My friends Wes, Todd, Sara, Brittany, and I decided New Zealand would be a perfect place to unwind and kick off our shoes, not literally, it was too cold. You all are going to think I'm crazy for all the things we crammed into 7 days, but we were successful at it. Don't put it past me to go crazy when I only have a weeks break from school. I would like to say I watched a very cool video before I left for New Zealand and it was referring to legends about the country and how it was said to be "hauled from the ocean like a giant fish and then... it waited. These islands waited until every other country had been discovered before any human set foot there." It is said to be the youngest country on Earth. Anyway, I thought the whole idea behind New Zealand was very refreshing and I couldn't wait to get there to see it for myself.
Saturday/Sunday:
Todd, Wes, and I flew into Auckland late Saturday night and only spent one night there. We woke up in the morning and jumped on the Intercity Coach bus to Tongariro National Park, which was about 6 hours away. The bus ride was absolutely stunning! Everywhere you looked there was green pastures with sheep and cattle with a mountain back drop. I didn't believe my eyes. I had never seen anything like it. Once we arrived in National Park, we were surrounded by pretty much nothing within the town, until you looked straight out and saw snow covered mountains with a volcano looming in the morning mist. The first couple of days it was rain, wind, and clouds, but it cleared up the day we were leaving, of course. Our hostel called "The Park" was brand new and came fully equipped with a lodge type setting and a hot tub, which was great when dealing with wind and cold.
Monday/Tuesday:Our original plan was to do the famous Tongariro Alpine Crossing, a 7-8 hour trek, which was featured in "Lord of the Rings." It was one of the main things I was looking forward to, but due to unpredictable and stubborn mother nature, it was closed because of poor weather conditions. We still were able to see the National Park and go to a nearby ski village (Whakapapa) and do the Taranaki Falls hike, which was amazing to see even in the crappy weather situation we were in. Thank God for my rain jacket (thanks Dad and Carol)! Good old Mt. Ruapehu was everywhere, we couldn't escape it. This specific mountain is the center of the North Island and can be seen even when you are hours away. The weather cleared up for us on Tuesday and we were able to go on the Fishers Track which takes you up through rainforest (you could still see your breath, weird) into a beautiful overlook of the mountains. We caught another Intercity Coach into Wellington at around 2 pm. We arrived in Wellington around 8 pm, got some dinner, and toured the city the next day until we had to catch the ferry to South Island at 2 pm on Wednesday.
Photo: City of Wellington--lookout from our hostel Rowena'sWednesday/Thursday: The ferry runs pretty much all day from Wellington (North Island) over to Picton (South Island). It was a 3 hour ride over and of course the scenery was gorgeous all the way there. You can actually see the South Island from North Island, but it takes longer because you have to go through a series of channels/inlets to get to Picton. Dolphins were cruising along a passerby boat which was a very good introduction into the South Island experience. Sara came over with us on the ferry and we all rented a car in Picton so we could make it down to Franz Josef Glacier in time for an 8 am trek the next morning. I think the 7 hour road trip could have been one of the most amusing parts of the trip, if I may say so myself. To say the least, we hit over 4 possums and a couple of hedgehogs just on our way to this glacier. It was the first time Sara had hit anything in her life and we have a live video of her reaction. She also got pulled over for a random sobriety test even though she had had nothing to drink and wasn't speeding. This was just not her night, but it made for a few good laughs. We arrived at the glacier around 1 am and went straight to bed after waking up everyone in our hostel...woops! What do I say about Franz Josef Glacier, it was absolutely incredible to be on such a huge chunk of ice and actually be in shorts, sweating! The guide group we went with supplied us with all the gear (boots, hats, crampons, gloves, etc.) and we just did the damn thing. The blue ice while hiking through narrow crevices was my favorite part. You feel so small on something so large, it puts you into perspective. It was not easy at all, but the challenge was what I enjoyed the most. Check out the pictures, it's really something to see. It is 1 of 3 "warm glaciers" in the entire world! One other one is right next door, Fox Glacier, and the other is located in Padegonia. All the rainfall in the area has kept the glacier there for hundreds of years...pretty cool stuff.
