New Zealand – Travelog

Auckland Revisited

In lieu of a hangover, one can often count on the weather to write-off the day. My room was mostly full of drunk (but friendly) Irish when I got back from being out with Kevin and Karen – so I chatted with them before actually getting to bed. One of them must have left the curtains drawn open, because I woke up to gray skies and rain splattered windows. I decided there was no point in rushing my awakening, so I slept for a little while longer, then decided I’d better get up if I wanted to check out by ten.

I had planned on going to Weineke Island, but that didn’t seem too likely. My alternate plans were to tag along with Kevin and Karen to a free concert somewhere in the city. I figured they’d probably bail on account of the weather, but I gave them a call to confirm. They were having trouble getting details on the event, and with the inclement weather they figured they’d probably pass on the concert – but I agreed to call them in a couple of hours to see where things stood.

Kevin told me where I’d be likely to find some secondhand bookstores, so I headed there and picked up “The Name of the Rose” by Umberto Eco, and traded in David Baldacci’s “Total Control”, which wasn’t all that great – but made for a very quick read (nearly 700 pages in three days). Afterwards, I picked up Chinese currency.

I gave the Double Ks a call and we decided to meet for lunch and maybe head to the museum or something. The weather had improved, but they still had no idea when the concert started. Ever so generous, they treated me to another meal, yet again. Not as tasty as the night before, but still quite good. We headed to the bookstore to find out the museum times in the Lonely Planet – and decided we didn’t really have enough time to see the museum (it was a late lunch and the museum closed early).

Instead of the museum we took the scenic bus to the Domain and walked around there. Similar to Sydney’s Domain, we checked out the Fernz Fernery (Fernz is a local company, apparently), and the Winter Gardens (aka greenhouses), then walked past the Auckland museum, and across the otherside of the domain. We were close enough to Kevin and Karen’s place that we popped in for tea. There place is a nice studio apartment close to the CBD. I had an L&P soda, which was quite tasty, and we chatted for a bit – but before long it was time to head to the hostel and catch my shuttle to the airport. I bid Kevin and Karen adieu, with the hope that we’d meet again soon. Their travel plans in North America don’t get them too close to Toronto, but I told them I’d be happy to show them around and offer free accomodation if they do find themselves in the area.

The airport was as airports are. I had a few New Zealand dollars to burn, so I wandered through some of the airport shops, then hopped on my plane at about 30 minutes to midnight.

The Ks Have It

Woke up and had a look through the guidebook to see what was worth doing in Auckland. Nothing really jumped out at me, so I and turned my last day in Auckland into a write-off decided to follow Emad’s advice and hit up Devonport via ferry. I’d be heading out to Wieneke the next day, but I’d heard good things about Devonport too so I figured why not.

First on my list, though, was the market at Aotea Square. I had a wander through, but wasn’t really blown away by the goods. I decided I’d head to the ferry, but en route I stumbled across a store called Super $3 Japan or something to that effect. It was filled with lots of useless and useful Made-in-China items, ranging from makeup products to gardening tools. Some definitely worth less than $3, but other items that should have cost a lot more. I wandered around and marvelled at everything, but figured $3 was too much to pay when I was flying to China the following evening.

Ferry was relatively cheap. I stopped in at the tourist information booth to get an idea of what was worth seeing in Devonport and she recommended a route. I started out on it – first heading up Mt. Victoria. Devonport is connected with the North Island, but juts out enough that it sits across the harbour from the Auckland CBD, and as a result Mt. Victoria offered some nice views. I took some pictures and then plopped myself on the grass overlooking the city and read some of my book. I was tempted to finish the book and trade it in at one of the local secondhand shops (which I couldn’t find in the CBD at all), but there wasn’t much protection from the sun, and I’d forgotten to put on sunscreen. I headed back down the hill then walked along the shore towards North Head.

