konnten wir dann vom Boot aus ihre Kapriolen bewundern, wie sie springen, sich in der Luft drehen und ueberschlagen. Wahnsinn! Auf dem Rueckweg bin ich dann an meine Seekrankheit erinnert worden und habe die Fische mit einer ordentliche Portion Magenmuesli fuettern duerfen (Martin und Rainer, ich muss so oft an die Ueberfahrt auf die Aran Islands denken, die ich immer noch als die beschissensten 2 Stunden meines Lebens auffuehre!). Darauf ging's nach Blenheim, dem Zentralen Weinstaedtchen der Marlborough Weinregion, und wer von der noch nix gehoert hat, sollte schnell mal in den Weinladen hueppen und sich einen Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc holen. Kann man wenig mit falsch machen. Einige gute weisse Weine (auch Chardonnay, Riesling) und Pinot noir gibt's da. Versteh leider von roten Weinen nichts. Aber der Sauvignon Blanc da ist oftmals ein Gedicht. Haben also eifrig eine Weintour gemacht, mit dem urigen Barry, der uns viel ueber die Region zu erzaehlen wusste, waehrend er uns in seinem Minibus von Weingut zu Weingut schipperte. Wir haben dann die Weine, die wir da gekauft haben in den folgenden Tagen genuesslich verzecht. Von Blenheim nach Nelson, dem Tor zum Abel Tasman National Park. Wir haben uns den Wolf organisiert, um dann einen Tag die Kueste mit dem Kajak abzupaddeln (der Tag ist leider ins Wasser gefallen), und dann zwei weitere Tage an den tuerkisen Kuesten und feinen Sandstraenden entlang zu wandern und uns dann per Wassertaxi (diesmal trotz meterhoher Wellen keine Seekrankheit) wieder an den Ausgangsort zurueckverfrachtet zu werden. Traurig zu sehen, dass der 3-Tage Marsch nur einer 40 minuetigen Wassertaxifahrt entsprach. Wir haben im Park gezeltet und waren immer auf wunderschoenen Zeltplaetzen direkt am Strand ganz allein. Waehrend der Hauptsaison wird hier die Hoelle los sein. Leider hat mir der Sand da die Kamera zerstoert. Aejjjer! (Tip: uebernachtet am Treckanfang im "Barn" und lasst da auch den Wagen stehen). Dann ging's nach Picton und von da mit der Faehre auf die Nordinsel, davon handelt dann der naechste Reisebericht !
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wenzels/4/1243541280/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wenzels/4/1243541280/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wenzels/4/1243541280/tpod.html Fri, 16 Oct 2009 20:45:27 -0400 Peter does New Zealand and Australia

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Westport, South Island, New Zealand

The West Coast - caving though glaciers and limestone labyrinths After a nice night in Wanaka with Jonny, Paula and their friends and Laura, Wes and Kate, we visited the maze, puzzles and the optical illusions at Wanaka's Puzzling World and then, after a quick lunch with Louisa and Paula, left through the pouring rain of Haast Pass towards the West Coast. We were so lucky that it rained there (not uncommon,they have about 5m of rain on the West Coast a year, again about 8 times as much as London), as massive waterfalls sprang up everywhere in the mountains, some magnificent ones right next to the road. The next day saw us traveling to Fox Glacier, on which we did a guided Helihike, crawling and walking through long crystal blue ice caves and then witnessed a glorious sunset on Fox's Gillespie Beach.Wow! The next morning we saw the reflections of Mounts Cook and Tasman in the mirror waters of Lake Matherson and went on a 7 hour hike to thermal hot pools at the Welcome Flats in the western mountains. It was a bright sunshiney day, the moon had already come up, you could see Mars in the afternoon sky. I lay in the steaming pools and looked up at the sheer snowcapped mountains with their many waterfalls and just thanked every God and spirit for the chance to be there. It was magical. We then shared the pools with some great people we met there (mostly Scots again, you guys are everywhere!) throughout most of the frosty night, feeling absolutely warm and happy, smoking cigars and drinking wine under the starry sky. The next stop after a tour of the Monteith's beer brewery with copious amounts of sample brew (much better than Speights, sorry Mike and Speights Man) were the "pancake rocks" at Punakaiki, 35 million year old layers upon layers of compacted former marine life skeletons compacted into limestone and then lifted up from the sea floor. At high tide your can see the surf blowing many meters into the air through"blowholes" the sea water has dug through the soft limestone. Further inland the same process has taken place by underwater rivers, creating intricate underground cave systems, one of which we explored with the guy who had discovered and mapped out most of these west coast caves himself some 30 years ago.We had to abseil down 50 meters to then climb, wade, squeeze and crawl through an incredible 2.5 kilometer long cave system, working our way past stalagtites and -mites, white columns and climbing waterfalls. Awesome, absolutely fantastic. We were underground for 5 hours and completely lost track of time or direction.When we emerged we were soaking and happy in the knowledge we had just experienced something special. Thank you Jen for your many good tips such as this one that have enlightened our travels so far. We then wormed our way back to the east side of the mountains via Arthur's pass. Here I undertook my own little cave expedition at cave stream cave. The cave was lots easier, but completely on your own with a headlamp and no guide with local know-how is a completely different kettle of fish. It's not so much fear of the dark, but rather paranoia that someone might be following you! Maybe Gollum... It was the longest 360meters of my life and involved quite a bit of climbing as some of the waterfalls had too strong a current to climb up and some of the pools were too deep to wade through . My feet were absolutely frozen from having been in the freezing mountain stream water for 1 and a half hours and you can imagine the