Jesikah

Jesikah has been taking a lot of exceptional pictures and writing almost every thing to go with them. I was able to get a few pics of the her along the way. The first one is her on top of the camper van in an impossibly large valley outside of the Milford Sound. The second is in Dunedin's town square

Jon

Sheep!

Sheep Trials

On the way across the bottom of the South Island we stopped at a sheep herding trial. Really just a coincidence that I saw it out of the corner of my eye while driving 100 kph down a lonely stretch of country road. One of those things that you don't read about in travel books or the lonely plant that we are constantly on the look out for. There were no tourists just locals enjoying something they love to do. The old man to the right explained the whole objective. Basically the herder with their dog runs a set of sheep through a series of obstacles. The winner does it in the shortest amount of time

Jon

Road Trip Cont...

We then drove over to the east coast and followed the coastline up to Christchurch camping at some awesome surfing beaches along the way. One of the best parts about this trip was waking up everyday without an agenda or any idea where we would sleep that night. It is so freeing to be able to do that. The beaches were empty and vast. Unfortunately Jon's ring decided to stay at one of them, slipping off somewhere and disappearing on the waves of oblivion. We had a Gollum moment before sadly relinquishing our efforts and moving on up the coast. It was very sad, but it shouldn't be too hard to find him another one along the way...

We have spent the last 2 days exploring Christchurch, which is still recovering from its recent earthquake. It's really sad to see all of the old buildings in their dilapidated conditions (although I do love the textures in photographs of them), stores closed, and streets empty. (Jon was hoping to feel an aftershock, but we don't think we have.) It seems to be a pretty cool city. There was a street performance festival going on at Cathedral Square all weekend so we caught some of that, found some great cafes (Kiwis do coffee really really well), discovered a nice Brazilian bar, and enjoyed the English gardens.

We are off to Thailand tomorrow and are really excited! It's hard to believe that January is almost over!

-Jesikah

Road Trip Cont...

The drive from Te Anau to Milford Sound was breathtaking. There are a few permanent waterfalls along the way, but because it was raining there were hundreds--little ribbons streaming off cliffs all around us. We were to kayak the entire Milford Sound the following day, but because it was raining so fiercely and the wind and waves became impassible we had to turn back halfway. I was greatly disappointed because it was something I had been really looking forward to seeing, and most of the fiord was shrouded in fog. However, it did give the fiord a more mystical appearance and the waterfalls were truly amazing (which would not have been there if it hadn't been raining). After we turned back we were greeted by the most amazing thing: over 150 dusty nose dolphins!! They swam underneath and all around our kayaks and did flips in the air for us! It was incredible! It is a very rare occurrence in the Sound, and our guide had never seen anything like it. They are smaller than the bottle-nose, but are the most acrobatic and playful dolphins. They stayed with us for a long time before swimming off down the fiord. So much better than seeing the rest of Milford, so it was an incredible gift!!

-Jesikah

South Island cont...

Zip lining in Queenstown! The last zip line in the series of 6 flying foxes is the steepest and longest in the world.

Road trip cont...

Driving down the west coast from Greymouth to Queenstown was really gorgeous. We especially liked the part from Franz Joseph Glacier through Haast Pass and down to Wanaka. The pass from Haast to Wanaka is probably one of the most beautiful pieces of land I have ever seen. It travels between two enormous, impossibly blue lakes wedged between pointy green mountains. We spent some time at Haast beach, and were virtually alone except for the immensely irritating sandflies. These little buggers are ruthless. The Maoris believe that all things have a purpose on this earth, and that sandflies are here to keep us from being still or idle for too long- a purpose they seem hellbent on fulfilling.

-Jesikah

South Island Road Trip

We have loved spending time in beautiful, friendly New Zealand and a camper van is the only way to go. It has been our faithful companion coast to coast, over mountains, through gorges, fiords, waterfalls, beach forest, along beaches, countryside, in sunshine and in rain. We have slept in a different campsite every night (except in Queenstown where we spent two nights) and have cooked most of our meals. Jon has been a fabulous driver and hasn't had any problems driving on the other side... It's been really great! The landscape is phenomenal and the people are so friendly....tons of tourists, as expected, but they are from all over the world and are great to chat with. One of the things we really admire about the Kiwis is their dedication and great care of the natural environment and its preservation. It is of great importance here, and the air is so clean and clear and the land well cared for. We hope to carry that awareness with us!