Grabbed a late lunch in Devonport, then headed back to the CBD for a look around. Did some more reading in a small park, then went in search of a bookstore. No luck finding anything secondhand, so I headed back to the hostel and had a shower and got ready for my evening plans.

Evening plans consisted of meeting up with Kevin and Karen at the Westpac on Queen Street at 6:30pm. To refresh your memory, Kevin and Karen were the Scottish couple from the Uluru tour. They’d been in Auckland for a month, having taken a break from travelling to work for a couple more months. They’re in Auckland till July or so, then plan on doing some travelling around New Zealand before heading to North America.

Our plan was to grab dinner at a local pub, but as Kevin was waiting in line for the cash machine, a young lady approached us and regaled us with tales of $3000 worth of free alcohol just waiting to quench our thirst at the Globe Bar – which was less than 100 metres around the corner. Our plans suddenly derailed, we headed to Globe Bar (a place Kevin and Karen had been to a few times, as it was steps away from the hostel they stayed in before finding a flat). For someone who really doesn’t drink too much, I found myself staring down yet another pint of beer in the same week. We stared down two more (since the price was so good) then we decided we were much too hungry to wait any longer. The two Ks treated me to a really nice dinner (and more beer) at a pub called (I think) the Playground in Aotea Square.

We headed to K Road (three people whose names start with K heading to K Road – go figure) to seek out the drag queens (but only saw one), then on to the Ponsonby neighbourhood, where we stopped at another bar and had another drink. Two brits, Abby and Michelle, who Karen and Kevin met when they first came to Auckland, met us there. Another bar (and beer, yikes) after that – this time at a place called the Chapel. It looked busy, but we found a table without much effort. Had another drink there, and decided to call it a night after that, which was just as well, as I think one more beer would have lead to my downfall. Shared a cab home and got to sleep early enough that tomorrow probably won’t end up being a write-off.

Rotorua

Up early to do some backlogged work on the internet and get some photos uploaded. Before I knew it, it was nearly checkout time, and I still had to shower and eat. Logged off, and did just that, but in reverse order. Chatted with Fwad and his brother, Emad. Emad lives in Auckland, but Fwad was just visiting for a couple of weeks. They were heading to the same place I was, so I asked if they minded if I tagged along. They didn’t mind at all, and while Emad showered I headed to the bus station to book my bus to Auckland then back to the hostel to meet up with them.

From the hostel we walked to Te Puia. It was about twenty minutes, which was fine with me – but Fwad’s ankle was giving him trouble. It probably didn’t help much that it was raining. After the walk under not so great conditions it was hard to turn away when we saw the entry fee for the centre. In the end we paid, and joined a guided tour getting underway. The highlight of the park is the Pohutu geyser, and the various hot springs and hot mud pools in the area. I was also quite impressed by the kiwis they had on display. Kiwis are notoriously shy, so I wasn’t expecting to see one at all – even in a caged environment, but we lucked out with a rather active kiwi walking back and forth only inches from the glass. Sadly photographs were not permitted.

After the kiwi pavillion we headed to the Maori meeting house to see the Maori concert. The concert was pretty entertaining and, if tears and screaming are any indication, according to the two year old in front of me, terrifying.

It was pouring rain when we went to leave the pavilion, so we called a cab and headed to Fat Dog for lunch. I had kiwi style bangers and mash, which was tasty. Lamb sausage and mashed potatoes. The potatoes were sweet, but there was no indication that they’d used anything other than regular potatoes.

Headed back to the hostel to book accommodation in Auckland. First place was booked due to a Chemical Brothers concert in town, but I had no trouble at the next place I tried. Finished up my web work on the lobby computers (I really ought to have been keeping receipts for all my internet time).

Grabbed my bags from luggage storage, and headed to the bus station. Got on a small bus to Hamilton, and read for most of the trip. The North Island is pretty, but not nearly as nice as the South Island. In Hamilton we switched to a bigger (double decker) bus. Scenery was nicer on this route, but still doesn’t hold a candle to the south. Still it’s nice being able to take in the scenery without worrying about swerving into oncoming traffic.

