A Truly Great Walk...

Abel Tasman National Park, New Zealand
(Anchorage Camp)

May 5, 2007
S 40.57.372
E 173.03.336

The drive to the trailhead took thirty minutes from Motueka. All of us were very excited to get on the trail and finally hike through one of the many National Parks in New Zealand. We ate our bananas, situated our packs one last time and set out on our journey right at 10:00 AM—our goal time!

We planned for all types of weather, but luckily we only had to deal with brilliant sunshine and scattered clouds. As we looked toward the bay from the trailhead the sun turned the water a sparkling greenish blue; we were in for a special day.

The well-marked trail escorted us along the coastal range through dark, lush, green fern groves. The gradual undulations along the footpath provided us enough height to peer through the cool, shady forest and catch an occasional glimpse of the luminous water to our right. It seemed at every turn there was a new plant, stream or waterfall to admire. Crystal streams ran under perfectly placed footbridges while brilliant red toadstools with white polka dots, straight out of Alice in Wonderland, grew beneath massive silver ferns. At times I felt like I had to pinch myself; there were moments where I thought I was in a dream.

The trail was not physically demanding, a few ups-and-downs, nothing the four of us couldn’t handle. The toughest section of the day was a steep ascent after lunch, but well worth the effort. We found a small trail that led us down to a lonely golden sand beach in a quiet cove. We parked ourselves on a couple large pieces of driftwood and enjoyed a few slices of cheese and salami before powering back up to the main trail towards our destination for the night, Anchorage Campsite.

The final few kilometers of the hike were on top of a ridge overlooking the bay. The lush fauna we were in awe of earlier was now scrub brush. The terrain was more desert like, with hard unforgiving soil, both on the knees and the plants. Dustin took note of the contrasting landscape, explaining the new terrain reminded him of his hunting days with his Grandpa near Arbuckle, CA.

When we arrived at Anchorage, we still had a few hours of light left and took advantage of the time to explore the beach at low-tide. Marc and I took off on our own while Shelby and Dustin relaxed below the radiant sun on the beach. At the west end of camp were small caves obviously created by the surge of the sea over thousands of years. A few names were etched into the stone, including a few memorials, for what appeared to be fishermen. The dates on the majority of the rocks were from the 1960’s and a few from as early as the 1930’s. One of the names, MATT, was now spelled in barnacles, after the mollusks found the deep etching of letters to be a suitable home.

Overall, the day was spectacular. The landscape today resembled the pictures we ogle over in Lonely Planet and on the Discovery Channel. I know we only scratched the surface of the South Island today with more spectacular sights to come.

Road Trip Part II...

Motueka, New Zealand

May 4, 2007
S 41.06.259
E 173.00.836

The first ferry from the North Island to the South Island left at 8:00 AM. We opted to take the earliest one possible to allow enough time to make it from Picton to Motueka, the gateway to Abel Tasman National Park. The hike through the park will be the last big event with Shelby and Dustin before we part ways; allowing them to explore the South before flying home next Saturday.

The Bluebridge ferry ride from the North Island to the South Island took us along the Cook Straight before weaving in between several of the smaller islands en route to Picton. The water was calm, almost soothing and the aquamarine blue was glorious against the green mini islands that we continued to see along the way. At one point a school of dolphins played in the wake of the ferry, too far in the distance for us to see them clearly.

We got off of the ferry a little before Noon. We quickly grabbed our packs and headed to the rental car agency—Road Trip Part 2! However, we downgraded the car from the Territory to a Corolla since the four of us will only be together for a few more days. This made for a very tight fit with our packs and four of us in the Corolla. We figured we could gut it out since the car will be sitting while we hike.

During the trip from Picton to Motueka, we made a stop in Nelson to take care of a few logistics for the trek, and to let Shelby and Dustin stretch their legs—they were real troopers during the two hour trip; crammed and all.

We are taking Shelby and Dustin on their first real trek on Saturday. We will be out of pocket for a few days, but check back soon to see how it went on the trail.

A Wonderful Dinner with Good Friends...

Wellington, New Zealand

May 3, 2007
S 41.17.368
E 174.46.951

The food in New Zealand has been surprisingly better than originally expected. There are many choices due to the diverse culture on the islands. We have visited the local Malaysian, Indian, Korean, Thai, and Turkish restaurants, all of which were very good. However, last night we visited the Matterhorn in Wellington, which boasts local cuisine with fresh, organic produce and meat.

The Matterhorn was featured in a recent issue of the Daily Candy and was forwarded to me by my good friend Angela. I decided to look the place up before we got into Wellington and made sure it was on our dining itinerary.

The entrance, down an alley off of Cuba Street was a little awkward. We requested a table and were told we could make ourselves comfortable at the bar; a table would be available in about 30 minutes.