whoop I gave when I could see daylight again. That was today and tomorrow we will go skiing again at Mt. Hutt in Canterbury before we hit Christchurch. There's fresh powder coming down this minute. Yee-haw!For those of you still in New Zealand or planning to go, each of the above activities were absolute highlights and are fully endorsed with my own "Underpants Man Seal of Approval"---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Wir haben die hoechsten Berge Mt Cook (3775m) und Mt Tasman mit ihren Gletschern umflogen, gruene (von dem geloesten Sediment) Gletscherseen wie den Lake Tekapo bestaunt, sind zu Gletscherendschmelzen gewandert, wo die abgebroeselten Eisstuecke imposant wie Eisberge herumschwimmen, sind mit dem Hubschrauber auf dem Fox Gletscher gelandet und haben dort Eishoehlen durchwandert und sind durch Gletscherspalten geklettert. Klasse. Wir sind durch den Engen Haast Pass auf die isolierte Westkueste gekommen. Der Pass war extrem verregnet, so dass an den Haengen und am Strassenrand riesige Wasserfaelle aufsprangen. Regen verzaubert diese entlegenen Haenge und Regenwaelder mit ihrem undurchdringlichen Gestruepp, ihren uralten Baeumen und Baumfarnen nur noch mehr. Entlang der Westkueste sprossen dann neben den Baumfarnen immer mehr Palmen auf, ein sicheres Zeichen, dass wir langsam in waermere Gegenden kommen wuerden. Nahe des Ortes Fox, haben wir den Geheimtip erhalten, gaebe es in den Bergen heisse Quellen, die Welcome Flat Hot Springs. Wir also sofort hin. Ein 7-stuendiger Wanderweg durch ein Flusstal fuehrte uns dann bei strahlendem Wetter zu den verheissenen Quellen und die waren nach der langen Wanderschaft eine unbeschreibliche Wonne. Ich war der erste oben und hatte eine Stunde lang die Quellen fuer mich (etwas getruebte Freude, da die ortsansaessigen sandflies mich auch ganz fuer sich hatten). Es ist ein unbeschreibliches Gefuehl in der Sone in genau richtiger Badewannentemperatur unter den schneebedeckten Bergen zu liegen, auf die Haenge mit ihren Schmelzwasserfaellen zu schauen und nur das Zwitschern der Voegel und Plaetschern des Wassers um sich zu haben. Naechtens mussten wir natuerlich nochmal rein mit einer netten Schar von Iren und Schotten. Da wurde dann der mitgeschleppte Wein getrunken und feist Zigarren geraucht. Paradiesisch. Wir haben die halbe (eiskalte) Nacht in den Quellen geweicht. Am naechsten Tag dann leider nochmal die gleiche Strecke zurueck in die Zivilisation. Bei Fox gibt's auch ne kleine Gluehwuermchengrotte, wo man all das machen kann, was man sonst in den kommerziellen Gluehwurmhoehlen nicht machen kann (da keiner guckt), sprich filmen, blitz und volles Rohr Licht drauf halten.Hab ich Euch eigentlich schon von den Neuseelaendischen Gluehwuermchen erzaehlt? Sind ganz arme Wuermchen. Es ist das Larvenstadium einer Fliege (also quasi eine Made, igittigitt), die dank einer chemischen Reaktion in ihrem Mastdarm blau fluoreszierendes Licht abgibt und feuchte Ueberhaenge (zumeinst Hoehlen) in eine sternkartenartige Lichterwelt huellen. Sie benutzt das Licht, um Fluginsekten anzulocken in dem sie Tageslicht vorgaukeln; diese bleiben dann in den klebrigen Faeden haengen, die die Larve unter ihrem Koerper baumeln hat. Faeden mit Futter werden dann hochgezogen und die Beute verspeist. Leider haben diese Larven keinen Darmausgang. Haben sie genug gemuemmelt, verpuppen sie sich und die fertige Fliege schluepft. Diese hat wieder ein Problemchen. Sie hat keinen Mund! Verhungert also binnen 3 Tagen. Was wuerdet ihr also machen, wenn ihr wisst, dass es in 3 Tagen mit Euch vorbei ist. Richtig! Poppen! Und zwar ordentlich! Die Weibchen legen dann noch schnell ihre befruchteten Eier und versuchen dann ans Tageslicht zu fliegen, landen also zumeist in der Futterkette ihrer Cousins und Cousinen, da sie in deren Glibberfaeden klebenbleiben. Fazit: Gluehwuermer sind kanibalistische arschlose Maden mit gluehender Scheisse. Herrlich!Noch ein Schmankerl ander Westkueste der Suedinsel ist Sonnenaufgang am Lake Matheson, darin spiegeln sich naemlich in perfekter Symmetrie die beiden hoechsten Berge NZ's (Mt Tasman & Cook). Das ganze muss frueh morgens ueber die Buehne gehen bevor die Enten aufwachen, die machen naemlich mit ihren Kreisen im Wasser das ganze Bild kaputtAn der Westkueste haben wir meine Lieblingsbrauerei Neuseelaendischen Gerstenwaesserchens "Monteiths" besichtigt, haben abende mit der Gitarre am Strand verbracht und die Kalksteinfelsen mit ihrer Pfannkuchenartigen Schichtung in Punakaiki besichtigt. Dies sind alte komprimierte Schlamm- und Fossilschichten die sich vor 35 Millionen Jahren am Boden eines Urmehres gebildethaben und dann durch tektonische Verschiebungen hochgedrueckt worden sind. Dieses Gestein ist sehr erosionsanfaellig, so dass im Inland Fluesse Hoehlensysteme in die Erde gegraben haben. Wir konnten uns die Gelegenheit nicht nehmen lassen, bei Westport mit einem Fuehrer, der diese Hoehlen vor 30 Jahren mit kartografiert hat, in ein solches Hoehlenlabyrinth herabzusteigen. Wir mussten uns 50 Meter in ein Erdloch abseilen und sind dann durch enge Kanaele gerobbt, Waende und Wasserfaelle hoch- und runtergeklettert, haben unterirdische Seen durchwatet und Hoehlentiere wie Gluehwuermchen, durchsichtige Krabben und riesige Urheuschrecken (die Wetas) sowie Tropfsteinformationen bewundert. Ein zauberhaftes und sehr nasses Erlebnis.Dieses Hoehlenleben hat uns so viel Spass gemacht, dass wir es spaeter in Waitomo (gefuehrt) und im Arthur's Pass und bei Whangarei (auf eigene Faust) wiederholt haben. Ich  werde versuchen, hier in Australien und auch daheim wieder in die Erde hinabsusteigen. Bitte Bescheid sagen, wer Bock und, oder Kontakte hat!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wenzels/4/1243443120/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wenzels/4/1243443120/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wenzels/4/1243443120/tpod.html Fri, 16 Oct 2009 20:44:52 -0400 Peter does New Zealand and Australia