In Auckland I quickly got my bearings and walked to the hostel. It was late, and I was hungry – I tried to order some wedges from the hostel bar, but the bartender/manager told me that $5 was too much to pay for wedges and sent me to an Oriental BBQ restaurant around the corner. I went, and had the pork and rice that he recommended. Filling, but I wasn’t a big fan of the sauce. Read for most of the night, then hit the sheets.

North Island Blues

My alarm didn’t go off (a.m and p.m? Who knows?), but Eduard woke me up about ten minutes later. Had a warm shower on cold stainless steel, ate some yogurt and loaded up the car for the last time.

Another excellent drive, and we stopped a few times for photo opps despite the fact that time was of the essence. Couldn’t help but think of Marley on her bike as we ascended and descended our way through the mountains. It’s tough enough in the Sirlioin (Nicole, the American I picked up in Te Anua originally thought she read “Sirloin” instead of “Sirion” on the back of the rental car, and the name sort of stuck).

Filled the car up in Christchurch, and circled the airport until I found the car rental drop off location. It was something I’d been meaning to do beforehand, but we found it easily enough. It being big and neon green didn’t hurt.

Checked in at the airport, and Eduard and I chatted for a bit. He had 8 hours until his flight, so we said goodbye before I passed security. He had made a nice travel companion. I gave him the cds I’d burned in Queenstown as a parting gift, as he seemed to enjoy what he was hearing most of the time. Or maybe he was just humouring me? If only friends in Canada were so kind.

For some reason I was in a first class seat on the 1 hour and 20 minute plane from Christchurch to Rotorua. I swam about in my seat for a bit, and awaited my foot rub, but it never came. I was offered a cookie, though. Very roomy, regardless – I’ve had great luck on most of my flights – and hopefully my flight to Shanghai in a few short days will be as rewarding.

Shuttled into Rotorua , and checked into the hostel. First thing to hit you in Rotorua is the smell of sulphur in the air. It sits in the base of a (dormant, I hope) volcano, so you’re also surrounded by mountains. Next stop was the tourist information building, where I learned that everything in Rotorua is pretty pricey. I decided to check out the lake (free) and Rotorua museum (not free). I’d just missed the tour (free) at the museum, so I figured I’d get something to eat first and catch the next tour, since I was starting to get a little famished.

The tour was alright, but the museum itself wasn’t overwhelmingly great. The building was really nice (no photos), and used to house many old baths – used for medicinal purposes. Apparently the owners underestimated the staining and corrosive power of sulphur, and gave up on the business eventually. It was a night club for a spell before beoming a museum.

The town of Rotorua simply died at night. I headed back to the hostel and read. Headed to the grocery store and bought some spring mix salad for dinner. Back at the hostel, some Norwegian girls took pity on my eating salad with no dressing and offered me the remains of their pasta. I explained that I was okay with the salad, and was actually eating as much of it as I could now because fresh salad is likely to get you sick if you eat it in Asia.

Met one of my roommates, Fwad, from Pakistan who was in town with his brother (missing in action), read some more and went to bed.

Arthur’s Pass

Eduard and I left the hostel at about 9am and headed half an hour north along the coast to the Pancake Rocks in Panakakai. The restaurant across the street was serving pancakes, which I thought was pretty clever. Spent about half an hour there, then back south through Greymouth, and east towards Arthur’s Pass.

The drive was spectacular, as all drives in New Zealand tend to be. We stopped for photos a few times, then both checked into our hostel. It’s a quiet mountain village, with a few trails in the area. I asked at the local information office to determine the best trail for people with limited times, and we were off to the Chasm and Bealey River .

The hike was supposed to be 4 hours return, but we managed it in under 2. It ran along a river to an area where you could do some rock hopping and reach a smaller glacier and ice cave. Also a nice waterfall in the area.

