Coming Full Circle in New Zealand

  Auckland, New Zealand
Monday, November 12, 2007

Hi everyone,

Well here I am now safe and well in Sydney. I managed to make it in a one country without losing or having anything stolen! I was going to stay another week in the North Island of NZ before coming to Australia, but when I arrived back in Auckland on Monday after spending two weeks in the South Island I really had the feeling that it was time to move on.

So I popped into the travel agents (Flight Centre who I booked the round the world ticket with) and luckily I could change the flight time at no extra charge. The flight to Sydney was a relatively tame 2 1/2 hours and I'm lucky enough to be able to spend a few days with a friend who I used to work with at Proximus, Dave King, who is working over here for a few months.

Before I start the Aussie adventure I wanted to make up for lost time and summarise the things that I've been doing since I've been in New Zealand because I have been really bad with the blog.

Unfortunately this means that today's entry is really very hefty and is a long old read. Sorry about that and I hope you make it to the end of this entry and aren't too bored.

I've created a rather hasty map of the South Island leg of New Zealand using Google and good old Microsoft Paint so you can visualize the trip around the South Island.

The itinerary for my week in the South Island

First thing's first, and that's I loved this place. The people, the sights, the nature - everything is wonderful. No wonder people want to emigrate here.

One of the many things that I loved about the South Island was driving - it's made for driving. I think in total I must have driven well over 1500 kilometres and every single one of those kilometres on the south island was a joy. I'm sure Jeremy Clarkson has dreams about driving in the South Island, it's *that* good!

It's a straight old road

Driving is an adventure #1

Driving is an adventure #2

We hired a spritely Ford Focus 2 litre automatic (a wise move to have an automatic, that way you can just put her in drive and enjoy the ride!) and she was good to us the whole two weeks. I did demolish a bird somewhere between Auckland and Wanaka which damaged the bumper but that's the beauty of paying a bit extra for collision damage waiver. (I felt a bit bad for the bird though).

So, we started out on monday 29th October by taking the ferry from Wellington across the Cook Straight. It was a lovely sunny day. The ferry joruney was great and the views of the city of Wellington as you leave are pretty good. 

View from the harbour in Wellington

As we got out to the open sea the wind went from a stiff breeze to supersonic but being good strong english (or irish english at least) Padraig and me braved the deck and nearly froze to death. It was worth it though just to be able to thaw out halfway across and have a nice hot pie from the restaurant.

The Sea is very blue

And oh the wind blows!

The journey across takes about two hours (or so) the last forty minutes of the journey being through the magnificently beautiful Marlborough Sounds which are apparently world famous and quite a sight to see. It's amazing to me that it takes forty minutes to sail from the seaward end of the sounds to the port at Picton.

The boat into Marlborough Sound

Marlborough Sound

Another View of Marlborough Sounds

After disembarking the ferry and picking up our bags we picked up the car at Picton and started driving to our first port of call - Nelson - which is more or less at the geographical heart of New Zealand. We didn't get off to the best start when, having chosen to drive first, I started to drive for about 200 metres on the right hand side of the road, until Padraig, rather calmly pointed out that we weren't in Belgium any more. I think I would have been more animated had Padraig done the same thing, so he should be congratulated for his restraint. at Nelson we climbed the hill that marks the centre of NZ and then retired to the pub to plan our itinerary over a few pints and a bite to eat.

Padraig Leads the Way in Nelson

Tuesday saw us drive through the Buller Gorge to a place called Hokitika on the west coast.

The drive to the west coast in Buller Gorge

Buller Gorge - Padraig works out which way to go

Along the way we stopped at two cool places. The first is called Cape Foulwind where there's a really nice colony of seals and an old lighthouse. In fact it is so called because the wind really blows there and Captain Cook actually named it Foulwind after his ship was blown about five miles off course during a particulary windy session in 1770. The seal colony is great because it's very easy to get to via a walkway and there are loads of seals there, so you can really see them doing the kinds of things that seals do when they're at home. It's certainly a nice little stop.

The seals blend in pretty well - there are actually 9 of the little blighters in the photo below (unfortunately the resolution is a bit low on the web page to see them cleary).

The vegetation on the west side is pretty awesome. It's the most densely packed vegetation that I've ever seen and there are some pretty weird plants that look as though they've come off the set of Jurassic Park. Here are some giant tree ferns that are quite common all over New Zealand.

