<3, Tara

Camper van video

P.S.  The pots, bowls, kitchen utensils, bedding, lamp, heater, etc was provided by the camper van rental company.

After our adventure in the great outdoors we headed north to the Coromandel peninsula, an area where New Zealander’s often vacation.  The area is filled with small towns (not to exceed a population of 1000) that were once hot spots for gold mining.  Nowadays people flock hear for the white sandy beaches, rain forest, hot springs, and laid back attitude.  The drive along the coastline was spectacular.  We’ve stayed in two different towns thus far and will spend the next two nights in two more towns before heading back to Auckland.

We fly out on Monday so it’s time to close the laptop and hit the road for our final days of adventure.

Peace and light,

Tara

Tara’s Flickr site

The drive along the east coast has been beautiful but it has also been quite interesting.  This area is one of the final frontiers and hardly sees tourists.  There were several marae (a sacred place of religious and social purpose for the Maori) along our journey.  Very BEAUTIFUL!  This area also contains the largest remaining tract of native forest (very touchy subject in NZ, only 15% of the native forest remains today).  The other cool thing about the east coast of the north island is that it is the first place in the entire world to see the sun rise each day and just about every town along the eastern seaboard claims that they are the very, very first.  When Jason and I first started this trip (eek, 28 days ago!!) we were waking up super early; early enough to see the sun rise (600a’ish).  Fast forward to the past week or so and you won’t catch either of us waking up before 800a (LOL).  We are still sleeping quite a bit, averging 11 plus hours on a light night.  Hey, there’s not much to do hear once the sunsets.  We usually eat dinner by 500p and if it’s a special day, take showers.  By 630p’ish we are in the camper getting ready for bed.  For the next couple of hours we stay up playing games, reading, etc.  Come 900p it’s bed time!

Well, it’s approaching 845p here and that means it’s almost bed time.  My eyes are getting sleepy (LOL).  Tomorrow brings a shorter driving day, southwest to Rotorua, a large lake and the location for several adventure activities that we have planned.  We will continue heading southwest to Taupo, the largest fresh water lake in all of New Zealand and  the largest fresh water lake in the entire southern hemisphere (240 sq. miles).  From there we will head northeast to the Coromandel peninsula (we here that’s where New Zealanders go to vacation) and then back to Auckland.  Only nine days left (boo hoo!!).

Hope all is well with everyone.  We miss and love everyone dearly!!

Tara

1.  Food in New Zealand is, how do I put it politically correct, not like I am used to at home.  I’m not sure if it is the ingredients, seasonings, or how the food is being cooked/handled but it just doesn’t agree with us (I’m talking pooty monster).  We started off way too bold and daring by trying traditional items like meat pies and sausages.  That didn’t end well.  Then we tamed it down and stuck with things we knew: fish-n-chips, steak, and roast sandwiches.  Those fared a little better.  Now we have gone as basic as you can … beans and rice bought from the grocery store and prepared by us in the campsite kitchen.  Honestly, we have had beans (from a can) and rice (microwaved from a pouch) for the last 15 out of 18 dinners.  And we both continue to crave beans and rice come mid-afternoon each day (LOL!!).

2.  I’m not sure if I mentioned in a previous post but since we are in the southern hemisphere the seasons are opposite than what they are back home.  That means it is late fall, almost winter here.  And the locals have said this has been the coldest start to a winter in New Zealand in 30 years.  We bought a thermometer a couple weeks back when we arrived in the south island because we could tell it was much colder here than it had been in the north island.  The two plus weeks we spent in the south island were filled with COLD mornings (can you say 28 degrees!).  We were aiming to spend lots of nights at Department of Conservation sites (no power, no facilities, but located in the MOST beautiful locations) but due to the frigid temperatures we have chickened out and spent every night at a campsite.  The campsites have power hookup for camper vans so we are able to plug in our small but oh so lovely heater and keep the camper to a manageable temperature.

