Sunday 7 Oct—
After another very early wakeup, we drove to Fox Glacier to find another event, our heli-hike, cancelled. Bummer!! After making the decision to not roll the dice and see if the noon flight may or may not go, we signed up for the half day hike up the glacier.
We did a 2+ hour hike through temperate rainforest before finally coming to the massive 13km long glacier running right down the middle. Amazing!
We were so excited to get on and explore, but I was most excited about wearing crampons!! A tick of my lifetime to do list!
After our hike, we drove onto Westport, making a brief stop at Punakaiki to see the pancake rocks and some seals.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Saturday 6 Oct—
As we started our day in Wanaka, it became obvious to us that the ski mountains had gotten another huge dump of snow. The skiers that we are, we could no longer ignore that we should be taking advantage and heading to the mountains. We didn´t have the proper clothes, but thought we could make due with wearing all of our layers, so we turned around the campervan and made a beeline to Treble Cone.
After a beautiful and traffic-free drive, we got a very long driveway up to Treble Cone Mountain with a very big ¨Closed for Season¨sign across. Hmm, we were wondering why we were the only ones going skiing. Apparently we should have paid better attention to the snow report on the radio. Yes, they did receive lots of snow, but they weren´t actually only – small glitch.
So after our failed attempt to ski, we got back on the road towards the glaciers. We had a very windy, but otherwise nice drive to Franz Josef (the smaller of the 2 glaciers) and were able to still get in a short walk around glacier before heading back to the van for a posh wine & cheese night.
As we started our day in Wanaka, it became obvious to us that the ski mountains had gotten another huge dump of snow. The skiers that we are, we could no longer ignore that we should be taking advantage and heading to the mountains. We didn´t have the proper clothes, but thought we could make due with wearing all of our layers, so we turned around the campervan and made a beeline to Treble Cone.
After a beautiful and traffic-free drive, we got a very long driveway up to Treble Cone Mountain with a very big ¨Closed for Season¨sign across. Hmm, we were wondering why we were the only ones going skiing. Apparently we should have paid better attention to the snow report on the radio. Yes, they did receive lots of snow, but they weren´t actually only – small glitch.
So after our failed attempt to ski, we got back on the road towards the glaciers. We had a very windy, but otherwise nice drive to Franz Josef (the smaller of the 2 glaciers) and were able to still get in a short walk around glacier before heading back to the van for a posh wine & cheese night.
Friday, October 5, 2007
Campervan Tour - from Q'town to Wanaka
Friday 5 Oct—
With another morning back in Q’town, we were happy to start our morning with brekkie at Vudu Café which was really great. Kind of became our favourite in Q´town!
Then we took off on a spectacular drive to Wanaka via Cromwell (due to bad roads thru the mountains). Thinking we might be fifth time lucky, we had finally cancelled our skydive in Q’town all together and rebooked for Wanaka, but alas, it was cancelled again. This was the deciding factor for us. There was someone that didn´t want us to go, and we were not about to tempt fate anymore. So, with a quick change of plan, we headed over for a couple brews Wanaka beerworks then onto to Puzzleworld for Kyle to play with all the other kids. J Actually, we both wanted to to do the big maze but it kept raining so we didn´t give it a go.
After settling in , we took a little walk to take in the sights of Wanaka, which ultimately led us to Speights Ale House for a yummy, American-sized dinner of ribs, ¨”chicken parcels”, and banoffee pie. Who knew that I would like banoffee pie so much?? I´m in love with it, and will spend the rest of the trip looking to have it again!! Yummy!!!
With another morning back in Q’town, we were happy to start our morning with brekkie at Vudu Café which was really great. Kind of became our favourite in Q´town!
Then we took off on a spectacular drive to Wanaka via Cromwell (due to bad roads thru the mountains). Thinking we might be fifth time lucky, we had finally cancelled our skydive in Q’town all together and rebooked for Wanaka, but alas, it was cancelled again. This was the deciding factor for us. There was someone that didn´t want us to go, and we were not about to tempt fate anymore. So, with a quick change of plan, we headed over for a couple brews Wanaka beerworks then onto to Puzzleworld for Kyle to play with all the other kids. J Actually, we both wanted to to do the big maze but it kept raining so we didn´t give it a go.