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Queenstown, South Island, New Zealand

Queenstown & Wanaka- scenic adrenaline capitalsThe touristic epicentre of the south Island are the towns of Queenstown and Wanaka, lakeside towns that both function as prime ski resorts in winter and adrenaline hubs throughout the year. Queenstown at the base of the Remarkables range, which are just that (Remember the camera panning over the mountains at the very beginning of "The Two Towers", that's the Remarkables!), is slightly more developed and hip, but both absolutely buzz with skiers and tourists.The significance of tourism here becomes clear when you shop in Queenstown and all the salespeople are Japanese who don't speak a word of English!! But, hey, the Japanese food here is fantastic! There's nothing you can't do here: sky dive, paraglide, bungy (up to a 150 m drop tied to a latex rubber band - hell! I only managed 42 meters which was scary enough, but bloody good fun, even though my family was not the least bit amused on hearing of my wee plunge), canyon swing (an evolution of bungy), white water rafting, jetboat, canyoning, horse riding, 4x4 and quad bike tours, climbing, mountaneering, luge (which involves you sitting on a 4 wheeled cart with a brake and racing down a concrete track) and, of course, ski and board on 4 public slopes. We did a lot of that, practically on every weekend off since start of the season. Kathryn, Jen and Donna learned to ski while my boarding mate "Speights Man" Martyn (Speights is a local brew-and vile if I may add) and the "crazy German" (myself) went for some big air and strove for the off-piste. Good fun for all. Very laid back these New Zealand ski fields. They do not quite compare to the European ones. There are no trees, the slopes are way shorter, but it's fun in the snow and that's what counts. I would always prefer the live acoustic music in the café's here to the "Oom-Pah" happy-happy crap they play in Europe. I very much enjoyed Hannah's visit and skiing with her in Queenstown was great. Her, Daniel and Alije and Nathan were the only friends from Europe to make it down here. Respect!We've had some good pre-season fun discovering an old gold mining village with Sarit and Sumeshni's 4x4, fording the Arrow River over 30 times and climbing Ben Lomond (1950 m) which is twice as high as the "original" in Scotland as well as going on a (sadly crappy) Lord of the Rings Safari to the sights of filming of "Lothlorien" "Amon Hen" and "Isengard".A not-so-great part of our stay was that our house was burgled with both laptops including all backup-discs gone along with cameras and other posessions. We had great support from everyone at the hospital, but sadly nothing was retrieved and we have lost many great pictures, me specifically those from Fiji and the US. Thanks, Mike, for a few Diving and Fiji Pics. Friends were able to give usback most of the images we had copied for them from trips we did together. Sadly a part of my medical Thesis is unretrievably lost, as well as my whole MP3 collection. Thankfully I've still got all the pictures and files from before New Zealand backed up at home.My job, 3 months as a second year house surgeon in orthopaedics after 3 months in A&E, finished 2 weeks ago with a fulminant party in the house I shared with my flatmate Kathryn. The theme was superheroes and the costumes were most incredible, we had Cat Woman, Wonder Woman, Xena, Elvira, Poison Ivy, 2 Zorros, Spiderman (moi), Speights Man (!), Oscar the Grouch (!), a noble Paduan Jedi, Jimi Hendrix, Supernurse, Ninja Nurse, Charlie's Angel, The Devil and God(!!!), and many a plainclothes Doc, Nurse, Physio and Med Student. A great turnout, at last count 40 people. The first highlight was definitely the masterfully prepared Kava that Vic brewed up with Fijian Finesse, a Fijian War chant and a Haka. The next highlight was an earthquake at 7.1 on the Richter scale, that, after the realisation dawned that it was not actually the effect of Kava or alcohol, sent people pooring out of the house or hiding beneath beds and tables. Quality! Thanks guys for coming. We could not have wished for a better party. It was terminated by God unloading his rage leading to several gaping holes in the hallway. Lord almighty! (Had a call from Steve from accomodation- he not happy...)To everybody in Invercargill: it's been a great privilege to know you and work with you. I will keep very fond memories of my time in Southland and Orthopaedics and A&E. We have made great friends! After a great last day at work with many sad gooodbyes we departed on our holidays, which for me are 6months long. Hell Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeah! Kathryn and I are travelling with our joint car Ray northwards for a month and then I will trek through Australia for a further month before returning home to Germany to work on my thesis and get a new post, working towards specializing as a GP. That's all I know so far. Our first week was spent with our friends Donna and Martyn skiing for 9 days in the Remarkables, Coronet Peak and Cadrona ski fields. After an initial weekend in Queenstown with Sumeshni, Sarit and Silash we had one of the hospital's houses to ourselves and had a huge gathering of staying and visiting guests: Jen, Ping, Dave, Paula, Tracy, John and Deb, Jenny and Martin, Laura and Wes. It was a great week of fun with a ridiculously crazy game of 21 as the definitive culmination point of madness. The snow was varied from concrete ice to deep snow. A lot of time was spent getting big air on the fun park jumps, I improved on my snowboarding, but was mostly skiing. Sadly I sprained a ligament on my right thumb skiing (the UCL or "skiers' thumb" for the initiated) and had to come back for an embarrassing, but none-the-less sweet visit to my orthopaedic colleagues in Invercargill and strongly believe I broke the world record in doctors playing with anyone's thumb. Had a splint for a while and it's a lot better now. Thanks guys! I will never use poles again, they are spawn of the devil. All you skiers: whoever urges you to use poles is an evil demon! Discard your poles, liberate your hands! Most of you don't use them anyway. If you don't have the strength to withstand the devil, learn to snowboard. (Errr...a few years on I quite like my poles (the Editor))After another set of very sad goodbyes to our friends from Invercargill,we stayed with Jen for another night in Queenstown and then made our way north to the azure blue glacial Lakes of Pukaki and Tekapo, sadly could not go star gazing there in the Japanese observatory because of cloud cover, but had a beautiful next day to fly up around New Zealand's highest mountains, Mounts Cook (3775m) and Tasman, and see the large glaciers from the sky in front of the incredible backdrop of the Southern Alps. We then headed to Mount Cook Village at the base of the Tasman and Hooker Glaciers and hiked up to the gacial meltdown lake of the Hooker Glacier which had an array of icebergs floating in it. Absolutely beautiful.On the way back to Wanaka to stay with Paula (Good luck for your exams) we visited the Clay Cliffs which are New Zealands spooky answer to the Bryce Canyon: Mud pinacles in strange shapes that must look astonishing reflecting the sunrise.