NZ - Across the Country Again

We woke up in the morning, and despite the crummy weather, decided to head back to the blow holes. High tide was 11 a.m., and we were told that it would be a big miss to leave without seeing it. We made it around 10 a.m. - a little early, but still good to hear the enormous booms of crashing waves followed by a huge spray of water above our heads. Everyone cheered for the good ones. It was like a little celebration of water. I loved it.

Having seen no penguins, and being tired of the rain, we decided to move East. There was a point in the middle of the trek across the country that we had to decide whether to keep going to Blenheim (wine country) or head North to Nelson. While Nelson would be amazing, it would mean more driving. So with resignation, we stayed moving Eastward.

After a while, we were tired of driving. So we got out and had some lunch. We noticed Buller Gorge Swing Bridge on the map nearby, and decided to check it out. And we were not disappointed. There was a really cool swing bridge over the Buller River.

On the other side, we followed the pathways around to see some cool fauna and mining equipment. There was even a really old, giant tree. But the highlight was the way across the river. There would be no swing bridge again for us. It was zip line or bust. And away we went.

After this, we happily got back in our car and continued our way East, ultimately ending up in a campground in Spring Creek, just North of Blenheim. (Hello, wine country.) We walked up the road to a cute little pub - Junction Hotel and Bar, where we ordered our meals. We got accused of being Aucklanders when Beerman tried ordering non-mainstream beers. It was a funny experience we enjoyed thoroughly. I still can't believe I didn't document the food. Darn.

NZ - Up, up, and to the rain

We woke up in Fox Glacier and booked a helicopter ride up to the glacier right away. The clouds and rain were coming, and we knew it would be our best chance. Being the only booking that day so far, the car arrived within 15 minutes and whisked us away to the helicopter.

The glacier itself was immense and beautiful.

It was incredibly humbling to see how far it had receded in just the past 5 years. Something to take home and think about, for sure.

We tried to see some other things in the area, but the driving rain and wind made our decision for us, and we got back in the RV and headed further up the coast. We stopped at an old bridge in Whataroa for lunch. The guide books told us to be stunned by the amazing blues. It was okay. I think the cold and rain and sand flies, as well as the contrast to the lake area of Wanaka and Pukaki, unfortunately made me less than amazed.

But then we pressed forward, along the Tasman Sea, passing Hokitika and Greymouth.

Finally, we stopped at Punakaiki for the night. It was our last chance to see any penguins, if it was to happen at all. Unfortunately, we didn't see any. It is out of season, and they only come in to shore after dark and leave before dawn. We tried, but unfortunately, this wasn't in the cards for us. We did, however, get a chance to check out the blow holes at the Pancake Rocks. It was low tide, so while beautiful, it was less than what we were told to expect.

We camped for the night nearby, and endured the most driving and loud rain and wind we'd experienced so far. Between that, and the fact that the people we'd been encountering were less than helpful, I'd started to think this wasn't the place for us to stay long.

There and Back Again

In what was the longest Tuesday of my life (literally and figuratively), we made it home at about 1 a.m. this morning. The good news was that every single flight we had was on time. The bad news is we now have to adjust to this new time. But as Beerman said yesterday (was that really only yesterday?) as we started the long slog back home - Not a soul is going to feel sorry for us. And that's okay, because we had a pretty nice time of it the past 16 days.

I will go back and document the bits of it. Because while it may be tedious for you, dear reader, I want to record everything while it's still fresh. But today, I give you the Gold-Silver-Bronze of my version of our trip. Because while the entire trip was a pretty fantastic adventure, some were more fantastical than others. So here goes...

BRONZE
New Zealand wine country was something I'd talked about getting to for at least 15 years now. And it did not disappoint. It was completely beautiful, the people in this area were lovely, and even the sheep were serene. We had lots of laughs and a really good time in this area.

SILVER
The snorkeling in Fiji was pretty tremendous. Not only was the water warm, seeing the fish and floating around was incredible. Now the raging sunburns that equatorial sun gave us regardless as to the amount of sunscreen we slathered on was not so nice, and we continue to molt to this day. .But the snorkeling was nothing short of amazing, and I'm incredibly grateful Beerman discovered the Gipsea as a way to see Fiji.

GOLD
The overall experience in Kaiakoura was amazing. Discovering the seal pups playing in the waterfall, C-man's excitement over seeing an albatross (on his checklist of to-dos), Taiki the sperm whale breaching, seeing hundreds of dolphins swimming and jumping, and even the campground we stayed at were all fantastic. It was an unforgettable highlight of it all.

Be Right Back

Sorry I've been mostly MIA on this trip. When there is a signal for internet, it's been dodgy. And they charge you by the minute here. (What happened to free internet for everyone, Mark Zuckerberg?!) Anyhow, we've made our way from Christchurch to Wanaka to Queenstown to Wanaka to Fox Glacier to Punakaia to Blenheim to Kaiakoura and back to Christchurch. We've had loads of amazing and incredible adventures in between. From jet boats to glaciers to vineyards to go karts. We always each pick our Gold-Silver-Bronze moments of a trip, and C-man can't even decide what they are, there are so many. So to say it's been grand is an understatement.