After settling in , we took a little walk to take in the sights of Wanaka, which ultimately led us to Speights Ale House for a yummy, American-sized dinner of ribs, ¨”chicken parcels”, and banoffee pie. Who knew that I would like banoffee pie so much?? I´m in love with it, and will spend the rest of the trip looking to have it again!! Yummy!!!
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Te Anau to Doubtful Sound
Thursday 4 Oct--
We woke nice an early after a remarkably good night´s sleep. (The rain tapping on the roof all night didn´t hurt.) Kyle made some great bacon & egg rolls in the campervan, and then we were off to join our Doubtful Sound cruise out of Manapouri.
It was a gray and rainy day (as are 90% of days in Fiordland apparently), so we were all geared up for the wet. And wet is what we got, along with a good dose of windy.
Along the way, we met a really nice couple from Texas that were currently living in Hong Kong (yes, other Americans do sometimes leave the US...) by the names of Jon & Tiffany. We had a great time passing the afternoon and taking in the views. As it was so cold outside, much fo our time was inside the boat telling stories. Good fun!
That evening we returned to Te Anau for some cheap chinese food and were advised that bad weather was on the way and that we might want to head out tonight rather than wait for morning, so we got on the road to Queenstown.
On arriving back into Q'town, we headed right to the Lakeside Holiday Park to settle in (the ladies were very excited to upgrade us to the "honeymoon suite" (a parking spot closer to the bathroom). Haha. Ah, we didn´t care as we headed straight out to mingle with the locals over a beer at the Buffalo Club. (Cool little bar with a big open fireplace in the middle of it.)
We woke nice an early after a remarkably good night´s sleep. (The rain tapping on the roof all night didn´t hurt.) Kyle made some great bacon & egg rolls in the campervan, and then we were off to join our Doubtful Sound cruise out of Manapouri.
It was a gray and rainy day (as are 90% of days in Fiordland apparently), so we were all geared up for the wet. And wet is what we got, along with a good dose of windy.
Along the way, we met a really nice couple from Texas that were currently living in Hong Kong (yes, other Americans do sometimes leave the US...) by the names of Jon & Tiffany. We had a great time passing the afternoon and taking in the views. As it was so cold outside, much fo our time was inside the boat telling stories. Good fun!
That evening we returned to Te Anau for some cheap chinese food and were advised that bad weather was on the way and that we might want to head out tonight rather than wait for morning, so we got on the road to Queenstown.
On arriving back into Q'town, we headed right to the Lakeside Holiday Park to settle in (the ladies were very excited to upgrade us to the "honeymoon suite" (a parking spot closer to the bathroom). Haha. Ah, we didn´t care as we headed straight out to mingle with the locals over a beer at the Buffalo Club. (Cool little bar with a big open fireplace in the middle of it.)
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Campervan Tour - from Q'town to Te Anau
Wed 3 October --
We picked up campervan in Queenstown and set off on our campervan adventure. As we got the one with the toilet and shower, it´s very big. I´m kind of thinking that we should have gone for the smaller one as neither of us is very keen on emptying the chemical toilet... yuck. I do lots of icky things as a nurse, but that doesn´t get me too excited.
As it´s standard, and I´m very good with standard and not willing to take the lucky first go, Kyle takes the first turn driving as we head out to Te Anau (the town that you usually base yourself in to go to Milford Sound). As there as been so much rain in NZ, there has been quite a bit of snow in the mountains and highlands and we were told that the road to Milford Sound was closed today and may be closed again tomorrow. Immediately upon arriving into town, we are indeed informed that it is the road to Milford Sound is officially closed until 2pm, which means that our cruise is definitely cancelled again. Bugger!!
With that knowledge, we immediately switched the plan and booked onto the cruise to Doubtful Sound. It takes a full day (a boat, overland on a bus for an hour, then another boat into the sound). We have heard though that it is more beautiful and less touristed so we´re happy to proceed.
Then we took off on a nice walk around the lake. It has turned into a remarkably sunny and beautiful afternoon, and a nice long walk is just right.