The restaurant boasts a lumberjack theme, but I found it much more elegant. The bar was very beautiful and stretched at least 25 feet. Lacquered and stained wood, mahogany in color, covered the walls and ceiling. The mahogany color was accentuated by subdued golden and copper colored lights placed perfectly behind the three levels of bottles behind the bar. After asking, we found out they use eco-friendly pine on the bar and ceilings, stained to give the appearance of mahogany.

We all ordered a cocktail and sat back enjoyed watching the three bartenders run up and down the bar making everything from a Blood Orange Martini, to a Margarita with fresh squeezed limes, to a perfectly poured bottle of Duvel. All drinks were mixed, stirred and shaken by hand; there were no electric mixers or pre-measured concoctions. These guys were pros.

After a few drinks we sat down at our table. The menu included several dishes New Zealand is famous for such as lamb, fish and beef. After the excellent beef in Argentina, I figured I had to compare the New Zealand beef.

The beef was cooked medium rare, served on top of oxtail with chorizo and chickpeas. There was a spicy chipotle butter sauce on top of the steak that melted, mixing with the flavors of the oxtail, chorizo and chickpeas. The preparation was totally different than the simple salt and pepper on the steak in Argentina, but the tenderness and flavor was comparable.

The other dishes were equally tasty. Marc and Shelby both had the daily fish, which was tuna, served with little soft, fluffy gnocchi. Dustin had the chicken which flaked off the bone. We shared a tasty bottle of local wine to go with the local food, a 2005 Lamont Pinot Noir.

This was our best meal in New Zealand so far, and probably our best meal with Shelby and Dustin. We figured the next few nights in Abel Tasman will be rice and more rice with a little soup mix.

It was a great way to spend an evening… great food and great friends.

A Day in Wellington...

Wellington, New Zealand

May 2, 2007
S 41.17.368
E 174.46.951

Our mission for the day was to secure our Australian Visas prior to departing to the South Island. US Citizens must obtain a Visa prior to arrival in Australia. We assumed it wouldn’t be a big hassle to get our Visas during our stay in Wellington.

We walked about two miles north of central Wellington to consulate-row. When we arrived we discovered a large blue sign with white lettering on the Australian High Consulate security gate; essentially explaining they don’t issue Visas in Wellington… Visas are ONLY issued in Auckland. Shit! Frustrated, we jotted down an Internet address posted on the sign regarding visa procedures and did an about-face back towards the town center.

I was panicking a little, while Marc assured me it was a small issue and we would be fine; “it’s not like we were stuck in Burma without visas.” I was frustrated because I knew we should’ve done our research prior to our latest departure from the US.

After making the trek back to the town center we found an Internet café. After a few minutes of “digging” we discovered that since we are US citizens we can apply for an Australian Visa online. We paid our $20 electronically and our main task was completed. Marc gave me a “see I told you so smile” and off we went to explore the city.

The afternoon started with a ride on the cable car up to Wellington Botanical Gardens overlooking the city. The much hyped Fall colors were out in force, affording us several photo opportunities as we wound our way down the footpaths of the garden, across streams, over bridges and around ponds filled with mallard ducks.

We passed through a vibrant, healthy rose garden with every color of rose possible. My favorite was the Orange-Lemon; a hybrid with orange and yellow swirls. We were surprised at the tenacity of the roses still thriving in the garden in the Fall afternoon and could only imagine how voluminous the garden must be in the heart of the summer.

After we captured several pictures from the rose garden, we continued down the path back towards the city. We stumbled upon an old cemetery which was partially excavated when the city of Wellington decided to build a highway through the graveyard. Approximately 3000 graves were displaced and relocated to another part of the city. We zig-zagged our way down and through the historic cemetery, stopping occasionally to read headstones dating back to the mid 1800’s. The Autumn colors and weathered wrought-iron fencing surrounding each site was pleasant to the eye, but I’m sure there are several unsettled spirits in the area.

As we exited the cemetery on The Terrace street we found a small house that was still inhabited and overlooked the graves (possibly the home of the previous caretaker)… I’m sure the residents have some good stories to tell. I guess we will never know.

Road Trip Part 1: The End...

Wellington, New Zealand

May 1, 2007
S 41°17.368
E 174°46.951

After returning the Ford Territory to Hertz we determined we covered at least 2086 KM (1293 miles) in one week. We saw the Far, Far North, 90-Mile Beach, Bay of Islands, Auckland, Rotorua, Lake Taupo, Napier, and now we are in the far South… Wellington.

Driving is really the only way to see New Zealand. Unfortunately, the highways on the North Island are only two lanes, often very curvy and at times unpaved; thus, making driving times significantly longer than most folks from the States would expect. Imagine driving 1300 miles along Highway 1 (PCH), toss in some unpaved roads, rain and then driving on the wrong side of the road… that’s New Zealand.

