NZ Day 8: Last Full Day

While we fully enjoyed our last day in New Zealand, there was a bit of sadness knowing that the next day we would be returning to Sydney. Being depressed about going to Sydney, Australia, should give you some idea of how great New Zealand is. We left our Queenstown B&B in the morning, skirted Lake Wakatipu and continued north past a few submerged towns, such as Cromwell, The Land of Giant Fruit. There's a story here: After realising that putting a lake on top of your town isn't the best thing for tourism, the town leaders - still soaking wet I assume - contracted a farmer to grow enormous stone fruit to attract international visitors. Unfortunately the farm was quickly overrun with monstrous fruit flies and the farmer was killed after giant bat poo fell on him one night. They managed to save some of the fruit and have enameled, as seen above.

It was back to square one for the good ole Cromwellites. "By jove," the town crier cried, "I've got it! We shall create a parking lot and next to it we shall lovingly reconstruct that which was flooded in the early 90's, demolished in the 80's and established in 1862! Complete with a plastic horse!" And so New Cromwell was founded.

Tekapo, located on Lake Tekapo, was our stop that night, but we decided to take a detour to see Aoraki/Mount Cook, NZ's highest mountain. To took the detour but didn't see the mountain. The clouds were too low. It was still a beautiful drive, and Lake Pukaki was gorgeous. The sky above it shimmered teal from the colour of the lake below it. The mountains around Mt Cook were also stunning. You may not know it, but you've probably seen Mt Cook. It was featured in Lord of the Rings and The Last Samurai as a stand-in for Mt Fuji. It's also a big climbing spot, despite the tremendous number of deaths. Over 200 people have died on it in the past 100 years. Two died last week. We were there in the middle of summer and the avalanche warning was high.

Back around Lake Pukaki and along Lake Tekapo we went. The other side of Lake Tekapo is lined with the snow-capped mountains of the Southern Alps. Add in an old stone church and a statue of a dog and you have one of the most picturesque towns in the South Island. The Church of the Good Shepherd, built in 1935, holds services for three denominations. Catholic mass is held once a month. I assume there is one priest for the entire county who racks up some serious mileage. The statue nearby is dedicated not to one collie dog who saved a boy from drowning, but to all collie dogs who have ever saved a boy from drowning.

Driving into Tekapo provided us with some amusement. There isn't really a town but a large rest stop right off the highway. Imagine our surprise when the sushi restaurant we ate at was quite good despite its position between a gas station and a gift shop. Besides the view, the town has some good restaurants and B&Bs. Our B&B, Grandview, was an excellent choice. What a view from our window! We left New Zealand extremely happy with all of our accommodation choices. What a trip.

View all of the photos from day 8 here.

New Year's Eve - 2006/2007

I've got one more New Zealand post left but I have to get this New Year's Eve one out before the end of January. We landed in Sydney the evening of the 31st and were home long enough to shower and shave before heading out. We got some sleep on the plane but adrenaline helped much more. Luna Park offered amazing music (Carl Cox) and a great view of arguably the best New Year's Eve fireworks in the world. The beverage selection was less than impressive. Todd and I both went to bed with shaky stomachs and woke up not feeling too hot even though we had only had a handful of VBs all night. Terrible beer. (This Todd is not the Bungy jumper from the previous post, it's BA Todd.) Dana and I took advantage of some of the great rides at Luna Park. The Wild Mouse was the best, but the Coney Island section with its classic - and dangerous - attractions was also worthwhile. Todd and I went to head to head in a potato sack race. I won. Candice beat Dana though. The music kept us going until about 3 and the trip home wasn't that bad. I was also impressed by the orderly trash. Kudos Sydney! On ordinary days I've seen workers scrubbing garbage bins and mopping sidewalks, but a neat New Year's Eve takes the cake!
Enjoy the photos here. Oh and a short video clip from the farewell to 2006, a pretty good year for me I'd say:

NZ Day 7: Bungy Jumping and Wine Tasting

Here's Dana standing next to our room at the B&B. OK not really. This is a replica of a house from "Old Chinatown" near historic Arrowtown. Arrowtown boomed during the gold rush, and since Chinese people were not welcome in the white town, they built their own self-sufficient dwelling in the hills nearby. The park and exhibits are interesting, way more so than the tourist trap of Arrowtown itself. Unless you want to buy a rock the size, shape, colour and price of a gumball... from a gumball machine. Now if you have a kid, don't worry - there is a disclaimer for your 5 year-old to read that will set him straight before he spends that coin he borrowed.

