We're back from Melbourne. Whew, it has been a travel filled two weeks. Finding a way home from Melbourne was more difficult that expected being that ALL flights were cancelled on the 12th due to the volcanic ash that was drifting over the ocean from Chile. We were fortunate to book train tickets right away via Joanne and Ivan's iphone and we took a loooooong train ride overnight to Sydney since we had no idea whether flights would be cancelled for longer than a day. Anywho, more about Melbourne later. This post is supposed to be about Middle Earth.
We all know I love massive posts. This is no exception. I don't like to break up a trip into several posts, it just ruins my momentum.
We loved New Zealand! Loved the people, the country, the contrast in scenery. We didn't love the gas prices but that is neither here nor there. I believe we paid the equivalent of USD $8.00/ gallon in the small town of Haast. If we could re-do our trip I think the only thing we would change is visiting during a different season. Fall or spring would be ideal since summer would be way too crowded with tourists. Since it is winter way down here in the Southern Hemisphere, we're limited on daylight. So when the sun doesn't rise until 8 am and it sets at 4 pm, you feel a little cheated. Regardless of only having 8 hours of daylight a day, I think we made the most of our trip to NZ. The cold didn't put a damper on our holiday at all. And we were surprised at how backpacker friendly the country is. And we weren't the only idiots who toured the South Island in winter in a camper van. Plenty of other idiots did too.
We flew into and out of Christchurch and we can only imagine how awesome this city would have been prior to the earthquake that struck back in February. And yesterday the city just experienced two more earthquakes. Poor Christchurch. The downtown area, called the Red Zone, is completely fenced off. There is so much devastation in this particular area that it is unsafe to the public and to all companies that exist in the Red Zone confines. It was eerily quiet as we walked around the chain linked fence that encircles the Red Zone. All businesses and buildings are deserted as city workers strive to clean the streets of debris and repair buildings and sewage lines. My heart goes out to that city and all those affected by the quakes.
Clark standing in front of the chain link fence that keeps the public out of the Red Zone. Behind him is the foundation of a building that once was.
Devastation of older buildings inside the Red Zone.
180 lives were lost in the February quake.
This threshold/gate leads down to Cathedral Square where the cities Anglican church stands. It is a beautiful structure that, unfortunately, was damaged by the quake.
Beyond the buttress of the red brick building is the Anglican cathedral. This is the closest we could get to Cathedral Square. The spire of the cathedral no longer exists.
Each closed business had spray paint on the window, indicating (we think) the day the business was inspected and had to close.
Empty restaurants line the river.
The most badly damaged structures are the cities older brick buildings.
First of all, diapers are called nappies in NZ and OZ. Secondly, this store isn't even near the city center and it was badly damaged. Devastation could be seen everywhere.
If you enlarge this photo you will see the "Do not demolish" plea on the lighter wooden board.
Trying to enjoy Christchurch despite the devastation around us.
So we rented our van from a company called Wicked Campers. This company has the most hideous vans. They are flamboyantly spray painted and have ridiculous quotes on the back. Clark thought this was hilarious. Luckily, we didn't end up with this gem.
More devastation as we drove off in our eye catching van.
Apparently it isn't just food anymore. It's foodstuffs.
The destination of our first night was Arthur's Pass. On our way we stopped at Castle Hill, which was a filming location in one of the Lord of the Rings films. It was gorgeous.
Clark was super stoked.
Trying not to appear as cold as I felt.
Ahhhh, love that setting sun effect.
This is our wonderfully decorated camper van. She's a beaut, ain't she?
The next morning we decided to go on a hike to a waterfall not far from where we camped. Unfortunately, a helicopter was working overhead and the trail was closed. For safety purposes I guess.
This is the closest we could get to the falls.
So we decided to venture on to the West coast of the South Island
Driving under this...
And over this...
To arrive in Greymouth which is just near the opening to the Pacific Ocean/Tasman Sea.
Clark was confused by this public toilet. We didn't know if we had to pay to use it, it looked so fancy.
And we drove farther south from Greymouth to Hokitika.
Clark ended up getting splashed by an unsuspecting wave.
We took turns relaxing in this chair.
We noticed that just about every town on the South Island has a clock tower. I love it.
Clark thought the train sign was pretty cool. He's like 6, you know.
The Catholic church was beautiful.
As we drove out of Hokitika we noticed that our rented luxury van was making some weird noises. We got out to check the wheels, and sure enough, something wasn't right. So we just pulled the wheel well cover off and solved that problem.
As dusk started to settle in we were looking for campsites. We could have camped by this pristine lake but...decided to stay in a Holiday Park in Franz Josef instead. We needed hot showers.
The next morning we awoke ready to conquer two glacier hikes. And this is our humble sleeping quarters where we would get our BoB (Band of Brothers miniseries) on nightly. It was awesome.
The town of Franz Josef.
Driving out to the glacier.
The glacier is the white in between the mountains.
As we trekked out to the glacier low clouds rolled in. Of course.
Clark getting friendly with cut out Ranger Rick. Ranger Rick is telling us not to hop over the heavy duty rope fencing. We followed his commands, though we were tempted. The glacier is that dirty mound right behind the sign.
Ahhh. Love.
Stoked to be exploring NZ!
These next photos were taken at a different glacier walk, about 20 km away from the Franz Josef glacier.
Beautiful scenery on our way to the glacier.
Crossing some streams to get closer.