The four of us passed the time on the road playing car games. Our favorite game was Six-Degrees of Kevin Bacon—the game where you link another celebrity to Kevin Bacon. We took in the scenery, especially the autumn colors that brightened up the countryside; even in the rain.

Of course we saw several small (and very small) towns during our leisurely drive, all of which started to look the same.

Each town we passed through had a minimum of one Fish and Chips shop that usually sold Chinese food, a bakery/café, a video rental store, and a few quaint shops selling antiques, New Zealand souvenirs, or other trinkets. The larger towns had a McDonald’s, KFC, Subway, and if really upscale, a Burger King. Most store fronts were nondescript, making them easier to blend together with a similar store in the next town, or even next door.

Each town had at least one immaculately manicured park with a playground; however, we never saw any children taking advantage of the playgrounds—even on the weekend. The free public bathrooms along the way were also very clean, cleaner than any public bathroom I have ever been in at home. I would imagine a Kiwi would gasp in horror if they walked into the public restrooms in Washington Square… it would be fun to see ;-)

We made the final 300 KM of our journey on the North Island, ending up in Wellington. We'll stay here for three nights before heading to the South Island. I think all of us our ready for a break from the car, and our legs are in desperate need of exercise. We’ll get the exercise for sure, especially since we turned in the rental car and plan on seeing Wellington on foot—the best way to see any City.

Rain and the Road...

Napier, New Zealand

April 30, 2007

Drip, drip, drip… was the sound of rain hitting our tent when we woke up this morning, and it meant another day of rain. We’ve been pretty lucky over the past week; it has only rained at night, allowing us to explore the island during the day without getting wet. Unfortunately, this morning we had to put away a soaking wet tent—at least we weren’t floating on water like last night!

We packed up the truck and headed out of the Holiday Park. We decided to grab some breakfast in town and come up with an alternate plan to our day hike in Te Urewera. The trailhead was about 140 KM of out of the way, and we didn’t really want to hike in the driving rain.

We opted to head towards Lake Taupo and explore a few of the sites in the area before heading to Napier, our final stop for the night. We stopped at Huku Falls near Lake Taupo to view the “spectacular” falls accordingly to the New Zealand Tourist Board. The falls lacked, well, a fall, and instead the water roared down the river more like a Class 5 rapid. A couple of tourists actually approached Shelby and I on the trail asking us to point them towards the water fall; we explained the “waterfall” was actually the rapids they just passed. Oh well, at least we got to take a break and walk around in the rain for awhile.

After leaving the falls we took a quick drive to the next New Zealand natural attraction. Large craters, emitting plumes of steam, are scattered across Crater of the Moon park. Vigorous growing fauna in all shades of green surrounded the red, orange, yellow, and blue mineral deposits in the bubbling pools. As we walked through the park in our Tevas the earth below our feet was actually warm; reminding us that the WARNING signs in the park were posted for a reason. The views were spectacular; however, we couldn’t help imagining the vivid colors on a sunny day… maybe next time.

We left Crater of the Moon and continued our Road Trip towards Napier. I continued to admire the fall colors as we drove down the two lane highway. The leaves were displaying their bright Autumn colors; something we definitely don’t see in California.

We finally made it to Napier and found a great room at the local Top 10 Holiday Park. The room slept four, had a kitchen and a bathroom and plenty of space to dry-out our tents... pure luxury! We decided we would relax and stay “home” and have a nice home cooked meal. We sat around the table and drank several beers, including the beer from Sawmill Brewery, and just recovered from a long drive and a day of rain.

We’ll cover more mileage tomorrow as we head to Wellington, but hopefully it will be without rain.

Ewww...What is That Smell?

Roturua, New Zealand

April 29, 2007
S 38.08.172
E 176.14.369

Marc and I had two top priorities for the day—update the blog (internet access has been spotty in the rural areas of the North Island) and do laundry. Our towels were completely covered in mud after the floating tent incident and in desperate need of a wash. Dustin and Shelby had wash to do as well, so that consumed most of our morning. We were all fine with a little relaxing after two hardcore days in the car.

After the chores were finished, we headed out on a walking tour of Rotorua. The mid-sized town (10,000 pop.), by New Zealand standards, is famous for its thermal baths, hot mud pits and Maori culture—the walking tour included all of the above.

Prior to coming to Rotorua, I was warned that the sulfur smell leaves one holding their breathe until they reach the next town—I get the point. The town reeks of rotten eggs, the most pungent farts and the smelliest blue cheese all mixed together making Pepe Le pu smell like roses.

During the walking tour we quickly realized we wouldn’t get used to the smell, so our only option was to move onto the next town. We are off tomorrow to hike in Te Urewera National Park.