3.  Speaking of the cold.  Have you ever taken a shower when it was so cold in the bathroom that you could see your own breath?  Well, I hadn’t either until this trip.  The bathroom facilities at campsites resemble what I had when I lived in the dorms in college.  Rows of toilets, rows of showers, and rows of sinks.  Very basic, no frills.  Except the difference between my college days and this trip is that these facilities are located outside with NO HEAT.  So now you can understand why taking a shower isn’t always the first thing on my mind.  I cry a little each time I enter the bathroom knowing that I am about to undress in an arctic tundra.  And to top it off, some campsites limit the amount of time for hot water (6-8 minutes).  Who can shower in that amount of time?!?  Therefore, I shower at the campsites that do not have restrictions.  That means if I have to go several days without a shower then so be it (LOL).

4.  This might be TIM (too much information) for some of you and if so, turn back now.  I decided that I wasn’t going to shave on this journey.  Mostly because it was just too much trouble and I didn’t want to be bothered.  I knew that I was going to be wearing pants and long-sleeve shirts, plus fleece sweaters and jackets so no one would even notice.  But what I didn’t know was what to expect since before now I have ALWAYS shaved.  Heck, in elementary school I used to get teased that I had more hair on my legs than the boys (LOL!) and honestly it was true.  My mom (HI MOM!!!!!) even nicknamed me “bear cub” because I had fur on my feet.  Well, I can honestly say that I have never seen hair so long on my legs and I have actually started pondering whether I should switch from soap to shampoo to clean my underarms (LOL!)

We left Nelson and continued driving west along the northern coast of the south island since more than a few locals we had met said that the weather was best there.  Our first stop was Kaiteriteri – cold & rainy (LOL) – but right on one of New Zealand’s prettiest beaches (powdery white sand, which is very unusual here).  Since the weather was less than perfect we decided to keep moving the next day and head farther west.  After several hours of driving through windy, STEEP mountain roads we landed in Pohara.  The drive was one of the scariest we had experienced since the roads in the south are much narrower than then north island and the weather had been much, much colder leaving patches of ice on the roads.  Since we are in no rush we have really taken our time on the roads, being as safe as possible.  I think the natives have nicknamed Jason “man who gets passed” since we routinely pull over to the side to let cars, trucks, buses, semi-trucks, cows, sheep, and turtles pass.  Pohara was a great location as it backs up to Abel Tasman National Park, New Zealand’s smallest national park but draws nearly a quarter of a million visitors a year.  We wandered into Abel Tasman via a designated trail and hiked our way through the native bush, a river, and a swing bridge to see a beautiful waterfall.  Jason actually said that that day had to be one of the best days in his life (awe!).  The forests in New Zealand differ a bit depending on what part of the country you are in.  Generally, they are mostly lush, containing some sub-tropical flora.  Over 20 percent of New Zealand is covered in national parks, forests, and reserves.  We rounded out our time in the northern section of the south island by heading back east and camping out a few more nights in Nelson.  The weather had been terribly cold since we arrived in the south island (upper 30′s in the morning and evenings, upper 40′s during the day) and we heard that farther south was much worse … rain, ice, snow, river flooding.  Since Nelson was a moderately sized town with a lovely city center we decided to wait out the bad weather there.