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Hab mich ja laenger nicht mehr auf  dieser Plattform gemeldet und habe in der Zwischenzeit still und heimlich ganz Neuseeland bereist. Sitzte also jetzt in Sidney mit einer kleinen nostalgischen Traene im Augenwinkel, denn NEUSEELAND IST DER HAMMER!Zunaechst mal das Thema Skifahren! Pisten gibt's hier um den sehr touristichen Wintersportort Queenstown und in dem viel kleineren, ruhigeren Wanaka. Beide 2 bzw 3 Stunden von hier entfernt. Queenstown ist so touristisch, wenn man da einkaufen gehen will, grinsen einen hinter der Theke nur Japaner an, die kein Wort Englisch verstehen. Nicht schwer also, das Hauptklientel Queenstowns zu erraten. Richtig: Amis. Die arbeiten nur alle in den Restaurants (ausser den japanischen) und Clubs. Bekloppt. Und wer bekloppt ist, ist hier richtig. Man kann hier alles machen, bis zu 143 Meter Bungee springen, an einem Drahtseil ueber einen Canyon rauschen, wildwasser raften, Canyoning, alles. Bungee springen ist uebrigens ganz schoen cool. Meine Familie ist da anderer Meinung, aber die waren ja nicht dabei. Man stelle sich das in etwa so vor: Man nimmt sich ein paar besonders lange Exemplare von diesen Gepaecktraegergummielastodingern, zwirbelt die moeglichst fachmaennisch zusammen und dann um seine Beine, klettert irgendwo hoch, wo man nicht gerade gegen einen Felsen pendeln koennte, springt und schreit ein bisschen und nach 2 Sekunden flutscht man wieder hoch, sieht Sterne vor den Augen, merkt, das man immer noch ein bisschen schreit, spielt ein bisschen Luftgitarre, da man ja gefilmt wird, und geht dann mit gluecklichem Grinsen und Augen wie nach ner durchzechten Nacht zufrieden nach Hause, nachdem man seine 150 Mack hingeblaettert hat. Qualität! Was mach ich eigentlich beruflich hier? Bin sogenannter Second Year House Surgeon, was leider bedeutend mehr Lakeientum beinhaltet, als das bei meinem derzeitigen Erfahrungsstand in England oder Deutschland der Fall waere, da ich keine Untergebenen habe, also zum groessten Teil PJ Kram mache. Bin mir sicher, Sebi erlebt im PJ mehr in der Urologie als ich. Ist mir aber Piepegal, da ich ja nicht zum arbeiten hier bin, sondern um das Land zu geniessen. Trotzdem sehne ich mich nach ein bisschen mehr Verantwortung. Habe bis zu meinem Austreten aus dem aktiven Berufsleben noch 2 Tage Orthopaedie und Urologie vor mir (nach 3 Monaten dort und 3 Monaten im "emergency room" = bedeutend fordernder).  Dann geht's erstmal lecker ne Woche Skifahren und Snowboarden, ehe Kathryn und ich uns in unserem trauten Ray gen Norden aufmachen. (der gerade in der Werkstatt bang der Inspektion entgegen schlottert, war der Inspekteur doch nicht gerade begeistert von meinem durch Gafferband befestigten Anschnallgurt. Versteh ich nicht. Haelt bombig! Konnte ich nur leider nicht kaschieren, da die Verschalung nicht mehr drueber passt...) Wir haben dazu einen Monat Zeit und haben einiges vor wie Spelunkern, Gletscherwandern, mit Delfinen schwimmen Vulkane besteigen und so manches mehr. .....Kuerzlich hatte ich leider aus Krankheitsgruenden (lag totkrank mit echter Grippe im Bett) die Moeglichkeit verpasst, mich mit Alije und Daniel zu treffen, was mich immer noch traurig stimmt, doch das wird in der Heimat nachgeholt! Wir hatten zum Abschluss eine kleine "Helden" Kostuemparty bei uns zu Hause, wo neben Spiderman (ich), u.a. sein Erzfeind Speightsman (ein steiflattiger Ritter des dunklen Bieres in Cape und Unterhose), Poison Ivy, Catwoman, Wonderwoman, einer von Charlies Engeln, 2 Zorros, Xena, ein junger Paduan Jedi, Oskar aus der Muelltonne (!), Jimi Hendrix, Gott und der Teufel zugegen waren, highlight des Abends waren ein mit fijianischen Kriegsgesaengen und einem Neuseelaendischen Haka zubereiteter Kava (Kavakava Wurzel Tee  = sedierendes Nationalgetraenk Fijis), Ein Maennerchor aus Englaender, Schotte und Suedafrikaner, die lauthals "Mer losse de Dom in Koelle", "Ich bin ene Raeuber" und "Alles hat ein Ende nur die Wurst hat zwei" intonieren, sowie ein Erdbeben der Staerke 7.1 auf der Richterskala. Gekonnter Abschluss einer Lebensetappe.Danach haben wir erst mal 9 Tage Skiurlaub gemacht, dass ich mit Konsolidierung meiner Snowboardkuenste und grossen Spruengen (BIIIIIG AIR) auf Skiern verbracht habe. Zum traditionellen Bergrasen bis zur Erschoepfung sind die Pisten hier leider ein bisschen zu kurz. Schnee ist OK, manchmal etwas pappig, da hier ein viel hoehere Wassergehalt im Schnee ist als in Europa oder Amerika, aber absolut himmlisch im Neuschnee. Hab mich leider im Tiefschnee ungluecklich gelegt und mir zum dritten Mal im Leben einen Skidaumen zugelegt. War schwer peinlich, da ich zur Begutachtung, ob es nun ein vollstaendiger Riss (sprich muss operiert werden) oder nur ein Anriss meines ulnaren Kollateralbandes war, wieder nach Invercargill zurueck musste, wo ich von mehreren meiner alten Chefs untersucht wurde. Da ich mit 8 Aerzten Ski fahren war, die alle auch schon an meinem Daumen rumgewackelt haben, bin ich sicher, dass ich jetzt den Weltrekord halte bezueglich der absoluten Menge an Aerzten, die jemals an einem individuellen Koerperteil herumgewackelt haben. Sie haben es nicht geschafft, meinen Daumen kaputtzuspielen und nach ein paar Tagen in einer Schiene ging es auch schon viel besser und jetzt klappt er wieder zu 95 %.Nach dem Skiuralub haben wir dann unseren Freunden hier unten zum letzten Mal Auf Wiedersehen gesagt und meine Mitbewohnerin Kathryn und ich sind mit unserem getreuen  Mazda 626 "Ray" 6 Wochen lang durch Neuseeland gezockelt.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wenzels/4/1055090460/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wenzels/4/1055090460/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wenzels/4/1055090460/tpod.html Fri, 16 Oct 2009 20:44:14 -0400 Peter does New Zealand and Australia