Seals on Rocks

Giant Tree Ferns on the West Coast

The second stop off was at a place called Punakaiki where there are some weird and well known rock formations by the ocean, called "The Pancake rocks". Caused by the erosion of alternating hard and soft layers of rocks over millions of years these rocks (and there are lots of them) are supposed to look like stacks of pancakes - they must have been modelled on the kind of pancakes I've been known to make - rock hard and pretty inedible. There are also numerous blowholes where sprays of sea water shoot out of if the tide is high and the sea conditions are good enough, but the day we went it was a beautiful day, so there wasn't much blowing going on. We did actually go back the day after when the sea conditions were much rougher and it was high tide, but even then there wasn't much blowing going on, just a feeble wheeze was all that the tide could manage.

Pancake Rocks at Punakaiki

A collapsed cave at the Pancake Rocks

Blowhole at Punakaiki

We carried on and spent the night in a place called Hokitika which is an old mining settlement by the coast and was as dead as a doornail by 8pm.

The next day the weather had turned cloudy (in fact this day was the only day that I've been in New Zealand that it wasn't sunny) and it was looking like rain as we drove away from Hokitika and on to Hanmer Springs. It was my turn to drive today and I was so glad that it was. The drive from Hokitika to Hanmer Springs takes you over the spectacular Lewis Pass. It was a fairly long old drive and to be honest the weather could have been better because it rained a fair bit as we went up the pass and most of the mountains were shrouded in cloud, but every now and again we got glimpses of snow drenched mountain sides vaulting into the clouds as we drove through centuries old, virgin beech forest - it was quite a sight. I think the best bit was as we drove down the pass having risen the 864 metres to the top of the pass. As we came down the other side, the weather started to change as we passed into the rain shadow of the mountains and the drier air of the leeward side of the mountains caused the clouds to evaporate and change in a weird and strangely captivating display of clouds forming and dissipating.

Here's a couple of photos as we neared Hanmer Springs.

On the Way to Hanmer

Hanmer - pretty nice views

Arriving in Hanmer Springs we had a bite to eat a few drinks in the local pub and turned in for the night ready for the next day's "spa" experience that Hanmer Springs is famous for. Basically Hanmer Springs is situated on top of geothermal springs. The springs are really good and very rejuvenating. You pay an entrance fee and then you have as much time as you like to try out any of the variety of springs that are available. You really feel as though you ware being cleansed and healed as you soak in these lovely hot pools, under the hot spring sunshine surrounded by a perfect alpine landscape of mountains, fluffy white clouds and birds and treees. It was lovely!

In the early afternoon we packed up the car and took the relatively short and easy drive to Kaikoura - one of the best whale watching locations on earth. Kaikoura is so abundant in marine life by virtue of a deep trench a few miles off the coast that mixes cold and deep oceanic water with shallower warmer water which makes it rich in plankton and therefore the perfect place to see whales - especially sperm whales.

the sea is a weird colour under the clouds

While we waited for the boat to take us, I took this photo of the clouds and sea. The colour was just weird...I haven't altered the colours - this is actually how it looked. The whale watching trip got off to a slow start as we were the first boat of the day out and so the captain had to get out a hydrophone (it looks like an oversized garden strimmer) to try and locate the whales by listening for their songs.

I've picked up Radio 1!

It wasn't long until he located a male deep down under the ocean and we sailed off to his location and waited. Apparently, sperm whales can stay submerged feeding on octupuses and little fish (they have teeth, unlike blue whales and other baleen whales) for anything up to half an hour, so the trick is to wait until they run out of breath and have to surface. After a while our whale came to the surface to get his breath back and enjoy his squid breakfast.

During the time that the while is recovering from his dive he is constantly blowing spray into the air from his blowhole and it was a wonderful sight to see. He stayed there for about 10 minutes and then the moment came when he went to dive back down for another feed. 

There she blows

Our whale dives down for more food.

On the way back to the shore we also saw a cute little seal who also wanted to be photo'd. He was really cute and was playing in the water quite happily on his own.

Hello Everyone!

From there we drove on to a place called Akaroa for the night. It's an old french settlement with french street names. It's a lovely place to spend a day. We also took a boat ride from the vast natural harbour and out into the sea to have a look at the colonies of Hector's dolphins (they are endemic to New Zealand). After the whales the day before the dolphins were an added bonus and I have to say they were really very cute adn one of the smallest dolphin species.

Akaroa1

Akaroa4

Akaroa2

After the boat tour we got in the car and drove to Christchurch to spend Saturday night at the motel owned by a friend of Padraig and to hook up with another friend who used to work at Proximus but has now emigrated to New Zealand. Unfortunately we were all a bit tired so we had a pretty quiet night.

On sunday Padraig and I parted company - he back to Wellington to work and me to continue in the hire car further down to the south of the South Island. I was sad to leave because I had a fantastic time touring around with Padraig. 