Nearly a week since crossing the Cook Straits we finally were heading farther south, into the heart of the south island.  Jason met a wonderful gentleman at our Nelson campsite that gave him all sorts of pointers on where to go and which routes to take.  All of which made my job as navigator much easier (yey!!).  We drove south hugging the east coast and made stops in Christchurch (3rd largest city in NZ, population 350,000) and Dunedin (home of the world’s steepest street, deep Scottish roots, and the oldest university in NZ).  Along the few day journey we also made time to check out a seal and pengiun colony (and it wasn’t in a zoo!).  The waters off the coast of New Zealand are rich with nutrients and a lot of seals, sea lions, penguins, and wales make there way here just to breed.  We then drove along the southern scenic route passing through the southern most city in the south island, Invercargill, and headed north hugging the west coast.  The route ended in Te Anau, a small town in the southwestern corner of the south island and one of the MOST beautiful places I have ever seen (either in person, in a movie, or in a photo).  It’s late fall here so the trees are turning the most magnificent colors of yellow, orange, and red with a great many keeping their vibrant green color.  Te Anau is set alongside Lake Te Anau, the largest lake in the south island and the second largest lake in all of New Zealand, and is a hub for forays into the wilderness.  Hiking, mountain biking, kayaking, ski diving, bungy jumping, cave rafting, and on and on.  On the western outskirts of Te Anau sits Fiordland, the largest national park in New Zealand and home of the iconic Milford Sound.  One of the few things that we “planned” on doing while in NZ was seeing Milford Sound.  So we jumped at the opportunity while in Te Anau.  The most affordable option for us was taking a bus into Miford and then hopping on a cruise of Milford Sound (there are helicopter and small airplane options but they run a small fortune).  The trip was nothing less than breathtaking.  After a couple days in Te Anau we headed to Queenstown, the most popular hub for wilderness adventure (so popular it’s known as the adrenaline capital of the world).  They have two bungy companies in the town that routinely compete for the highest bungy jump in the world.  The city center itself is cosy, quaint, but filled with pubs, eateries, and boutiques.  I’ve never been to a ski resort in Switzerland but I have a suspicion that Queenstown would fit in perfectly.  The town is also located on a beautiful lake but more importantly it is situated just of the Southern Alps (yes, the mountain range is named after the Alps in Europe).  The Southern Alps are not as tall as their European namesake (Mt. Cook is the tallest at 3,800 meters; 1,000 meters shy of the tallest mountain in the Alps, Mont Blanc) but they are longer in length stretching the entire length of the south island.  They also contain some 360 glaciers.  And I have to say the snow capped mountains are absolutely stunning!

Leaving Te Anau and Queenstown was not easy, we could have spent our entire six weeks there.  But we continued our journey of the south island heading further north along the west coast and made stops in Fox Glacier (made two day trips to see two different million year old glaciers), Greymouth, and Westport.  I should also mention that the drive from Queenstown to Fox Glacier took us over part of the Southern Alps and through the most amazing, lush, tropical forests.  It was EXACTLY as you see in LOTR (Lord of the Rings).  During this multi-day journey we made time for several hikes, another viewing of a seal colony, and tour of a cool rock formation (aka. Pancake Rocks).  Completing the tour of the entire south island coast line, we headed north, back to Picton.  After a night’s rest we hoped on the ferry back to Wellington and the north island. This time I fared the boat ride much better thanks to my little friend, Dramamine.  Jason, being the brave soul that he is, didn’t indulge and found himself feeling a bit queasy halfway into the ride.  The winds wip through the Cook Straits, known as one of the most dangerous and unpredictable waters in the world, causing rough waters and heavy swells.  The ferry is HUGE but it still gets tossed from side to side from the gusts.

We arrived in Wellington yesterday and have spent our time since exploring the capital of New Zealand.  There are actually more cafes per capita in Wellington than in New York city.  Half of today was spent wondering through the Te Papa, the museum of New Zealand, which has left us with a new appreciation for this young and evolving country.

Tomorrow we will head north and complete our journey of the north island by exploring the eastern side of the island.  We only have 12 days left and so much to see!

Thanks to all of you who are following along!  And a BIG thanks for the comments you are leaving.  It is so wonderful to hear from family and friends as I am VERY homesick these days.  Please take a moment to check out some of the pictures we have taken of this remarkable land.

Love to you all,

Tara

Tara’s Flickr site

Places we’ve been:  a list of the places we have stayed with a link to Google maps for pictures, street view, etc.

Interesting things:  a list of “different” things that I have observed about New Zealand

I will continue to add information to these sections so check back often!!