From Arrowtown we went straight to my 11:30AM bridge jump booking. I have a fear of heights so I was expecting to be scared out of my wits. It was quite cold as I prepared to jump - and the drizzle didn't help - but I wasn't very nervous. I can get over my fear with logic and the jump felt very safe, even thought they basically just wrap a hand towel around your ankle, run a cord through it and push you off the ledge... maybe because it's all just so official. At the jump centre they weight you and write the weight on your hand in permanent marker... 91 kilos (201 pounds)?!?! No way! I was about to ask for a re-weigh without my shoes but decided to wear the weight on my hand for a while to keep it in mind. I still have not washed that hand. I jumped backwards after the crew recommended against my idea of attempting a flip. "First jump, keep it simple," they said. The length of the cord was measured perfectly with my weight so that I could get as close to the water as I wanted. My arms and head submerged. And by the way, I have washed that hand. Many times. The 91 will just not wash off. It's like it's a curse. If you're going to Queenstown, bungy jump. It's well worth it. Video here:


What goes great after bungy jumping? Wine tasting! Dana and I spent the rainy afternoon exploring Central Otago and trying wines from some of the best emerging wineries in the world. I must make special note of Peregrine: best pinot noir. Fantastic. And the setting for these wineries could not be better.

Dana and I popped back by the Kawarau Bridge Bungy for another look. While I was taking photos, some guy asked if we wanted a photo together.
"Sure!"
Photo taken.
"Thanks! Lots of Americans around these days."
"Ah yeah, I'm from New Jersey."
Dana pipes in, "I'm from Jersey! Where are you from?"
"I'm from [somewhere in NJ]."
"That's right by me, I'm from Highland Park."
"I have a good friend from Highland Park."
"What's his name?" (long shot)
"Adam Ravens."
"No way!"

It turns out Don was best man at Adam's wedding. Adam married Alicia, a long-time family friend. Dana was their baby-sitter not long after and had actually met Don before! Small world. So we ended up hanging out with Don & Todd (who was bungy jumping) that night in Queenstown, along with some packpacking pommies we met. Great fun. Oh, and that's Todd standing on the bridge behind Dana and Don... because of all the excitement we nearly missed his jump!

NZ Day 6: Queenstown - Holy Shit

Apologies for the crude subject, but holy shit! How can a city like this exist? For once I trust the photos will speak for themselves as far as natural beauty, then top that off with the resources available, the stability of the nation and the nations surroundings and the height above sea level... not a bad place to live. We arrived at Queenstown after driving through a street sheep pasture, racing a steam train and rounding Lake Wakatipu to get to our B&B, Coronet View. The B&B was great and location perfect. We set off immediately for a good tramp (hike/bushwalk).

A good tramp up Queenstown Hill gave us spectacular views down onto Lake Wakatipu and Queenstown. We could also look across at the "hill" with the gondola on it and way off into the distance at even greater mountains. The hike was steady and intense, but not overwhelming. We also got a good look at beautiful poisonous mushrooms and drunken wood pigeons.

Back town at sea level - or at least lake level - we headed over to the gondola and opted for a gondola + luge deal. Our gondola followed a delivery of milk (hey, no roads up there and obviously the cats are hungry). See photo evidence. The top was quite busy but we didn't have too much trouble getting a pair of helmets to go with our luge-ka-bobs, or whatever they are called. I expected the luge ride to be pretty lame. It was not lame. The twelve year-old in front of moved, but his mom zig-zagged back and forth, slowing us down until I finally pinned her to the side while Dana passed and we left her in the dust. The ride was a lot like the old Alpine Slide at Action Park before it closed after too many deaths. It was great to be a land free of lawsuits and full of opportunities to seek enjoyment at the risk of harming oneself. The hill also offers a scenic bungy jump.

Nightlife in Queenstown is also good fun. We had dinner at Dux de Lux - great beer made in-house and massive NZ mussels. Afterwards Dana and I walked around Lake Wakatipu before seeking out more Emerson's. Mini-Bar was the place, and the bartender made us feel like locals...most of the other patrons were Queensland service staff out for the night. Highly recommended.

Glad to say that this was not our last day or night in Queenstown…

Photos from day 6 here.

NZ Day 5: What's that Doubtful Sound?

Yesterday's post was obscenely long with not too many pictures to match. Today the post will be relatively short (relative to all of my past posts, not just yesterday's), but there are enough photos for a Where's Waldo conference (though please don't waste your life searching them for Waldo... play Where's Dana instead).

Why the trim post, Denis?
Well, it's getting fatter the more I jibber-jabber, but I really, honestly cannot summarise the sites of Lakes Manapouri & Te Anau and Doubtful Sound. Almost all of Day Five was spend on boats taking in incredible natural beauty. So I will spin some yarn about side-topics, but enjoy the photos more than my words. And try to visit the South Island of New Zealand to see for yourself.