I drove down the island alongside the Southern Alps that run the whole way down from north to south. Driving past Mount Cook - the highest point in New Zealand at about 3700 metres - you drive past a lake that has to be the most intense shade of light blue that I have ever seen. It's apparently caused by the glacial run off from the glaciers surrounding Mt Cook and it looks amazing.

Very Intense Blue water of the lake near Mt Cook

The Road to Wanaka

I finally arrived in Wanaka quite late in the evening. My room at $20 NZ was basically a breeze block hut with a bed and a door and windows but that was about it. It wasn 't the best night's sleep I've ever had.

My $20 hut in Wanaka

But to make up for that, Wanaka is one of the most beautiful places I think I've ever stayed at. It's on the edge of a very big lake and it's surrounded by mountains. It's small and unspoilt but developed enough to have enough bars and restaurants to have a nice quiet night out without getting bored. I loved it!

The Lake at Wanaka

Another shot of Wanaka

Wanake 3

Wanaka Lake at sunset

Wanaka Lakeside during the day

It was in Wanaka that I did the sky dive. I was supposed to do it on the Monday morning, but unfortunately the weather was too windy so we had to postpone it until Tuesday. So I had a drive to Queenstown. It's a great drive over there.

Driving to Queenstown #1

Driving to Queenstown #2

Driving to Queenstown #3

Driving to Queenstown #4

Driving to Queenstown #5

QTown road

The road to the top of Coronet Peak

While driving out of Queentown again I drove to the famous Shotover River and jetboat ride. Apparently jetboats were invented by the Kiwis and the amazing thing about them is that they can operate in only three inches of water, which makes them perfect for tearing around on rivers like the Shotover. A jet boat is basically an oversized and overpowered jetski, the principle is exactly the same. They suck water in the front of the engine and shoot it out of the back. The boats at Shotover had something like 1000bhp engines, which is pretty impressive when you consider your average care has something like 100 or less. The Shotover experience was brilliant as the guys who pilot the boats have no sense of fear or direction as they shoot past rocky outcrops at 40mph with only inches to spare. Another thing that is pretty impressive is that the pilots performed 360 degree spins in the water at around full whack, which is as impressive and spine jarring as it is fun.

Shotover Jet #1

Shotover Jet #2

Shotover Jet #3

Here's a video of the boat doing it's thing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OL41Q4yz0SM.

Also, have a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shotover and http://www.shotoverjet.com/ if you're interested in the area or the jetboats.

Queenstown is known as the adventure capital of the world - there are more ways to induce a rush of adrenalin here than there are anywhere else in the world (have a look at the death chair if you need convincing - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0ZPTtMztV8 and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FoPgEW8rMk). To be honest though Queenstown was way too touristy for me and I was happy to get back to Wanaka.

Along the way I took a small detour to a place called Coronet Peak. It's one of the few high places where you can drive up to the snow line so I thought I'd give it a go. On the way I saw a road with this sign:

Are you sure you want to drive down this road?

Of course it was a red rag to a bull. I figured that any sign that showed this had to be interesting to drive. I had the devil on one side telling me to go for it and the angel on the other telling me not to be so stupid. So I figured that I'd investigate a bit at least. So I drove along a gravel track for about 500 metres and then I saw this sign:

No, trust me, you really don't want to drive!

It was just getting better!!!

Unfortunately for the devil in me, but fortunately for everything else including, my health, my bank balance and the hire care company it was getting late and I didn't want to have to reverse out of the gully for 15 KM in the dark, so I gave this adventure a miss and drove back to Wanaka and an early night. 






On tuesday I made a quick call to the skydive centre to confirm the jump and drove out to the airport at Wanaka, with a full and very nervous stomach, having been told it was better to eat before you jump....

The jump was superb and even though I was nervous it was wonderful. The thing is, once you start the wheels in motion by putting the jump suit on and getting in the plane there's really not any easy way of stopping the jump from going ahead so when people say didn't you get nervous and want to back out, I say, yes I was nervous, but it's easy once you get in that plane, because there's really no going back. You can see the pictures from the jump in one of the other entries. I've finally got round to putting the jump on YouTube. I hope you like it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzVQU_KWPx4

After the skydive I drove to to a place called Te Anau making an overnight stop on the way to see the world famous Milford Sound. Milford Sound is actually a fiord into the Tasman sea and it's been described as the eigth wonder of the world. I can see why.

I took a guided coach trip from Te Anau on what's been described as one of the most spectacular and beautiful drives in the world. It was great to have a knowledgeable driver who took us to lots of stops I would have missed if I'd been driving myself. One particular stop was amazing. It's called the Mirror Lakes and I've never seen anything like it. The water of this small lake is so clear, so still and so reflective that it has to be seen to be believed. You can see from the pictures just how beautiful it is. You almost didn't want to breath in case you disturbed the water. 