Here are a few highlights of the trip:

Orman Falls

We love New Zealand!

Here Are a few photos of our South Island experience so far. We are experiencing fantastic weather and are having a fabulous time!! We hiked up the mountain above Queenstown today and went zip lining today down it. (the steepest and longest zip line in the world! Super long hike!!) We loved it! And we have loved the drive down the west coast to get here....through Franz Joseph glacier and the gorgeous Wanaka...the twin lakes were phenomenal! More to come...

Jan 15-20 cont

On Monday we began weaving our way 2.5 hours north of Auckland to John and Iris' lovely little beach house in Tinopai: Candy Cottage. It was built around 1907 and is a piece of local history as it was the area's post office and general store. They rescued it 17 years ago in a dilapidated condition, and after much work it is gorgeous! The drive up was filled with green rolling hills, pastures with cows and sheep, Maori villages, and the ancient and unusual Kauri tree. The vegetation is so interesting because it seems to combine the tropics with the north woods (both pine trees and palms)--it feels very pre-historic. We stopped at the Kauri Museum in Matakohe which houses many examples of the enormous tree in it's raw form as well as in carvings and home furnishings. It is one of the oldest trees known, and has been recorded at upwards of 40 meters with a diameter of 9 meters and as old as 40,000 years! It was very heavily logged so there aren't many examples left of the very large older trees, but the younger ones are growing and many are being planted. We had a great evening and watched the film "Earth" which had phenomenal cinematography and we would both highly recommend.

On Tuesday we wound our way back down to Aukland through sleepy beach towns and gorgeous coast. Whangari, Waipu Cove, Langs Beach (awesome modern, green architecture), Mangawhai Heads, Wellsford, stopped for a dip in the hot pools at Wenderholm Regional Park, Waiwera beach, watched kite surfers at Orewa, and back home again. It's hard to keep it all straight now, but we really liked the beautiful coastline with the pounding surf and the interesting houses pilled up along the east coast. It was so great to be shown around by locals...we would have never found those things ourselves!



Garden at Candy Cottage


Sent from my iPad

Jan 15-20 cont....

On Monday we began weaving our way 2.5 hours north of Auckland to John and Iris' lovely little beach house in Tinopai: Candy Cottage. It was built around 1907 and is a piece of local history as it was the area's post office and general store. They rescued it 17 years ago in a dilapidated condition, and after much work it is gorgeous! The drive up was filled with green rolling hills, pastures with cows and sheep, Maori villages, and the ancient and unusual Kauri tree. The vegetation is so interesting because it seems to combine the tropics with the north woods (both pine trees and palms)--it feels very pre-historic. We stopped at the Kauri Museum in Matakohe which houses many examples of the enormous tree in it's raw form as well as in carvings and home furnishings. It is one of the oldest trees known, and has been recorded at upwards of 40 meters with a diameter of 9 meters and as old as 40,000 years! It was very heavily logged so there aren't many examples left of the very large older trees, but the younger ones are growing and many are being planted. We had a great evening and watched the film "Earth" which had phenomenal cinematography and we would both highly recommend.
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> On Tuesday we wound our way back down to Aukland through sleepy beach towns and gorgeous coast. Whangari, Waipu Cove, Langs Beach (awesome modern, green architecture), Mangawhai Heads, Wellsford, stopped for a dip in the hot pools at Wenderholm Regional Park, Waiwera beach, watched kite surfers at Orewa, and back home again. It's hard to keep it all straight now, but we really liked the beautiful coastline with the pounding surf and the interesting houses pilled up along the east coast. It was so great to be shown around by locals...we would have never found those things ourselves!
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Camper Van Pick Up