We were staying in Te Anau (on Lake Te Anau, remember), so we caught a bus to Manapouri (on Lake Manapouri) to catch a boat to catch a bus to catch a boat... and then second verse, same in reverse! It was a very full day well spent. Lake Manapouri provides scenery outstanding in its own right. Waterfalls spew out of the woods, forests cling to steep hills that drop to the water and in the distance are fantastic cloud formations around snow-capped mountains. We got off the boat and onto a bus at the Lake Manapouri Power Station. More on that later. Brown parrot-like birds greeted us as we deboarded. These are called Kea (not Manapouri Birds), and they are known for being very destructive to cars and houses. Who knows how these birds have survived in the Fjordland for thousands of years?!

The bus trip was nearly as amazing as the boat, taking down (and up) narrow roads past interesting plant life and many more waterfalls, most of which only occur as the rainfall sees fit. Once at Deep Cove, at the inland edge of Doubtful Sound, we boarded another boat. I was amazed at the solitude. For the duration of the trip, we saw a handful of other boats and about as many kayaks. This is the high tourist season for New Zealand - summer. We did pick Doubtful Sound over Milford Sound so that we would avoid the tourists, and I think it was worth it. Once on the water, we cruised for hours, taking in the sound itself, rarely seen Hector's dolphins and many seals. The skipper also pulled up nice and close to some islands and cliffs to give us an extremely close look at the native vegetation. The "Southern Christmas Tree" took the cake.

Fiordland National Park is also a World Heritage site (as part of Te Wahipounamu) and the reason is obvious once your are there... however, one crafy kiwi has figured out a way to get a supply store in there. He checked the legal papers and found out that the parkland starts on the land at high tide watermark, so he built this structure that is technically legal. It provides supplies and a place to rest to local fisherman and lobstermen. Another interesting thing to note were the many Christmas tree-shaped bare marks on the cliffs. Each one is the result of a tree avalanche. The cliffs along the fiords are rocks and steep, so the trees intertwine their roots for support. However, when one goes down, they all go down. After a major earthquake a few years ago there were 700 tree avalanches as a result.

After hours of peaceful boating we were back at Deep Cove and onto the bus. At the edge of Lake Manapouri we toured Manapouri Power Station New Zealand's largest hydroelectric power station... while still in the bus for some of it. Being an American, I was a bit surprised by the lack of security, but I also enjoyed every minute of it. The power station makes used of underground flow of water from Lake Manapouri to Deep Cove in Doubtful Sound and has relatively little impact on the environment. The groundbreaking power structure (haha) came about after enormous opposition to a dam. Kudos.

Back at the ranch, Te Anau Holiday Park, we had dinner in and got a good look at a tui! And enjoyed it's jibber-jabber, of course, and its bow-tie. Speaking of, there was a lot more jibber-jabber in this post than I intended. Please do take the time to review all of the photos here. Actually, that's only half of the photos. Still a lot, but it was hard to let go of them.

*Doubtful Sound gets it's name from Captain James Cook. When he came across it his men suggested they explore it. He said if they were to enter it would be doubtful they would ever leave. Given his vessel and the conditions of the call... good call Jimmy.

NZ Day 4: Boxing Day and the Biggest Post Ever

I realise that I left some key bits out of the last NZ entry: Christmas dinner. As we drove into Invercargill, we found that I had neglected to print a map for this town. "Sure!" we thought, "Invercargill has got to be tiny! We'll just drive around until we find our B&B!" While the city is not actually exceptionally large, it seemed to be. For one thing, as I recall, every street in the CBD had eight lanes. My memory may off at the moment, but that is how I remember it. Also, none of the traffic lights coming off of smaller streets ever change from red, so you have to turn left or right against red if you want to get anywhere. I think.

Where was I? Ah, yes, that blind tennis player named Dana suggested we call the B&B for directions... and expected me to stop the car while we figured out where we were! We did stop, and we did find our way to Beersheba B&B. We had a fantastic room full of fresh flowers. Since it was Christmas, our hosts had their own family over for Christmas dinner, and they introduced us to everyone as if we were extended family. Michael dropped us off at the Ascott Hotel for our Christmas dinner. Excellent choice for a B&B on Christmas.

OK, here's where things get a bit interesting. Just about every Christmas dinner I have experienced - from a small boy playing with his new Light Bright and hoping his cousin Brian can sleep over - to a Christmas dinner full of questions about my impending move to Australia - have been interesting. This one was most interesting for different reasons.

The food at The Ascott Christmas Buffet was great: turkey, lamb, beef, salads, etc, all well seasoned and well-cooked (we were in New Zealand after all). The wine selection is good, again, of course. The staff were attentive and friendly.