We drove back to the hostel, and spotted another trail that looked like it was worth taking, but walkable from the hostel. Stopped in the hostel for a few minutes and met yet another Canadian, Marley from Nelson, B.C – who was doing a cycling tour of the island. She said she was interested in doing the same hike herself so, with that, the three of us were off.

This hike took us to an even bigger waterfall, Bridal Veil falls (I believe). We finished it quickly enough that we took another hike which was also quite scenic, but not as rugged as the first hike we’d done, or with the reward of a waterfall at the end.

On the way back to the hostel we stopped and chatted with a man who was driving his 1909 Renault car across the country with his dog. Apparently New Zealand caters well to vintage car owners – which would explain the multitude of Bentley’s I’ve seen on the road of late. He was the third generation to own the car in his family and felt confident that the car would be going for another 200 years or more.

Got back to the hostel and had some food. Showed Marley Lorne’s cross-Canada route on LorneTracker. She was quite impressed – but is still more inclined to cycle South America next. Eduard doesn’t think South America’s (or Brazil’s at least) roads are very suitable to a cycling tour, however, but I’m sure she’ll do some research.

Chatted throughout the evening, then headed to bed as we were all pretty tired. Eduard and I are up early in the morning to drop the car off in Christchurch and head to the airport.

Franz Josef

Work up early, checked my email – and tried to arrange some things with my aunt and uncle with regards to China. Found out everyone was at my grandmother’s, so I figured I’d use the phone card a Swiss woman had given me in Christchurch and give them a call. Only 5 minutes left on the phonecard, and 4 people to talk to, but it was nice to hear some familiar Canadian voices.

Headed to the Franz Josef Glacier Guides building, and got suited up for a walk on the glacier – socks, boots, gloves, toque, raincoat, waterproof pants. It was pouring rain, which didn’t bode well for a day I’d be spending out in the open. As we hopped on the bus to head to the glacier, the weather cleared up a little, and we were able to stow away our raincoats.

The glacier is huge, and moves very fast (at about a metre per day). I’d be interested in coming back in a twenty years and seeing it then. Met some more Canadians, Amanda and Britney; an older American, Ted; and a few others. Our guide, A.J was from New Zealand, and did a good job of guiding us, but didn’t really shower us with information on the glacier itself.

Hiked up onto the glacier, and around it – took lots of pictures, and got very wet – as the rain revisted us several times through the day. Thankfully the provided gear was of a good quality. It was a little cool, which should help prepare me for Beijing next week.

Got back to the hostel at 4pm, and headed over to see Sebastian and Marion – but they were’t around. Grabbed my bags from the hostel and headed to Greymouth, further up the west coast.

Just outside of Franz Josef I picked up Eduard, a Brazilian. He’d been waiting in the rain for 4 hours, which is fairly unheard of as far as I can tell. He was just in search of a bed, so he was keen to go anywhere that might have one – so I offered to take him to Greymouth with me. Along the way I regaled him with my Portuguese speaking knowledge – but one can only say “It’s cold outside” so often before it starts to get repetitive. Even if it is true.

We looked for a few hostels in Greymouth for Eduard, but in the end he ended up staying at the same one I was at. Nice hostel, which may or may not have been an old church. One of the dorm rooms was a chapel.

Eduard is flying out of Christchurch on the same day as me, so he may head with me to Arthur’s Pass in the morning.

Mt. Aspiring

Woke up, and the weather was pretty decent, so I figured I’d do a small hike. Didn’t want to do anything too long, as I had a fairly long (close to 5 hours) drive ahead of me. The girl from Holland had vanished (no easy task since she was easily 6’3″), so I figured I’d just do a drive through the nearby Mt. Aspiring National Park. Had a quick drive through, but didn’t see any trails short enough to take. Headed back to Wanaka and made my way through the city towards the west coast of New Zealand. As I did, the weather started to take a turn for the worse, so hiking would probably have been a messy experience.

