Some random pictures of NZ before I head out

Wine-tasting in Wanaka - not bad for a view!

Franz Josef glacier (stretched for some reason)

Pancake Rocks in Punakaiki

Albatross! Whale-watching trip in Kaikoura

Queen Charlotte garden.. nothing else to do with the rain!

Sunset from Truman Track in Punakaiki

Chiche photo - Queen Charlotte garden in Nelson 

Church-turned-bar :)

That's a dolphin - whale-watching trip!

Happy Easter from NZ!

 I talked with a New Zealand couple back in Geneva and they said that it's been a long time coming, but Kiwis are coming to have a recognized personality.

What I find endearing is that every time you enter a store or cafe, you are greeted "hey, love" or "hi, lovely" or "how's your day, dear?"  Something interesting or exciting is responded to with "Sweet as!"  And I still haven't figured out the expression "Good on you!", but it seems to range between "good for you!"and "thanks!"

From what I've noticed, Kiwis have a great sense of humor.  Instead of the typical in-flight safety announcements on the Air New Zealand flight from Melbourne, the crew showed a parody of a Richard Simmons workout video, but airline safety-style.  Starring Simmons as himself, of course.  I've never seen an entire plane watch those announcements before!

Following the February earthquake in Christchurch, radio personalities joked that McDonald's is now offering a special: with every McChristchurch burger you buy, you get a shake.

Of the many adventures in the past week, the hardest was the Kepler Track.  I decided, without having any real tramping experience, to tackle the 4-day trek.  Fortunately, there are well-organized huts along the way with plenty of other hikers, but it was up to me to handle about 80 km (48 miles) of hiking.



Day 1: I noticed that my mood is inversely proportional to the steepness of slope.  Given that the first day was a 3000-ft climb, it was a lot of bitter why-am-I-doing-this-to-myself mumbling.


Day 2: All completely worth it.  The second day was my favorite.  It brought me through gorgeous mountain tops above the clouds, with views of fiords hugging Lake Te Anau down below.  It is incredible to walk across a mountain crevice and be encircled by mountains, all while realizing that it is just you and the majesty of the landscape.

zDay 3: Much, much easier.  By mid-afternoon, I was at the 3rd hut, which is conveniently placed on the lake.  I'm starting to realize why everyone brought freeze-dried food - as nice as steamed veggies on couscous is, it's heavy!

Blowhole at Pancake Rocks - Punakaiki

Day 4: The last day was much easier, but equally exhausting.  I got back to town, took a much-needed shower, and did laundry.  As some Sir Edmund Hillary said, "It is not the mountains that we conquer, but ourselves".  This could not be more true.

I'm jealous of the fact that Kiwis have the whole South Island to only 1 million of them, a third of which is conservation land for exploring and enjoying, the rest for towns and wide pastures with merino sheep and dairy cows.  Basically, no matter where you go, it is absolutely stunning.

Kayaking trip (that's the tour leader)

Thrill-seeking in Queenstown

Christchurch was a bust.  The entire city center is blocked off, stained glass and bricks on quaint churches were shattered, houses were completely knocked down because they were deemed a lost cause... It sounds as though there is a shortage of construction crews and money to fund them, in a reconstruction effort that could take 5 years, 10 if lawsuits are plentiful.  Sheesh.

To add to the dismal picture, I spent my first two nights in New Zealand in a jail-house.  Although it was quite cool!

But otherwise, New Zealand is absolutely amazing.  Every new place I go to is different and more beautiful than the last and I keep wondering, what could possibly beat this?  Someone had said, skip Europe, New Zealand has it all.  Although I love Europe, I can see what the guy meant.  The land of kiwis has rainforests, large sheep-filled pastures, bright-blue lakes, fjords...  All of it is so incredible and I feel so lucky to be here enjoying it all!

After my two nights in Christchurch, I headed to Lake Tekapo, a lake with the most beautiful baby-blue water, a small church that seems to attract Japanese newlyweds, and a night sky that people around the world flock to because of the absence of ambient light from big cities.

Southern Cross is just left of center

I hiked up Mt. John to the observatory and joined an astrophotography tour.  Apparently the secret to good night pictures is a really fancy, most likely very expensive tripod that rotates at the same rate as the Earth!

One way to enjoy the scenery..

I arrived in Queenstown two days ago.  Queenstown is considered to be the adventure capital of the world, so I had to follow suit.

Among my pursuits were.. Bungee jumping on the Kawarau Bridge (43 meters!).  Zip-lining.  And, this morning, horse-back riding in Glenorchy, where a number of scenes from Lord of the Rings, Xmen, Prince Caspian, and an upcoming episode of America's Next Top Model were shot.  My horse, Courtney, was a stubborn teenager of a horse, staring at me maliciously when I tried to get him to move, refusing to walk through mud, huffing at me when he wanted to take a break.  Even tried to bite me once.

The Remarkables & Queenstown

Tomorrow morning I'm heading to Te Anau, southwest of Queenstown, to go on a 4-day hike in a combination of rainforests, mountains, and fjords.  It should be absolutely amazing!

Lake Tekapo

In the Jailhouse Now

Victoria Market: best market ever!

All three cities I stayed in in Australia – Perth, Adelaide, and Melbourne – were absolutely beautiful.  Walking around gorgeous botanical gardens (there was always a California section because of the similar climate), chatting with the nicest and weirdest types on train rides across the southern desert and seeing the occasional wild kangaroos from the diner car, bike-riding to beaches.  I really can’t complain! 

There was evidence of climate change everywhere I went – and it was all I saw in the newspapers and heard about from Aussies I talked to.  Massive salt build-ups due to deforestation.  Heavy rain in the North.  Drought in the South.  Inconsistent weather patterns, like over 50 days just this year over 90F in the Southwest.  Shortages of fresh water.  Only in the States is it ok to not believe that global warming exists.

Cottlesloe Beach

Time has been elusive these last 2 weeks.  I’ve compensated twice for daylight savings time and for 3 different time zones.  I’m now 19 hours ahead of California and, at least for a few weeks, will be consistently.

 

I got to the front counter of Air New Zealand at the Melbourne Airport this morning, when the lady at the counter stated bluntly that I couldn’t get on the flight.  When I asked why, she replied that I need to have an onward ticket.  I don’t know why NZ’s so picky about this.  In my desperation, I showed her the working-holiday visa I decided to get a few days ago (so that maybe I could volunteer on organic farms); after talking with her manager, she told me I could go ahead.

Now I’m on my third island-country (4^th if you count my one-day stint in Ile-de-France, haha), and, by the view of snow-capped mountains from the airplane, I can tell that New Zealand is going to rival the other two.  I’m truly excited for my month in the country of Whale Rider and Lord of the Rings, in what advertises to be something like a playground for grown-ups. 

And to start things off on the right foot, I’m staying in what used to be a jailhouse.

I’m planning to spend 2 nights on my bunk in Christchurch – more than enough since city center is blocked off post-earthquake – and then head out to my circular tour around the island.