But something seemed a bit off with this dinner. Dana and I knew this was the first one away from any sort of family - the year before we spent Christmas with close friends and their family - but something was stll amiss. Maybe it was the missing "i" in "stll" from the previous sentence. Not quite. It was something deeper. Most of the families came, ate and left, with little convivial banter. Most did stack too much food on each plate, apparently unaware that it was a buffet. Most didn't drink! Dana and I came to the conclusion that most of these people didn't like their family. It makes perfect sense: pick up your relatives, have dinner and then drop them off. There is no time to linger or worry about how to get rid of them. My Christmas's past, whether at Auntie Eil's & Uncle Gerry's, Colleen & Tom's, or Jim & Gail's, have been extremely fun. I can't remember a family Christmas party that I wanted to end. Dana and I had a very good, if absurd, time at Christmas dinner at the Ascott. Now if you frequent The Ascott Hotel for Christmas dinner, please let me know your thoughts.

I'm not done with Christmas dinner yet, if you can believe it. Seeking lively Christmas cheer, Dana and I moved from the dining room as more and more waitresses were poured into the room to clear the dinner tables. We popped into the little hotel bar attached to the restaurant, where they had to confirm that we ate dinner at the adjoining restaurant. You'd think they were packed! Nope. Dana and I were the only two there. They had a good beer selection! But what's this on TV? Kelsey Grammar? Lots of candles? Tom Petty? We sit down with our drink slightly unnerved. Jim Carrey appears on the TVs, "Joe and Bob worked on the 101st floor of the South Tower..." Outta here! Dana and I sat back down at our table in the dining room, but I did venture back into the bar to ask the bartender:
"Can I have another Invercargill Pitch Black?"
"Sure."
"Odd programming you have on here for Christmas."
[nod]
"Do you know what this is?"
"We have a bunch of DVDs in the back on rotate and this is what's up."
"This is 'A Tribute to Heroes'... for the attacks on NY on 9/11."
[nod]
"I'm from New York. This video brings up a lot of very sensitive memories... and it's Christmas."
I swear I actually watched my words fly over her head.
"Is there anything lighter you can put on?" I asked, "Maybe a documentary about Auschwitz?"
I gave up. Dana and I returned to the dining area. We took a stroll home in the twilight at around 9:30, to the consternation of a flock of cows that charged the fence and followed us on their side, glaring. I think one of them moo-ed, "Watch it, bro, this is South Invercargill!"

Look at me... all that writing and we're still on the day before! Let me add some reference to the title about how long the blog is.

Much better.

Let me wrap up Christmas night. Back at the B&B we joined our hosts and their family for some foosball and “Dirty Dancing”. Yes, it was a bit odd to be with strangers on Christmas, but we gave into their friendly insistence and had a lovely night. Besides, how can you resist foosball and “Dirty Dancing”?

Boxing Day it was off to Bluff, on the southern tip of the South Island. We picked up a brochure that had a "historic walk" of Bluff. Perhaps if the city quadruples in size and somehow gains significance then there could be a decent historic walk in about a hundred years. For now, it's still a nice place to drop by for the famous Bluff oysters and the view towards Stewart Island. Unfortunately the fog was so thick that we couldn't see the top of the hill we thought about climbing to see Stewart Island, and we were there too early to get any oysters. Oh well. Next time.

Onwards from Bluff brought us past some other interesting sites, such the (truly) historic Clifden Suspension Bridge, fantastic mountains, interesting little stores and police stations and lots more sheep. Dana even took the wheel for a bit so I could get a good look around. Dana's method of driving is to drop a brick on the gas pedal and steer. I don't remember seeing too much while Dana was driving, but I did get a good long look and the backs of my eyelids.

By afternoon we were passing Manapouri, located on Lake Manapouri, on our way to Te Anau, located on Lake Te Anau. We have some great photos from the lakes, but again, they just don't do it justice. We did some beautiful walks, grabbed a bite, and went off on a boat trip to see the Te Anau Caves, or Te Anau Glow Worm Caves. This was one of the highlights of the trip. The boat ride across the lake was stunning. Once on the other side we were led into to the caves, which are still forming thanks to the very active underground rivers. In groups of eight we boarded tiny little boats, hardly big enough for six, and were pulled through a small underground lake to a "grotto". Once there, the guide's light was turned off. Eyes readjusted, and the glow from thousands of worms grew stronger and stronger. It was like being outside late at night in the desert, each worm a star. The worms drop sticky fishing lines from the ceiling and then glow to attract small insects. The insects get stuck and become supper. Pretty amazing.

Uncle Matt

After seeing photos from Christmas on the home front, I can't help but feel like I'm Uncle Matt from Fraggle Rock, leaving Bobo, Red, Buber, Wembly and Moker to deal with all the real issues. My family is dealing with new births and Billy returning from war as I report on roller coasters and bus trips. Weeee. That being said, bungy jumping kicked ass.