Friday/Saturday: After a long day of hiking on Thursday, we got in the car immediately (after something to eat of course) and headed towards Queenstown, approx. 4 hours away. The drive was pretty smooth with a few dead animals along the way. The roads were windy and dark so it's virtually impossible to see an animal before you squash it completely. New Zealanders or Kiwis absolutely despise possums because they are seen as pests! I'm sure they would be glad that we took some off their hands. I woke up from a nap to Todd swirving into the other lane just to hit a possum, that's when I knew things were getting a little too over the top for entertainment. No worries, there were no other cars on the road. We arrived relatively early, 10 pm to be exact. Brittany was waiting for us in the hostel and we were happy to welcome her to the group! Friday was the day we were all going to Milford Sound and celebrating Sara's 21st simultaneously! What a great birthday, in New Zealand, lucky bum. We woke up early Friday morning and headed to the sound around 7 am. There was no traffic so we had plenty of time to stop along the way to take pictures of the scenery. The South Island is just loaded with scenic landscapes. Our nature cruise through Milford Sound left at around 12:30 pm and it was around 3 hours long. The weather was absolutely perfect the entire time we were there and it allowed us to see all the great cliffs and mountains that make up the sound or fiordland (the correct term). Milford Sound was carved out by glaciers, hence the fiordland part of it. There are high waterfalls, fur seals frollicing in the water, and sheer rock faces surrounding you through the entire trip. Every postcard you see of it is actually what it looks like. They navigated the boat right up into one of the waterfalls, it was a really neat sensation. They told us all about the history of the land and all of it was new to me. One of the cliffs, you can see it in my pictures, was what inspired Toblerone and its name. If you look on the chocolate box, it has a picture of the pointed cliff, bet you didn't know that! We ended the day with some drinks at the pub and a toast to Sara for her birthday!
Saturday/Sunday: After we woke up in a drunken stupor Saturday morning, we realize we have lost the rental car keys and panic sets in. Wes swore he threw them on the table after he last drove the car. We all decide we don't have time to look for it now, it has to be in someone's belongings, we will look for it later. Bungy jumping comes next!!! I was having dreams about jumping from 134 m up the whole trip and now it was coming true, oh Lord. We all took a 35 minute bus ride up to Nevis Valley where we got suited up with harnesses and taken over to the pod where we would be jumping out of a metal container pretty much. I was one of the last ones to go, but I was ready for one of the most extreme adrenaline rushes of my life. They strapped up my legs and I shuffled to the end of the platform. I waved to the camera and when they got to 1...I went! No questions asked, no hesitation, I was free falling. It was one of the most incredible things ever! It's not as crazy as it sounds, well maybe it is, but still. I posted the video on flickr so check it out! If we could have done it again for free, I would have. We all jumped with no problem, but of course I couldn't get the cord undone that set you upright so you could be pulled up sitting right side up. I saw the whole thing upside down, which wasn't such a bad thing. YAY, bungy jumping is great! But, oh yes, the key to the rental car was still not found. Long story short, we had to rent another car to get to Dunedin so we could catch an internal flight to Christchurch that evening. A trip I will never forget. Sunday, the day we departed New Zealand. Sad day indeed, but we went out with a bang and got to see a gorgeous city before we left. Christchurch is very quaint and had a market in one of the squares the day we were there. I got a German sausage and bought a little something for the parentals. After we had our fill, we jumped on our flight at around 3:45 pm and made it back to Townsville safely that night at around 11 pm. Crazy times, but I have never felt so happy. Friends and discovering new places go hand in hand and I loved every second of the journey. I'm sorry you are so bored with this post, I just had to tell you all about it. I couldn't leave anything out or it would take away from the importance of the trip. I love you all and I hope you all enjoy the 133 pictures I put up on flickr today, you're welcome. G'Day!!!