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Milford Sound, South Island, New Zealand

FjordlandAfter my last letter to you I have seen pretty much everything south of a line from Milford to Dunedin. Dunedin is a nice university town which prides itself of having the steepest street in the world, Baldwin Street, which is, like many New Zealand claims to fame, complete bollocks. It's got a reasonable café, pub and club scene. On the Otago Peninsula right out of Dunedin is a penguin colony and apparently the world's most accessible Albatross colony. Of course we had to check that out and it was well worth seeing. These Royal Albatrosses are the largest sea birds in the world and have the widest wing span of all birds. They need harsh winds to get their weight off the ground and, once airborne, glide for hours with hardly a flap of their enormous wings. Absolutely majestic! I completely lost myself in looking out for NZ's birds on roadsides, in gardens, forests, estuaries and mountains. I got myself binoculars and lots of books (thanks again, Nicki!) and got a little nerdy. I've seen most of the birds in the wild now, flightless birds like rare Kiwis and Wekas, Parots like the Kea and the Kaka, owls, black swans, Pukekos, the rare white and other herons, forest birds like the Tui and Bellbird as well as the ultra rare Saddlebacks and Stewart Island Robins on the rat, stoat and possum free bird sanctuary Ulva Island. I'd love to see some bats, the only native mamals in New Zealand. All land-based mamals (apart from pets and farm animals) are a pest and Kiwis accelerate if they see any fur crossing the road, so there's plenty of road kill for the birds of prey. There are many jobs in the possum, deer and ferret control sector as these are real pests causing major damage to the forest and the birdlife, pushing many species into extinction. An experience everyone visiting NZ should make is admiring the majestic Fjordland Sounds. These glacier-carved Fjords have 100s of meters of sheer granite rock on either side with trees clinging to them through an intricate network of intertwined roots. Sometimes you can witness a treefall if severe drought (very rare: world's third highest amount of rainfalls here, on average 10 meters of rain a year. That's 15 times the amount falling on London for those of you that think it's wet there) causes these connections to loosen and one tree to slip taking an avalanche of trees with it into the depth of the several hundred meter deep cold murky waters.It was quite an experience kayaking Doubtful Sound one weekend with Eric, it really reminds you how small and insignificant we are.We had glorious weather and encountered dolphins and seals. Magic! A boat trip through the more touristy, but even sheerer Milford Sound with the view of Mitre Peak is a must as well. The walls reaching over 2000 m height are riddled with waterfalls after a rainfall.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Ein Einbruch, Stewart Island, Dunedin und FjordlandIch muss mich zunaechst fuer meine Schreibfaulheit entschuldigen. Ist alles etwas schwieriger, wenn man sich Musse nehmen will und dieeinzige Stelle zum Schreiben der Arbeitsplatz ist, den man sichtaeglich das Ziel setzt in Rekordzeit zu verlassen. Habe aber immerbrav persoenliche mails prompt beantwortet und werde das auch weiterhintun. Leider wurde vor 3 Monaten in unser Haus eingebrochen und meingeliebter, gerade mal 6 Monate alter Laptop geklaut, was mich nichtwenig betruebt hat. Neben Kameras, Handies (vergesst bitte alle meinedeutsche (und britische) Handynummer, sind naemlich beide fott), meinerSonnenbrille und meinem Jaegermeister T shirt (Lumpenpack!) haben dieSaecke auch meine ganzen CD backups gemopst, was leider bedeutete, dasalle bis dato gemachten Urlaubsfotos, da digital, weg waren. Wir habenin der Zwischenzeit zwar von Freunden gerettet, was zu retten war,jedoch sind so eindrueckliche Momente wie Fiji und viele Szenen ausInvercargill futsch. Dreck! Das war also der Tiefpunkt meiner Karrierehier (Neben einer verquasten emotionalen Bindung, aber dazu lieber nix.Ist nun auch endgueltig ueberstanden.)Tja, bei letzter Meldung meinerseits vor schaendlichen 4 Monaten war ich gerade von Stewart Islandvom Kiwi-Spotting heimgekehrt. Ich war kuerzlich nochmal drueben undhabe verschiedenerlei seltene Voegel gesichtet, von denen es einigenirgendwo sonst oder nur noch auf einer anderen kleinen Insel gibt.Cool. Wie ihr seht, bin ich zu einem zart spinnnerten Vogelguckermutiert, der sogar zum Joggen Feldstecher und Kamera mitnimmt undsaemtliche gesichtete Arten in seinem Vogelfuehrer abhakt. Beknackt,aber friedlich. Meine Alternative zum Fischen. Letzteres ist hier untenganz ganz gross. Hier gibt's sogar Riesenstandbilder fuer Forellen. Undmein Chef hier ist der Koenig, wenn er am Wochenende Angeln geht. Daswird dann bis in's Detail durchdiskutiert beim naechstenAbteilungstreff. Ansonsten habe ich in der Zwischenzeit mitder sehr netten Kollegenschar hier so ziemlich alles gemacht, was esauf einer Linie zwischen Dunedin und Milford Sound zu tun gibt. Das istnatuerlich Schwachsinn, da es allein was Wandern, Reiten, Fahrrad undAllrad fahren angeht hier in der Natur nahezu unendlich viel zu tungibt.Dunedin ist ganz suess, eine Studentenstadt nachEdinburgher Vorbild (Dunedin ist der alte gaelische Name fuerEdinburgh). Natuerlich alles viel kleiner und neuer. In Neuseelandgibt's Europaeer ja erst seit gut 220 Jahren. Das schoenste an derStadt ist die vorgelagerte Halbinsel, wo man riesige Albatrosse nestensehen kann (sonst uebrigens nirgendwo in der Welt auch nur halbwegserreichbar in Zivilisationsnaehe) und die seltenen Gelbaugen Pinguine herumwatscheln. Dunedin ruehmt sich mit der Baldwin Streetauch die steilste Strase der Welt zu haben. Das war natuerlich eineHerausforderung fuer Ray (unser Auto), der in unserem Ansehen gewachsenist, nachdem er sich laessig bis nach oben geschaukelt hat.Fjordland mit seinen langen und tiefen wassergefuellten Schluchten hat mich mehrfach durch die schiere Steilheit seiner Waende verzaubert. Zunaechst bin ich im Mai mit einem Freund 2 Tage lang durch den stillen Doubtful Sound gekajakt, bei schoenstem Strahlewetter und in Begleitung von Delfinen und Seehunden. Dann bin ich vor  einem Monat auf einem Tourischiffchen durch den Milford Sound geschippert mit seinen bis zu 2 km hohen Steilwaenden. Die vom Eis laengst geschmolzener Gletscher gefraesten Fjord-Waende sind so steil, dass es dort keine Erde gibt. Dennoch wachsen an den Haengen Baeume, die nur durch ihr verflochtenes Wurzelwerk gehalten werden. Gibt es eine Trockenperiode wird das Wurzelwerk muerbe und es gibt Baumrutsche. Das heisst, ein Baum reisst alle keilfoermig unter ihm wachsenden Baeume mit sich in die Tiefe und alle versinken auf Nimmerwiedersehen auf dem Fjordboden in 400 m Tiefe. Dann dauert's zich Jahre, bis sich die Baumnarbe wieder schliesst. Die wahre Pracht dieser Fjorde kommt erst bei Regenguessen zum Vorschein, wenn ueberall zahllose Wasserfaelle auftauchen und sich ueber hunderte Meter in den Fjord ergiessen. Es gibt genuegend Gelegenheit, dieses Schauspiel zu bestaunen, fallen hier doch im Jahr 9 Meter Regen ( in London sind's 90 cm). Gibt nur zwei Gegenden auf der Welt (in Nordindien und irgendein Berg auf Tahiti) wo's mehr regnet. Hier mosert aber bestimmt keiner ueber den Regen.Der Hump Ridge Track Die Queen hatte Geburtstag und da hat man hierzulande frei. Wir haben den "Tuatapere Hump Ridge Track" eine Stunde weg von hier begangen. Wahnsinn. Waelder noch viel schoener als im "Lord of the Rings". Alte knarzige Baeume, zum Teil Hunderte von Jahren alt in einem Wald der zu Dinosaurierzeiten zurueckdatiert. Alles trotz Winter gruen von all den Farnen und Moosen und Flechten. Ich natuerlich wieder ordentlich am Birdwatchen. (Exklusive der 3 Maedels mit denen ich unterwegs war). Gab wieder allerhand Waldtauben, Bergpapageien und Singvoegel zu sehen und hoeren und auf dem Gipfel in 1000 metern Hoehe bizarre schroffe Felsfomationen ala Weathertop (Wetterspitze, Sie wissen schon, Der Herr der Ringe...). Ein hervorragender Hintergrund fuer den zauberhaften Sonnenunter- sowie aufgang. Die Huette da oben war Schweinekalt, da ja im Prinzip Dezemberwetter hier. Leider gab es keine Feuerstelle, was die Damen etwas entflammte, hatte ich sie doch wohlwollend mit nem Kilo Kohle pro Nase ausgestattet, um uns da oben ordentlich einzuheizen. Am naechsten Tag ging's dann durch Schmuddelmadder entlang einer alten Holzfaellerroute ueber den hoechsten noch stehenden Holzviadukt der suedlichen Hemisphere (32 meter hoch) zur naechsten Huette, die wir mit einem Possumfallensteller teilten. Dieses 66jaehrige Original stapft seit 18 Jahren mit 2 Hueftprothesen jeden Tag 25 Kilometer durch die Suetzke um seine 250 Fallen abzuklappern, den gefangenen Possums mit nem Hammer den Schaedel einzudreschen und ihnen dann fuer die Hut- und Schalindustrie das Fell auszurupfen und dann das nackte Aas den Wildschweinen zum Frass zu ueberlassen. Der kriegt dann Pro possum Fell ungefaehr 6 Mack Wenn man bedenkt, dass die meisten Hueftgelenksersaetze (ausser den Herren Hinger, Koechling, Heinzelmann und Doering) im Sessel vermodern und immer fetter werden, ist dieser Herr eine bedeutende Bekanntschaft. Muss wohl kaum erwaehnt werden, dass unser Freund in seiner Huette ausreichend mit Brennholz ausgestattet war, was leider das Thema Kohle wieder aufs Tablet brachte, die diesem Herrn dann in aller Einvernehmen gespendet wurde. Der gute hat sich herrlich schlapp gelacht und hat vor, die Kohlesaecke einzurahmen. Ich kann's aber auch keinem recht machen!!! Dann ging's vorrangig ueber lange Strandpassagen zurueck zum Auto. Klasse! Und dann die Sonnenuntergaenge. Solches rot habe ich bisher erst einmal, im Grand Canyon, gesehen.Lasst Euch gesagt sein, Sonnenauf- und untergaenge, so wie sie hier an der Tagesordnung sind, habe ich in ihrer Pracht selten gesehen. Hier ist es fast selbstverstaendlich jeden zweiten Morgen im Lichte eines wahren Feuerzaubers zur Arbeit zu gehen. Ich komme oefters zu spaet zur Arbeit, weil ich nochmal schnell auf's Dach meines Hauses klettern musste, um ein Photo zu machen. Das liegt womoeglich daran, das hier westlich von uns tausende Meilen weit keinerlei Landmasse mehr ist (und irgendwann kommt Chile und Argentinien). Selbst auf Fiji waren die Lichtspektakel nicht so aufregend. Da hat's allerdings die meiste Zeit gepisst, als ich da war. Der neue Job ist ok. Orthopaedie ist interessant, aber der verdammte Urologe verbockt so viel Mist, dass ich die Haelfte meiner Zeit damit verbringe, seine Scheisse glattzubuegeln. Komme also kaum dazu was interessantes zu machen. So, genug gesprochen.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wenzels/4/1243440180/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wenzels/4/1243440180/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wenzels/4/1243440180/tpod.html Fri, 16 Oct 2009 20:43:46 -0400 Peter does New Zealand and Australia

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Invercargill, South Island, New Zealand