For a good portion of the trip leading up to our arrival in Christchurch I couldn't stop thinking about and subsequently worrying about driving during our South Island journey. Not just driving but driving on the wrong side of the road in a foreign country, on foreign roads with roundabouts and 15 different signs and lights at every intersection. I'd wake up in the middle of the night in Fiji and my mind would start racing at the thought. Fast forward 2 weeks and I'm at the counter of the rental shop getting the keys to a van that looks like a space ship a 3 year old would design while waiting for his flu shots. Nothing about the van was ever really explained to me, in fact I still don't know where the tire iron and jack are. Anyways I get the keys, jump in and take off. This is trial by fire. Not only do I have to worry about all the things mentioned before but I'm also centrally located in the most populous city in the South Island. This brings a whole new layer of complexity to the situation. However, I'd like to mention that unlike in the States, pedestrians in New Zealand don't have the right of way, and they most certainly act like it. No one walks into the intersection unless there isn't a car within a mile. So I've got that going for me...which is nice. Jesikah and I take off without the slightest clue of where we're going other than we need to find a gas station (the car was given to us with under 1/4 tank left). We make our way with only the map my wingman has in her lap. Everything seems to be going fine until I reach my first roundabout / stoplight in downtown Christchurch. I'm almost positive I spun around and was spat out going down a oneway the wrong way. But disaster was avoided because no cars were oncoming. A few more blocks down I'm waiting behind a car turning right at a light I wish to go straight through. I see the light turning yellow so I nudge over to get around just as a car barreling behind me decides to do the same, and missed me by inches. We finally find a gas station and I pull in to fill up and change my Calvin's. Jesikah being my navigator suggests a route which coincidentally is the fastest path out of town. The rest is history, drove the next 3 hours through the foothills and mountains on the way to the west coast, a camp ground, and a cold beer.

Closed circuit to Brian Holmes at WDPI; I read your comment. I felt really bad taking off from work without settling up. I'm pretty sure this includes Weiberg & Pollman as well. So if you noticed the picture below of Jesikah and me with the van you'll also see a Heineken sitting on top of said van. Like I was saying I felt really bad bolting on you guys so I took the liberty of buying a 6 pack on you. I figured you would have wanted it that way. If this action doesn't please you go talk to Jay I'm sure he's still in my pocket, tell him I'll take it off his tab and collect the remainder when I get back.

-Jon

Jan 15-20 cont

Wednesday we spent the day in Auckland wandering around the different neighborhoods and shopping districts, galleries, visited the Cathedral (the cathedral of the South Pacific) where the Hamblings attend and Iris' private speech therapy practice is located. Really interesting and unusual stained glass--lots of New Zealand symbols and references to contemporary events. Also stopped in the Auckland Museum to see the extinct Moa bird (really strange enormous, flightless bird that the Maoris hunted to extinction. Because prehistoric New Zealand didn't have any large mammals, or really any predators of any kind (still really doesn't) the birds stopped flying because they were so safe and eventually no longer could. Looks a lot like Big Bird) Visited a Maori meeting house and huge huge huge canoe that once carried 100 Maori warriors. The sight of it empty was so fierce I couldn't imagine what it must have been like filled with angry decorated warriors with face paint. Finished the day with a walk along the beach in Devonport collecting shells. It was a wonderful introduction to friendly, beautiful New Zealand.

-Jesikah

More to come on Auckland

I accidentally deleted 2 posts on Auckland from our computer...hopefully we'll revisit them later. Here are some photos in the meantime.

Jan 15-20

I am writing from our little campervan as we drive from Christchurch to Arthur's Pass and onto Greymouth on the west coast of the South Island, New Zealand. We had a fabulous whirlwind tour of the North Island with John and Iris Hambling--(thank you so much again!!!) We were very well fed (corn on the cob, fresh berries and ice cream every day! I love summer!) and looked after those days! We had a lovely time and saw so incredibly much in those 3 days (the Hamblings are world class tour guides and very informed and proud of their country, as they should be) so I will list the highlights below.

Sunday evening we arrived in gorgeous Auckland to a bright blue sky and excellent views of Auckland from different volcanic hills: Mt. Victoria and Mt. Eden. Strolled along a beautiful beach in St. Heliers and a lovely dinner just off the beach.