After returning back to the holiday park (which is much nicer thanI had expected... which lots of hairdryers and underfloor heating in the modern, spotless bathrooms), we cooked first campervan meal - our favorite chili recipe!! YUM! (To give credit where credit is due, it´s a blend of Auntie Sue´s and Bill´s chili recipes.)
We picked up campervan in Queenstown and set off on our campervan adventure. As we got the one with the toilet and shower, it´s very big. I´m kind of thinking that we should have gone for the smaller one as neither of us is very keen on emptying the chemical toilet... yuck. I do lots of icky things as a nurse, but that doesn´t get me too excited.
As it´s standard, and I´m very good with standard and not willing to take the lucky first go, Kyle takes the first turn driving as we head out to Te Anau (the town that you usually base yourself in to go to Milford Sound). As there as been so much rain in NZ, there has been quite a bit of snow in the mountains and highlands and we were told that the road to Milford Sound was closed today and may be closed again tomorrow. Immediately upon arriving into town, we are indeed informed that it is the road to Milford Sound is officially closed until 2pm, which means that our cruise is definitely cancelled again. Bugger!!
With that knowledge, we immediately switched the plan and booked onto the cruise to Doubtful Sound. It takes a full day (a boat, overland on a bus for an hour, then another boat into the sound). We have heard though that it is more beautiful and less touristed so we´re happy to proceed.
Then we took off on a nice walk around the lake. It has turned into a remarkably sunny and beautiful afternoon, and a nice long walk is just right.
After returning back to the holiday park (which is much nicer thanI had expected... which lots of hairdryers and underfloor heating in the modern, spotless bathrooms), we cooked first campervan meal - our favorite chili recipe!! YUM! (To give credit where credit is due, it´s a blend of Auntie Sue´s and Bill´s chili recipes.)
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Queenstown Day 4
Spent the afternoon of our 4th day checking out the Canyon Swing, which was a bit mindblowing. I convinced myself that since it was called a "swing", that it was actually nothing like a bungy. Wrong. It's a 60 meter freefall (180 or so feet, for the Americans) and at the bottom to swing out into a very deep river canyon at 150-200 kph. Oh my God.
It was unreal. Knowing that I'm a bit of a chicken, I couldn't jump on my own, so I had to choose a position where I was released. Not wanting to be outdone, I chose a 5 out of 5 difficulty which a position called "Gimp Boy goes to Hollywood". Oh Yeah. It requires being hooked on around your waist, then pushed out over the edge so that you can flip yourself upside down, loop your legs around the bungy above you and arch your back with arms stretched straight out and staring down at the ground as they pull the pin and release you. And in true form, they start the countdown from 5 and pull the pin at 3 to scare the shit right out of you! I think I fell too fast to even scream!! Woo-hoo!!
The look of a man keen enough to give it a second go...
None the less, he was brave enough, and wanted the free t-shirt badly enough, to actually do a second jump. He was pretty keen to do forward flips off the ledge, but the guys wouldn't let him. Said that since it was his second go, he had to go off backward somehow. So after many minutes of delay, he took a big pushoff and managed a big backwards swan dive into the canyon. So impressed!! Actually, let's be honest, I had sweaty palms.
All in all, we had a great day that was punctuated by our great guide, Harry, who really made it that much more fun.
After all the adrenaline, we decided to wind down the day with a couple (or more) pints Macs Gold at our new favorite local Pog Mahones. Classic Irish pub with the irish boys that have been in there drinking their Guinness since 10AM. Classic.
Steph xx
It was unreal. Knowing that I'm a bit of a chicken, I couldn't jump on my own, so I had to choose a position where I was released. Not wanting to be outdone, I chose a 5 out of 5 difficulty which a position called "Gimp Boy goes to Hollywood". Oh Yeah. It requires being hooked on around your waist, then pushed out over the edge so that you can flip yourself upside down, loop your legs around the bungy above you and arch your back with arms stretched straight out and staring down at the ground as they pull the pin and release you. And in true form, they start the countdown from 5 and pull the pin at 3 to scare the shit right out of you! I think I fell too fast to even scream!! Woo-hoo!!