I promise to catch up on the details once we're back. And unfortunately, that's coming soon. We're packing bags up tonight, because tomorrow, we make the long slog home to Milwaukee via Fiji, LA, and Phoenix.

Cheers!

NZ- Westward

We started our day on the north end of Lake Wanaka. We’d found a nice campsite for the night, and got to see a lovely sunset over the lake. Beerman and C-man discovered perfect walking sticks  – C-man’s was even carved out a bit – so they could pretend to be Gandalf.

In the morning, we got up and headed  Northwest to the Western coast of New Zealand. We had no plans, other than to go north on Highway 6. And it turned out perfectly. After breakfast and dumping the RV’s gray water (gross – totally Beerman’s job), we saw waterfalls and beautiful views everywhere in Mount Aspiring Park.

Some were roadside.

Some were at Blue Pools.

Some were at Roaring Billy Falls.

Some were under one-laned bridges.

Then at Monro Beach, we got out and decided to do the walk for a bit. It was a gorgeous walk, with loads of ferns and fantail birds and a great swing bridge. 

At the end, there was the Tasman Sea. Later in the year, it’s a penguin breeding ground. But for now, it’s just a lovely view.

Unfortunately, the sand flies sent us on our way, and we continued North on Highway 6. We saw more gorgeous views, and eventually made our way to the Fox Glacier, where we are going to camp for the night. After dinner, we walked a few minutes down the road, and into the local forest which was full of glow worms. It was so cool to see! It really was a great end to an extremely nice day. And tomorrow - glaciers.

NZ- Adventure-town

We woke up in Queenstown today. After a little debate about whether we should go across the lake and see the sheep farm or stay around town, we decided to stay in town. The sheep farm, while my preference, would take four hours, and the others in the RV voted against it. So instead, we went to the Kiwi Bird Sanctuary. It was a fantastic little birding habitat and conservation spot where we learned about tatuaras, kiwis and other indigenous New Zealand birds.

After a nice lunch, we headed over to the Jet Shot Over Boats. Since this is totally not my thing, Beerman and C-man got in the red boat of death and shot up and down the river, through the canyons, spraying water.

They were thrilled.

I was completely content with my gorge photos.

From there, we moved on to check out the bungy jumpers off the Karau Gorge Bridge. C-man really wanted to do it, but knew he’d chicken out at the top. So we settled for watching the crazies.

Then we moved a bit further north, stopping at a lovely cheesery and winery, picking up items for our dinner. C-man fell in love with the smoked cheddar. Note to self: Don't eat another man's smoked cheddar.

Along the way north along Highway 6, I made the boys stop for some photos. This is Lake Dunstan in a lovely reflective moment.

And Lake Hawea.

And now, we're heading North as far as we can go until we hit the West coast or dark - whichever comes first. It's definitely been a trip of adventures. And with some adventure fun behind us, we're ready for some whales and seals and penguins or whatever finds us. (Sheep, most likely). It's a nice place, this New Zealand.

NZ- From tree to trees

Day 3 in New Zealand, we got up and drove toward Lake Wanaka. I’ve been wanting to see the lone tree in the lake I’ve seen so many photos of. So we headed there and, parked the RV on the shoreline. While I took a bazillion photos of my tree, Beerman made us breakfast. I took my photos, and then we ate breakfast in front of the tree. It was really, really perfect on a lovely Fall morning. (Fall - I know, right?!)

From there, we drove a bit further down a bazillion (only a slight exaggeration) switchbacks, to get to Arrowtown.

Along the way, we stopped at a roadside stand for some eggs. Beerman had eyed up a few stands prior to this, and just couldn't help himself when he saw this one. "This is why we're doing this by RV!" We got 6 duck eggs and moved forward.

Arrowtown is a beautiful little area, but we moved on pretty quickly. Because when you’re traveling with an 11 year old, art galleries and scenery and yarn stores aren’t really how you’re occupying your time.

So we pressed on toward Queenstown.

And if we didn’t know it before, this was totally an 11 year old boy's speed - quirky and fast and crazy. We found a nearby campground, plugged in (we're beginning to understand how these campgrounds work now), and walked the 5 minutes into town.

We promptly booked a zipline tour for later in the day. After seeing a little of the town area, we made our way to the gondola, which took us up the mountain with some gorgeous views.

When we got to the zipline, it was just C-man and me along with our two guides. Apparently the 5 p.m. tour is the one to take if you want to be alone! C-man was quite nervous, but as soon as he went down one zip, he was hooked (literally and figuratively).

After we were done, we went to the Kiwi Haka show. It was a quick show, but we all got to learn the dances. C-man and Beerman got to learn how to do the Haka – something C-man is keen on trying before his wrestling matches now.

We’ve been debating whether to move on to Milford Sound or stay here in Queenstown. Milford Sound has penguins and wildlife and fjords, which would be fantastic. The problem is getting there and back would take a minimum 2 days, with quite a few hours of hard driving. If it were just Beerman and me, I think we’d do it because it's supposed to be so fantastic.

But with an 11 year old who is game for just about anything but asking to 'do more stuff, not just look', we’ve decided to stay here and skip it. It will be really nice to not drive a long ways tomorrow, and just let C-man enjoy some crazy stuff that New Zealand has to offer. I suppose, with this sweet face, who can say no?