The drive was fairly uneventful, but once I hit the other side of Lake Wanaka, and that section of Mount Aspiring National Park, the views were outstanding. Unfortunately, it was fairly difficult to stop and take pictures on the narrow roads, and those places where you could stop were clogged with cars, so it wasn’t worth the hassle. Just imagine tree covered mountains with small waterfalls plunging down them, and strong rivers running through the park.

An hour or so into the park, I passed one of New Zealand’s many single lane bridges (each side takes turns crossing), and picked up Sebastian and Marion from France on the other side. They had been hiking for three days and were anxious to clean their clothes and have a warm shower. They wanted to be dropped off in Haast, which was on the way, but after driving through Haast, they decided they’d rather carry on to Franz Josef with me.

Spotted the Tasman sea for the first time (from the New Zealand side, at least), and the French boys asked me if I’d like to have some lunch at a salmon farm on the way to Franz Josef. We stopped at the farm, but the prices were outrageous, so we continued on to Franz.

In Franz I checked in, while the french boys set their tent up in the backyard of a hostel nearby. We went looking for lunch, but again ran into pricing dilemmas everywhere. Very expensive food in New Zealand, and Franz Josef was exceptional. We decided on the grocery store – I grabbed some canned salmon and pasta, and made a meal back at the hostel.

Later I was heading into the city to take some pictures of the cloud covered mountains, when Marion and Sebastian called me over from a local pub. It was happy hour, and they insisted on buying me a beer. I thanked them, but ordered one on my own instead. $4 for a pint, which seems pretty reasonable. They bought me two more, and I figured I’d better stop before I was really done for. I headed back to the hostel, and read a bit, but the beer was making me sleepy. Went to bed after a spell, hoping to be well rested for my glacier climb in the morning.

Like A Lake You Can Drink

Had a fairly decent sleep, but not as great as I might have hoped, considering I had my own room. Got up early to investigate my credit card issues while things were still open in Canada. After convincing the reception girl to let me use the phone (it wouldn’t let me call the mastercard number with a pay phone), I called and found out that it had been a glitch with their system. Good to know.

Had breakfast, pawned the rest of my milk on a British girl who was staying a few days longer, then got on the road to Wanaka. Just outside of Te Anua, I picked up two American hitchhikers. Tim, from Iowa, and Nicole from Alaska. They were marine researchers, who met while working at a research colony in Antarctica. Sounds like quite an interesting lifestyle – stuck with the same 40 people (ranging from cooks to plumbers to scientists and electricians) for 6 months. Tim had lived in New Zealand before, and they were spending a couple more months travelling, and hoping to eventually do a bit of a cycling tour of the country (which seems like the thing to do – I’ve seen quite a few cyclists touring about).

Tim and Nicole were heading to Queenstown, and offered to buy me a Fergburger in Queenstown if I wanted to join them for lunch. Fergburger is apparently famous, but I hadnt heard of it until I reached Lake Tekapo. I had lunch with them, then headed to Wanaka.

Tim showed me an alternate route to Wanaka, which I figured I’d take, since I’d seen the other route when I originally headed to Queenstown. Whenever an area is called a “pass” you’re bound for some windy roads, and this was no exception. Some nice views, and not so bad after the first ten harrowing minutes up the narrow steep roads. I can’t imagine trying to drive here if you weren’t 100% comfortable with driving standard.
In Wanaka I was too early to check in, so I headed to the town and walked around. Checked my email and uploaded some photos, then headed back to the hostel and checked in. Walked down to the lake and wandered around, but the day was waning. Ella had described the lake in Wanaka as so clear – like a lake you can drink”, but on this day it was cloudy and windy, so the lake didn’t look any more drinkable than the others I’d seen. One of the things to do in Wanaka is go to the Paradiso cinema, where you can watch a movie in a mini car, or on a bed, or couches. I was tempted, but wasn’t too interested in the movie playing, so I stayed in the hostel and read. I read ten books in Australia (and the flight over), but I’ve only read one in New Zealand. The challenge of relying on yourself for transportation, I suppose.