InvervegasHaving been here for 2 months now I'm finally able to uphold a moderately useful internet connection. High time then to inform you of my exciting life in New Zealand's farm country. I will do that without much apology in the swamp-everyone-with-lots-of-more-or-less-useful-information mode. No apologies because I love getting these kind of essays from folks such as Miia, Jax, Jonny, Sonja and the great Gowers. A big thank you goes out to all of you. I have enjoyed every one of your mails! Yup, I actually made it down here. After having to say goodbye to Edinburgh and all my friends there I had a few days to do the same plus full registration in the old country and was so prepared to cross the equator for the first time in my life. With a few bags of essentials and a laptop full of memories and music the journey could begin. After 36 hours in the air, including (uncensored!) screening of "jackass the movie" for board entertainment over the States - the first time I've seen anybody vomit on a plane. It only took a surprisingly short two hours to clear customs and security in L.A. and from there on it went pretty straight to Auckland via Fiji. Auckland is a really nice typical big town with all the entertainment and culture you would expect from a city that a fourth of all Kiwis inhabit. Sorted all my immigration and medical registration there including a guy swabbing my groin. Welcome to New Zealand! To get the right feel for it I went to a Maori show and exhibition at the pretty impressive war museum. Very recommendable! If you get a chance, watch "Whale Rider" a nice look into modern day Maori Culture. Sadly there was not enough wind to witness any of the races for the America's Cup that New Zealand lost 0:5 to the highly renowned seafaring nation Switzerland. So much for New Zealand's sailing pride. But then there's still the rugby... Auckland also marked my last contact with that hardworking sweaty old whore called live rock'n'roll. Thank you, Auckland! That was necessary! Then I made my way down to a place Keith Richards lovingly named "the asshole of the world" (thanks for the quote, Nathan!) which would be my home for the next 6 months. It's definitely the end of the world, but doesn't smell that bad. In fact it is a 50 000 people town that strongly reminds me of any old American mid-western town: wide streets, overland lines, single houses, partially wood, old cars, lotsa hicksy farmers and so on. The main industry (and also our main "customers" in my little A&E) are the "freezing works" which are industrial butcheries that e.g. slaughter 4 million lambs a year which, in humans, is the total population of New Zealand!!!! These get catered to by vast farmlands, mostly sheep, dairy and deer farms situated on a vast prairie (again very US mid-west and our second-best "customers"). The other big employer here is an aluminium smelter that sucks up 25% of New Zealand's power. It uses Australian bauxite to produce the metal which again is exported to Australia. So why, for f$£*'s sake didn't they build the whole damn thing there in the first place?!? Invercargill's got a beach you can drive the car on for about 30 km and a port called Bluff that is home to the famous bluff oysters that I new nothing about till I came here and have learned to despise. I've found a little house right across from the hospital (belongs to same) which is pretty big, has a lovely little yard and only costs my flatmate Kathryn and myself NZ$60 a week each. The only catch is that we have to heat with coal via a little stove in the kitchen. Hence it's friggin' cold! But heating with coal is an adventure in itself and that's why I'm here, so I might as well enjoy it! Brrrrrrr... We've met a bunch of nice people down here, interestingly all foreigners, mostly from Scotland so there's always someone around to do stuff with. So far I've only had one visitor, aforementioned Nathan, a globetrotting pharmacist whom we used to play touch rugby with in Exeter, and his girlfriend Nicola. In that regard life here does differ markedly from the enormous social life the Thomases are having in Australia. Kathryn and I have also just bought an old ramshackle car called "Ray", I'm hoping to rename it "piece of shit", though, 'cos that's what it is. We will both be travelling NZ in August and September before we leave. Work's relaxed down here in our quaint emergency department. I work either a day or an evening shift, 8 hours each during the week and then 1 in 3 weekends. And the workload is really quite easy compared to the manic moments I've seen in Edinburgh or even Exeter (shout goes out to Aidan and Andie). We get the occasional trauma, but it's not really that wild. I'm enjoying the exposure to orthopaedic, eye, ENT, gynae and paeds problems, obviously not so much psyche and alcohol related stuff. But since I don't work nights at the moment it ain't that bad. Sadly there's only 2 of us juniors and we only have 2 registrar-type characters and no consultants. So there's no formal teaching and it's all learning by doing or reading which is a bit of a shame. But the real reason we're here is travel and although this place is as detached from civilisation as we know it, is probably the mullet capital of the universe and has only very dubious claims to fame (as e.g. the southernmost McDonald's, Starbuck's and, yes, hospital in the world) the surroundings are absolutely astounding. To the east are the Catlins, a secluded coastal area with primeval rain forests, stunning waterfalls, a petrified forest and beaches where you can walk amongst seals and sea lions and watch penguins coming home after finishing work out at sea. These little critters are decidedly cute, waddling over the beach to their nests in the dense bushes that line the hills. In the South there's Stewart Island, the third largest island of New Zealand with beautiful dense podocarp and fern forests, stunning beaches and less mammalian predators than the rest of NZ. Hence it has remained a bird paradise. Where in other parts of the country vast populations of introduced rats, stoats and possums have decimated the endemic bird population, mainly by munching up their eggs, you can still see many birds you would have some difficulty coming across on the "mainland", such as the flightless Wekas (wood hens) and Kiwis. The latter are big (about 40cm high) and the only birds with nostrils at the end of their beaks. They fill the ecological niche of moles, digging up worms from the ground. They lay an absolutely humongous and probably very painful egg about a third of their size. Interestingly NZ has evolved without any mammals. Just a few lizards (ancient Tuataras are still around and are apparently the lizards most closely related to dinosaurs) and mostly birds roamed the island, leading to a lot of birds losing their ability to fly as there was no need for it. The predators were mainly birds of prey that would pick their food from the skies or the canopy. Hence ground-dwelling birds knew no predators and were well protected by the trees. The introduction of man and other mammals has since led to extinction (the giant Moa) or near-extinction (Kakapo, Takahe = big flightless parrots) of these unique NZ birds. Enough natural history, bloody smart-ass German... Then in the west there's Fjordland, majestic Fjords cutting their way along the paths of old glaciers into the rugged southern outreaches of the Southern Alps, amongst them the famous Doubtful and Milford Sounds. On the way numerous lakes mirror the snow-covered peaks and mountain ranges beyond. I went kayaking in Doubtful Sound last week. It's a unique experience paddling through the untouched nature beneath sheer majestic rock faces up to 2000 meters high with dolphins and seals playing in the water around you. Pictures cannot relate the vastness of the place. The only other place I'd ever experienced this magnificence before is the Grand Canyon. 2 hours to the north lies Queenstown, the crazy shit capital of the southern hemisphere (says I). I haven't done any wild stuff there yet, but am definitely planning to risk my sanity and retina there at some point. Any extreme sport you can think of is celebrated and probably even originated there. It's a pretty expensive place to be so it caters to an international community of rich and beautiful ya kids. It's even got an international airport. It's the place to be for skiing with four adjacent ski fields. Needless to say I've already got my ski pass and am just waiting for the first snow to fall. There's so much still to do and see down here, it's a shame that the approaching winter won't allow us to do more walking. It's beautiful to be here, but very cut off from the rest of civilisation. I realised the importance of being close to friends when our family friend Dick Keegan died in a car crash in North Carolina 2 weeks ago. It's an incredible blow to so violently lose someone whose warmth and presence has been a fixture throughout our last 22 years. It was quite difficult to organise leave and a flight to his hometown Pittsburgh as I wanted to be at his wake. And it's a hell of a long way up there. Thankfully the hospital was great in granting me leave and we have a travel agency on site. That way I got my leave approved last Monday at 9 had the flights booked at 10 and was on the plane by 11 am. Thankfully everything worked out alright so that I was with my family in Pittsburgh by 11 that same night, Considering I gained a day and seven hours over the date line that was definitely the longest Monday of my life! I am glad I could make it and say goodbye to Dick and despite the sad occasion it was good to meet up with my family and friends and it was comforting to feel how we were helping each other cope with the tragic loss of a truly special friend. It was very important for us Wenzels to be there to support Linda and the rest of the Keegan and Kettlewell families. It was also great to see Dick's son Kevin (he taught me English when my family moved to the States when I was 6) who had been sleeping in the car and sustained multiple injuries to his limbs braving his wounds.P.S.: I have to talk about music now. Not having any live acts actually making it down here I can still recommend some New Zealand music. I have to start with Rock'N'Roll: If you like to sweat and pant and get bruised and kick some major backside the best acts to see are the Datsuns and the D4, cutting edge live bands and great records, should be available most places. If you're a girl and like marvelling at lovely melodies get Bic Runga, she makes the Cardigans sound boring (which they undoubtedly are). Haven't been able to witness any new Zealand Jazz as yet.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wenzels/6/1252267575/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wenzels/6/1252267575/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wenzels/6/1252267575/tpod.html Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:19:57 -0400 Peoria, illinois and Door County, Wisconsin

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Washington, Illinois, United States