Fox glacier is much easier to notice in the photos.
We did a lot of our driving in the late afternoon and evening. New Zealand is full of one way bridges.
Another stop at the coastline. We were in awe that we could be up in the mountains on minute and ten minutes later be right on the coast. Clark was playing in the rocks, checking out signed rocks left by previous tourists.
Camp sites were deserted. I guess the winter cold scares people off. Not us. We are hardcore! Enjoying a mug of hot cocoa at a camp site. Mornings were extremely cold!
Our camp site was right next to Lake Wanaka. Clark and I took an extremely short stroll since the lake was covered with fog and it was freezing.
Petrified wood.
A beautiful overlook as we approached Queenstown.
Queenstown claims to be "the adventure capitol of the world" where you can do anything from water sports (weather permitting), bungy jumping, snow sports (again weather permitting), parasailing, etc.
Walking around we spotted this monster. A massive backpack for all our travelling needs.
Since it was cold we thought it would be more wise to go on a jetboat ride than go bungy jumping. Our logic was a little off. However, the jet boat ride was incredible. The boat reached speeds up to 80 km/hr, did 360 degree spins and kept us in suspense as it maneuvered through narrow canyons. It was so beautiful, and though our faces were numb by the end, we had a wonderful time.
Clark trying to kiss the blonde next to him.
Back in Queenstown after the Shotover Jet ride, we explored the town before dusk. Here is a Kiwi bird statue. This is the closest we came to seeing a real one :(
The next morning we rode the gondola up the mountain that overlooks Queenstown. The views from the gondola and from the top were unbelievable.
And we watched some kids bungy jump.
We left Queenstown midday for the Fiordlands in the Southwestern part of the island. Te Anau was our first stop.
Unfortunately, it was drizzly, and low clouds covered much of the mountains.
Waiting out the rain as we wait to take our glow worm cave tour.
Mmmmmm...enjoying wasabi peas together. We are sophisticated like that.
It was pitch black by the time our boat departed to take us to the caves. Even though it was only 7 pm and we couldn't see any of the 25 minute boat ride to the caves, we were still super stoked.
I gotta admit, I'm grossed out by glow worms now that I know what they really are, but it was a sight to behold.
In the pitch black we decided to drive to a campsite close to the Milford Sound so that we wouldn't have to drive too much in the morning. This is our campsite and the scenery we awoke to. Outstanding mountainous views.
We were told the day before that during winter, Mitre Peak (the middle mountain) is typically covered with fog so that you cannot see the peak. As we arrived we saw a tiny bit of the peak so we took pictures right away just in case clouds covered it the rest of the day.
Gnats were unbelievable. The water is pretty stagnant with the exception of some tour boats. So gnats have every opportunity to breed in still water and annoy the hell out of tourists like us. Despite their constant annoyance, were were still able to take in the magnificent sites.
I just love self timer success!
The peak making another appearance for the day! We were so fortunate!
Homer tunnel on the side of the Milford Sound. This tunnel goes through a massive mountain and is rather scary. It's narrow and poorly lit and we just did not enjoy going through it.
Homer tunnel on the other side.
Mirror Lakes. Notice the reflections of the plants and mountains on the water.
My messy boy. Clark sure loved his french bread, hummus and ham sandwiches.
New Zealand is not only a country of one way bridges but also a country of sheep farms. And lot of them, everywhere.
After exploring the Fiordlands we drove clear over to Dunedin on the East coast. It was kind of chilly.
Clark looks miserable.
We walked down through sand dunes to a wildlife reserve where you can view penguins (if you are there at dawn or dusk. If not, forget about it. You won't see them.) and seals.
We got pretty close.
We tried not to invade their personal space. I was unsure if I could out run one if necessary.
Dunedin was just breathtaking. We loved this city.
As we expolored the downtown, Clark got friendly with a cat.
Catholic cathedral.
The town hall.
The railway station that is reminiscent of a ginger bread house.
A Presbyterian church.
Getting friendly with a penguin statue. This is the closest we came to seeing any penguins. Dang it.
An out of commission water fountain.
Dunedin is home to the World's Steepest Street. So we walked up it. Conquered it.
Yep, it's pretty steep. Even cars have a tough time getting up. A dude on a motorcycle couldn't make it all the way up.
This photo doesn't do the street justice.
Notice how the road kind of drops off?
After walking up the steepest street in the world we explored Dunedin's botanical gardens. Clark tried to quench his thirst with a shorter than usual drinking fountain.
Perfectly trimmed hedges.
The child statue is holding a water spewing croc. Nice.
The colorful leaves drew my attention and made me happy.
Doing the "old woman shuffle" across the botanical garden lawns.
"big tree fall hard." Totally appropriate quote from Wedding Crashers. Clark was impressed with it's girth.
Clark talking to a cockatoo. The cockatoo kept repeating, "have a cup of tea?" They are so sweet when they aren't so loud.
Driving back to Christchurch, we spotted this church and had to take a picture. We love churches!
Hello again, Christchurch.
Walking along Scarborough Beach.
Clark was thoroughly impressed with NZ laws banning dogs from parks and beaches. We never had to worry about untrained canines ruining our fun time.
Beautiful Christchurch.
Swinging away.
Heck yeah, Clark! We rocked this trip and had a great time exploring New Zealand's South Island. I hope someday we can return and hike the Trail to Mordor on the North Island. Maybe first I should read the Lord of the Rings books and/or watch the movies :)