Our tour operator, Harry, who was a classic guy from Australia, made the whole experience that much more exciting by revving you up with comments like "I don't think they did that harness up properly", and clicking and unlclicking things just as they dangle your over the ledge. Oh, good God. Just because I was so wowed by it, we had to buy the DVD which distinctly has me saying ""Oh, f*ck"" as they sat me down and then pushed off the ledge to get into position. Scary, but exhilarating. I couldn't stop laughing all the way back up!
Not to be outdone, Kyle had to give '"The Gimp"" a try too. He was somewhat more graceful and kept composure better than I did though. I think I will let him add his own comments about his experience...
That's Harry on the left...
The look of a man keen enough to give it a second go...
None the less, he was brave enough, and wanted the free t-shirt badly enough, to actually do a second jump. He was pretty keen to do forward flips off the ledge, but the guys wouldn't let him. Said that since it was his second go, he had to go off backward somehow. So after many minutes of delay, he took a big pushoff and managed a big backwards swan dive into the canyon. So impressed!! Actually, let's be honest, I had sweaty palms.
All in all, we had a great day that was punctuated by our great guide, Harry, who really made it that much more fun.
After all the adrenaline, we decided to wind down the day with a couple (or more) pints Macs Gold at our new favorite local Pog Mahones. Classic Irish pub with the irish boys that have been in there drinking their Guinness since 10AM. Classic.
Steph xx
Queenstown Days 2-4
This is the first entry from Kyle, after he's finally worked out how to do the travelblog - tres cool! The following blog outlines our first two and a half days in Queenstown - a wonderful town on the South Island of New Zealand that is picturesque on the shores of Lake Wakitipu and has more activities on offer than you could poke a stick at!
After having a fairly active first day in Q/town (see last blog) we decided to take a day out to relax after all of the hecticness post wedding! Sunday (Day 2) was a day of cruising the shops, buying (more) stuff that we probably don't need as well as taking some time to look around.
We looked into doing a skydive, however the weather was working against us (too cloudy) so we postponed this for Monday. We also took a trip out to Arrowtown, an old gold mining village, on the public bus. We again cruised the shops and had an excellent lunch at a little place on the main street called "Stables" - highly recommended - before heading back to Q/town.
We headed to the supermarket and had a night in with the classic "Spag Bol a la Lidbury", served with a local Pinot Noir. We stayed in a beautiful condo, just out of town, that was recommended by Lachie & Leah. It had a beautiful view and was very peaceful and relaxing.
The view from our place.
Monday (Day 3) started off a little wet - our morning skydive was cancelled again, so we frantically re-arranged our day to try and get an afternoon jump in - only to have it cancelled again! Three strikes and you're out, so we've postponed this and will look into doing a skydive in Wanaka, probably on Friday. Monday afternoon cleared up so that we could do the Shotover jet - amazingly fun and fast, 360 degree spins and missing the canyon walls by what felt like millimetres - great experience! We spent the rest of the afternoon doing a Steph and Kyle pub crawl through "Pog Mahones", the "Pig and Whistle" and then having sensational pizza at "Winnie's", off the Mall in Q/town.
Tuesday (Day 4) - a little wet again, however we were up early to head out to Whitewater rafting, so getting wet was something we were expecting to happen to us this morning. What a great morning - the Shotover's currently in Spring floods, making the normally grade III rapids grade IV and the trip fairly speedy with the water travelling through at a rate of over 40 cubic metres per second. We had a fantastic time - great exercise and a terrific experience going over rapids called "The Rock Garden" "The Mother", "Oh S#it", "The Squeeze" and "The Tunnel" at the end, a 130m tunnel at the end of the ride.
We're now just getting some blogging done prior to doing the Shotover Canyon Swing this afternoon - a 60m free fall drop followed by a swing outover the Shotover canyon - what a rush and a great way to finish our Queenstown experience. Watch this space for what happened at the swing!
Have a look at the craziness at http://www.canyonswing.co.nz/index.php
Lots of love,
Kyle & Steph, The Honeymooners
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