This isn't a true travel tale but a great chance to spend some time with our extended family on the Wenzel/Peterson side after we already had a great family gathering on the Nessler/Jehle side of the family this May. It's the first part of this year's annual holiday in the Great Lakes States area. So we've settled down for a change...We met  up in Washington (Illinois) with my sister Ati, her husband Luke and their two fantastic little girls, Maggie and Maya, to celebrate Maya's baptism. Throw in both sets of grandparents, us and aunt Julie and you have a proper family meeting. Washington is a small suburban town suited wonderfully to accomodate young families. Plenty of nurseries, schools, open spaces and safe roads. Just the place you want your kids to grow up.The Christening service by Pastor Hauck was great. Both grandmothers sang in the choir with Ati and Luke and aunt Julie was elevated into beaming Godmotherhood. We then celebrated at home with the pastor and his wife. The rest of the week was spent with daily strolls and bike trips through town, swimming, jogging, playing golf (and not too bad, either, to my utter surprise). This interspersed with lounging in the garden and plenty of playing with the children, baking and painting with Maggie kept us well occupied. The end of our stay culminated in another surprise visit from Kevin and Jaynee who had brought along a fantastic side of beef from Hurricane, West Virginia. Great to see them again. And what better way to end our stay than sit around the fire and craft "smors" out of marshmallows, graham crackers and chocolate?
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wenzels/6/1253045204/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wenzels/6/1253045204/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wenzels/6/1253045204/tpod.html Mon, 05 Oct 2009 08:13:20 -0400 Peoria, illinois and Door County, Wisconsin

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Door County, Wisconsin, United States

Enjoying the Outdoors in Door County, WisconsinDear inclined reader,You are most likely going to fit into either of 2 categories: either you're a city dweller in the American Great Lakes region in which case you’re probably well aware of Door County as a quaint weekend getaway if you have not in fact been there already yourself. You may be reading this to research a trip of your own there. Or you live on the fringes of the country or elsewhere in the world and will never have heard of it. then you’re probably reading this because you know us (cheers!). In the latter case let us enlighten you:Hold up your left hand facing away from you: Door County is a thumb-shaped Peninsula that juts out into Lake Michigan from the hand that is the State of Wisconsin (or for the Brits: it’s the spout of the Wisconsin teakettle). Now Wisconsin is not exactly on the international tourist trail although it starts just North of Chicago. Can’t say much about the cities (the 3 largest being Milwaukee, Madison and Green Bay) but Wisconsin certainly has some beautiful scenery to boast. The east of Wisconsin drops into Lake Michigan whereas the North is bordered by Lake Superior. So fishing and water sports are the main draw.The Great Lakes hold 90 per cent of North America’s fresh water and over 10% of the World’s fresh water. Lake Superior is the mother of them all: an average of about 400m deep it would easily accommodate the water of all the other 4-and-a-bit Great Lakes combined. Door County consists of a string of villages along the lakeside perimeter of an elongated northward pointing granite outcrop steeped in Indian and subsequent Scandinavian heritage.  It is bordered by the calmer Green Bay in the west and tempestuous Lake Michigan in the East.  The countryside is a mix of lakeside vistas, forests, orchards and fields dotted with those typical red barns, silos and windmills: picture postcard rural American Midwest. The people are very friendly and helpful. This comes somewhat as a surprise given that in summer and fall it gets overrun with American tourists clogging up the few roads. In winter, though, it is a fairly forlorn and isolated place, in parts only navigable by snow mobile. Catering, gift shops and accommodation mainly lay out its infrastructure.  But that does not distract from the serenity the whole county exudes.  With more shoreline than any other US county it has it’s own microclimate which in turn has led to extraordinarily successful fruit growing: the region is famous for its apples and is America’s leading cherry growing centre. As a visitor you will get bombarded by cherry pie, heck, you can even get cherry wine. Care for more factoids? Door County lies on the 45th parallel and is thus exactly halfway between the North Pole and the equator. Who’d a thought it, ey?It took us about 7 hours to drive up from Peoria, IL, to get to our first stop: Fish Creek. Here we went straight for a Door Country specialty: a fish boil. This involves onions, potatoes and fish in a big witch-sized cauldron over a fire.  Just when the fish is about ready the daredevil locals then chuck a bit of kerosene on the fire incending a several meter high flare-up of the flames. This leads to the kettle boiling over sending the fish oils swimming on top gushing over the sides, thus leaving a virtually fat-free dee-liciously chewy whitefish to pleasure your palate. Very dramatic. Goes well with cherry pie.   The next day we set up our tent in the nearby Peninsula State Park and hired a double kayak in which we explored Ephraim’s Eagle Bay (plenty of Canada geese) and had a picnic on Horseshoe Island. Afterwards we took the Eagle trail for some late afternoon hiking and spotted a porcupine high up in a birch tree munching away at the leaves. It was certainly a new one on me that porcupines could climb trees. Great stuff! We watched the sun set over Green Bay from atop the soaring and windswept Eagle Tower observatory. Although we had a picnic (and some very nice local cranberry wine) ready we decided to go for a warm meal in the excellent Cookery restaurant in Fish Creek. We were the only ones sitting in the biting wind on the porch and even had a rugged and heavily bearded button-eyed outdoorsman ask us if we were from Montana (which I took to be a splendid compliment to our hardiness). But we didn’t want a cozy indoor meal given we were actually supposed to be camping.  The next day took us to Newport State Park where we secured the best camping spot on the Door Peninsula: a solitary pitch atop a sand dune looking out over Lake Michigan (site 16): nobody else in sight, a beach to ourselves, our own campfire and even a little toilet in the woods. We spent the day walking pretty much every trail in the park. We took a sunset dip in Europe Lake nearby and then settled around the campfire to eat our marvelous smoked Atlantic salmon, courtesy of the Gills Rock Smoke House, washed down with my beloved cranberry wine. The evening finished off with some star gazing. And the next morning turned out to be beautiful. After a delicious breakfast of local bread, jam and cheese we decided to call it a beach day and I took the long trip back to the park administration to secure our campsite for yet another day of mainly skinny dipping in Lake Michigan, reading, munching water melon and hiking crowned by another nice evening by the campfire. Magical. During our time in Newport State Park we spotted deer, sea eagles, ospreys, hawks, the majestic monarch butterflies (who flutter here every year from Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula), various snakes, and were even visited by a playful pair of weasels by the campfire.  Next morning we hired some kayaks from a bunch of young enthusiasts at Rowleys Bay and went up the Mink River estuary for some bird spotting: hawks and a grey heron were sighted. Afterwards we took a stroll along the wave beaten dolomite promontory of Cave Point County Park that gives way to the south to some of the highest dunes of the Great Lakes region at Whitefish Dunes State Park. The tranquil sands a complete contrast to the rough spectacle only a few hundred meters further back. The late afternoon sun was out and cast its amber light to illuminate a lakeside scene from the pages of a history book: the beach was virtually empty but for a group of Amish people in full dress. Enchanting.That evening we stayed at Baileys Harbor and had a slightly premature dinner to celebrate Regine’s upcoming birthday at the Harbor Fish Market and Grille: the most luscious 3-course lobster meal. This time without cherry pie.Early the next morning we drove straight back to Chicago Airport. On the way we enjoyed the numerous alternative rock radio stations that we just don’t have in England (or Germany for that matter). My voice was certainly a bit raspier when we arrived at O’Hare only to meet my old American Football crazed friend Frank there negotiating his way into Lufthansa’s first class. He was enjoying the perks of being a Lufthansa employee: he’d flown over for 5 days to watch a football game in Seattle, WA, missed another one in Oakland, CA, due to unavailable stand-by flights, flew to Peoria to pick up a closet full of football memorabilia my sister had collected for him and then flew back to Germany out of Chicago. Crazy!!!! Some great fun was had. Then it was back home for us, too, with horrible United Airlines who hadn’t managed to seat the 2 of us together although we’d checked in 6 ½ hours before departure. Thankfully the cabin staff made up for the ground staff’s incompetence and we found ourselves holding hands on the flight back to Heathrow reminiscing on our beautiful holiday off the tourist track in America. We’ll be back!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wenzels/4/1051460640/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wenzels/4/1051460640/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wenzels/4/1051460640/tpod.html Sat, 22 Aug 2009 13:57:26 -0400 Peter does New Zealand and Australia