The Mirror Lakes #1

The Mirror Lakes #2

Another place we stopped at was a very cool waterfall called "The Chasm".

The Chasm

The Chasm #2

Along the road to Milford Sound is primary forest which has been around  for more or less the last 12,000 years since the end of the last ice age. Because of the high rainfall in the Milford area, everything that stays still for more than five minutes ends up being covered in moss. It's a pretty spooky place.

The Forest #1

The Forest #2

The road to Milford sound used to be closed in the winter months due to the large number of snow avalanches that occur. These days they manage the avalanche risk by setting off avalanches in a controlled way. We came across an old avalanche on the way that had been there for about three or four weeks and was slowly thawing.

Leftovers from a big avalanche

Here are a couple more photos of the drive to Milford.

Me with mountains in the background on the way to

One of the many waterfalls on the way to Milford

The Road to Milford #5

The Road to Milford #6

The Road to Milford #7

The Road to Milford #8

Once we arrived at the Milford we got on a boat to tour the Sound. Now I always thought that nothing in New Zealand would pack the visual punch of the things I saw in Argentina...but Milford Sound did that easily. The pictures that I am showing here, like all pictures of beautiful things, really don't do the actual view justice. The mountains that rise out of the sea at Milford are as stunningly beautiful as they are massive. The highest sea cliff in the world at Mitre Peak rises 1,600 metres out of the sea and into the dizzying heights - that's 5200 feet from sea level to summit! All of the mountains rising from the sea are covered in rain forest that seems to cling to the sheer rock faces defying gravity.

Milford Sound #1

Milford Sound #2

Milford Sound #3

Milford Sound #4

Milford Sound #5

Milford Sound #6

Milford Sound #7

Milford Sound #8

Milford Sound #9

Milford Sound #10

Milford Sound #11

Milford Sound #12

There's a massive waterfall in the Sound that falls quite a lot further than the Niagra Falls apparently, but so dwarfed by the surrounding mountains that it's hard to appreciate just how high it is. It does dwarf the cruise ships though.

I slept overnight in Te Anau and returned on Thursday to Queenstown to get ready for my flight back to Auckland and my continuing tour of the North Island. It was on this thursday that I did my ridiculous Canyon Slide shown in another post. 

On Friday I flew out of the South Island and back up to Auckland to meet Padraig for a weekend on the North Island up near a place called the Bay of Islands in the north part. It was good to see Padraig again and we had an excellent weekend. We went to see the historic Waitangi where in 1840 the Maoris more or less signed over New Zealand into the hands of the British in exchange for protection from other would-be settlers. I never knew the history of New Zealand at all before I came here so it was interesting to see.

Padraig at Waitangi

Flowers in the gardens at Waitangi

The Waterfalls near Waitangi #1

The Waterfalls near Waitangi #2

The Waterfalls near Waitangi #3

We spent the rest of the day relaxing and then we had a lovely but very late night in one of the bars in neighbouring Paihia.

Padraig and me trying to play pool

We're making friends!

Padraig the morning after the night before

We were very sad and shocked to hear the next day that a german tourist had drowned on the saturday afternoon. Apparently the guy (a very fit young man who was a strong swimmer) had gone to swim across the bay to one of the smaller islands during the afternoon that we were at the Waitangi monument and house and had gotten cramp in the cold water. By the time rescuers arrived he was already drowned. It just goes to show how even a peaceful bay can hide all sorts of hidden dangers.

For the rest of sunday I took a ride on a jet boat out to the "The hole in the rock" - a small island/outcrop of rocks perched in the swell of the South Pacific which has a big rock arch that you can sail a boat through. In our case the boat was a pretty substantial 1600Bhp beast capable of 45 knots and that tore through the 8ft swell of the ocean like it was a knife through butter. We got absolutely soaked and there was more than occasion when the boat left the ocean and briefly became a plane - it was great fun, even if amazingly cold!

The jetboat at the Bay of Islands

The driver tells us not to panic if things go wron

And so on Sunday evening, we drove back to Auckland and had an early night ready for Monday morning. Monday night on the other hand was very debauched as all last nights in a country should be. 

Last Night In New Zealand #1

Last Night In New Zealand #2

Last Night In New Zealand #3

Last Night In New Zealand #4

On monday afternoon I had a last walk round Auckland and then took the flight to Sydney.

Auckland Harbour Bridge from the harbour

View of the Skytower from the harbour

And so now here I am in Syndey and I've got four weeks in Australia.

Thanks if you've made it this far. Sorry the blog went on so long and I'll try to keep up to date on this leg.

Goodbye New Zealand, I'm going to miss you.

Haere Ra,
Martin