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Nadi, Western, Fiji

The laid back life above and below the seaHaving just returned from the USA to work for 4 days I went off to Fijiin one last desperate attempt to struggle for sun before I surrender tothe winter. I spent a week on a tiny little Island north of the theMain Island called Nananu-i-Ra . The only way to get around is walk viathe nice sandy beach or take a boat. We had 4 days of Cyclone thatpoured down 2 feet of rain. As the only way to get out of the rain wasto go underwater, I've done a PADI open sea diving course and am now acertified diver. I was lucky to have one-on-one teaching which resulted in a very streamlined course. Some of you may know how horrified I was of the waterand the dangers lurking in its unfathomable depths (20 meter longman-eating squids, instantly deadly venomous sea-snakes, gung-ho morayeels and sharks that have only been eating natural yoghurt for 28 daysand can't wait to sink there teeth into a nice juicy chunk o'Petergushing in sweet Adrenaline sauce). I have seen the whole ordeal as atest of nerves and a psychological challenge for my phobias and have tosay therapy was successful! I've been happily snorkeling and divingalong the incredible reefs watching swarms of colourful tropical fishand rays swimming along the banks of hundreds of different types ofcorals, anemones, crayfish, sea slugs and starfish. Even saw a shark! Wow! And I've somehow managed to improved my swimming style (from miserable to slightly lessembarassing, Liz knows what I'm talking about!). The most difficult bit for me (lead duck and staight F's in swimming in school) was completing the mandatory pre-requisite 200 meter swim.Thankfully the visibility in the pouring rain was so bad that my instructor didn't see me struggling and spluttering between life and death. On land I mainly lived off the food that fell from the trees (coconuts, plantanes (cooking bananas...) as I found myself very cash strapped after my trip to the States.  It was a lovely experience and an added delight to scrounge my money together for that one luxurious sunset beer every night. And the sunsets were stunning! When the generators went out at 10 everything was pitch-black underneath the stars and quiet apart from the sound of the waves.When I wasn't poring over my diving manual or gathering food I would be playing volleyball or touch rugby with the very friendly locals or drinking the national drink of Kava, a soothing broth made from ground roots of a horseradish-like tree. It tastes a bit like very strong tea and is quite forcibly rejected by most novice palates. I quite liked it. Apparently you can get addicted to it and it has a slightly halucinogenic effect when taken in high doses. All I ever felt was a stinging on the tongue and great pleasure in the ritualistic and celebratory way the drink was passed from hand to hand in a coconut shell.  There aren't any pictures in this section as they were all burgled from our house. Great shame!-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Nach dem tragischen Unfalltod unseres Familienfreundes Dick bin ich kurzerhand nach Amerika zu seiner Beerdigung geflogen um zusammen mit meiner und seiner Familie von diesem Menschen, der fuer mich seit meiner Kindheit ein grosses Vorbild und eine Inspiration war, Abschied zu nehmen. Kaum aus den USA zurueck ging's nach Fiji.  Dort fand ich mich auf einer kleinen Insel namens Nananu-i-Ra in einem Taifun gestrandet wieder und musste, finanziell ausgebrannt,  aus lauter Nahrungsmittelmangel mein Essen von den Baeumen pfluecken. Hat mir aber gar nix ausgemacht. Habe mich dennoch sehr gut erholt. Auf der Insel gab's keine Strassen, die einzige Fortbewegungsroute war der Strand oder Boote. Es gab nur wenige Haeuser, und wenn nachts um 10 der Generator ausging, war's stockduester und totenstill. Dann hoerte man nur noch das Schwappen der Wellen, roch die Blueten und sah die Sterne am Himmel. Der sieht hier unten komplett unterschiedlich aus. Da kann man sich die Augen blutig suchen, bevor man einen grossen Baeren oder dergleichen findet. Dafuer gibt's hier bezaubernde andere Sternbilder wie das Kreuz des Suedens und den Skorpion.In Fiji hatte ich mir das Ziel gesetzt Tauchen zu lernen und bin dem Wetter sehr dankbar, dass es meinem Tauchlehrer die Sicht versperrt hat, als ich meine 200 Meter auf offener See erroechelt habe. Wer mich vom Schwimmunterricht her kennt, weiss wovon ich rede: ein Kampf um Leben und Tod. Ich muss allerdings sagen, das mir durch das viele Tauchen und Schnorcheln ein Grossteil meiner Furcht vor der ungewissen Tiefe genommen wurde. Den Tauchkurs habe ich tatsaechlich bestanden und bin jetzt "PADI international open water diver".  Das Riffleben vor Fiji war wie im Fersehen, viele bunte Fische, Seeschnecken und -sterne, Schwaemme, Anemonen und Korallen unterschiedlichster Textur und Farbe. Das eindrucksvollste Panorama gab es allerdings bei einer Schnorcheltour des aeusseren Riffs zu bestaunen. Da schnorchelt man vorsichtig ueber das nur einen halben Meter unter der Wasseroberflaeche sich ausstreckende Riff und ploetzlich faellt das Riff 30 meter steil ab und gibt den Blick auf Riffhaie, Fischschulen und eine Farbenpracht von Korallenkolonien frei. Umwerfend!Habe vor bei meiner Tour durch Australien noch viele Tauchgaenge hinzulegenLeider keineBilder in diesem Abschnitt, da sie alle bei einem Einbruch gestohlen wurden!!!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wenzels/4/1243802220/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wenzels/4/1243802220/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wenzels/4/1243802220/tpod.html Sat, 22 Aug 2009 05:57:50 -0400 Peter does New Zealand and Australia

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Cairns, Queensland, Australia

The classic backpacker combi: offroading the world's biggest sand island and going on a wee cruise Ooops, that was Brisbane. Next stop: Hervey Bay. Here I joined a group of ten others on a 4x4 truck driving all over Fraser Island, the world's largest island made entirely of sand. Quite a lot of vegetation and some absolutely serene lakes and streams there. That's important, as it was very hot and sandy and there's nothing like a quenching swim in a lake after a day of hard driving. It's also important as there's no way you can swim in the sea there due to an abundance of tiger sharks just waiting for easy prey. Saw some from a cliff there. Impressive monsters! Also could see a variety of eagles, humpback whales, dolphins, turtles and quite a few dingos, a type of wild dog, prowling around camp and breaking into coolers for them yummy sausages. Quite a few adventures there, most of them involving us getting lost or stuck or being anxious about individuals' driving skills. Some tension, but that spices life up, doesn't it. The wildest situation was in the deepest stretch of soft sand a truck towing a second truck that in turn was pulling a boat (!!!!!) in a trailer over the center of an island. Now why would you want to do that? The stupid rednecks had stuck a piece of wood between two towropes that under the tension had been catapulted with high velocity through the windscreen of the second truck barely missing the driver and out through the back of the driver cabin. Crazy! The driver was bleeding from glass wounds to his face. Thankfully we had a doc (who would that be?) and paramedic on board. We washed and bandaged him after superficial exploration didn't herald any obvious remaining glass splinters and recommended A&E if any glass suspected. We then helped the silly fools to move their load as they watched us work while drinking a nice cool beer themselves. Idiots! Before embarking on our journey the organisers had told us many-a horror story about the sand and streams claiming hundreds of cars a year, pople getting run over by cars, cause you can't hear an approaching car in the sand until you're lying under it. Also there's many a fatal car crash. The beach there is the main traffic vein and is a registered highway and airstrip. It's quite busy, but heeding all the advice we were equipped with we all managed to survive, an almost impossible task according to all the prognostication by said organisers. Next day I went whale watching in a boat in Hervey Bay where humpback whales tend to rest a couple of days on their journey into colder waters in the southern Spring. We were lucky and saw a number of humpback whales, some of them lurching their heavy bodies out of the water and performing some other eye-candy tricks. Most impressive was them surfacing right next to the boat and then diving back down underneath it. And I didn't vom!
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