Chatted with a girl from Holland about possibly hitting a trail in the morning, depending on the weather.

Gateway to Fiordland

The Canadians were heading to Queenstown, so I offered to drop them off at the bus stop, and save them a 20+ minute walk with their backpacks. From there I headed towards Milford Sound, where I had a boat cruise at 10:30am.

Milford Sound is only 119kms away from Te Anua, but the drive takes from 2 to 2.5 hours. Thankfully it’s a very scenic drive. There were plenty of places to stop along the way, but I wanted to make sure I was at the dock in time, so I headed straight there. Had a short wait at Homer Tunnel, which is a tunnel cut through the mountain,that descends over 1200 feet. It’s also only one way, so the lights at either end change only ever 15 minutes. The roads were pretty clear, since most of the buses don’t get into Milford Sound until noon or so.

Checked in at the boat terminal, and waited for my bus. I bought some two-in-one bug repellent and sunscreen and applied that – mostly for the bugs. New Zealand’s dirty little secret is the sandfly, a persistent tiny fly that also bites and leaves a mark, much like a mosquito. The repellent was keeping them at bay, but others weren’t so lucky.

Milford Sound gets about 6 metres of rainfall per year. They’d been going through a bit of a drought of late, with no rain for five days. The skies were cloudy, but thankfully there was no rain. Hoped to see an abundance of wildlife, but other than some seals and birds, it was pretty tame. You can see dolphins if you’re lucky, and occasionally whales and penguins if you’re in the right season.

Milford Sound, which is actually a fjord, was really quite nice to see. The tour itself was good, although about half an hour shorter than the time allotted in the brochure. I still think we managed to see everything, anyhow.

After the cruise I headed back along Milford Sound road, stopping at a few lookouts along the way. At one lookout, I came across a kea, a large and very social parrot. They’re very curious, and have a love of plastic and rubber, and tend to pick at people’s shoes, but this one wasn’t overly lively. It tried jumping into the camper van of an older German couple, and scared the small boy of a Swiss couple who were actually driving a camper called the Kea.

I stopped at the Chasm next, which was pretty unique looking. Next on the stop was the Mirror Lakes, which were more like ponds then links. On a calm day their reflective powers are a little more powerful, but otherwise it wasn’t a bad place to stop.

Headed back to the hostel and relaxed and read. Had to switch rooms, so I checked into my new room (a single – which was a nice luxury), then cooked some dinner. It was raining, so I joined a few people watching The Ring in the tv lounge. Watched some American Idol after that, followed by House of Wax – which no one managed to see the end of. I was hoping to at least see Paris die, but couldn’t hold out long enough for that.

Tried to book a room in Franz Josef, but my credit card was declined. Confused, I tried to book my flight to the north island, but that too was declined. I tried getting in touch with Mastercard but had no luck – probably because things were closed in Canada. I checked online and everything seemed okay, so I’ll try calling them in the morning.

Te Anua

Checked out of the hostel and headed down the road to where the climb for the Ben Lomond trail began. There’s a full day version of the hike that takes you to the very top, but I was only keen on going as far as the top of the skyline gondola.

The trail started off well signed, and it was easy enough to get underway, but eventually I reached a point with a dead end. There was an orange arrow, usually an indicator of which way to go, but it was pointing directly at a small waterfall. I turned around and headed down another trail before reaching a point I’d already been. Decided to head back and got to the waterfall again. Two other hikers were there as well now, and both as lost as I once was. I joined forces with an Austrian who was doing the full climb, and was well equipped with hiking poles/sticks and hiking boots. We headed in yet a different direction, and found another path, this one looking a little more promising. Eventually we were underway.

The rest of the trail went smoothly, until we reached one point where a sign said “No Hikers, Only Mountain Bikes”. I checked the map I’d taken a photo of beforehand, and decided we could reach our respective destinations by breaking the rules and using the bike trail. The Austrian had been travelling around New Zealand for two months and doing plenty of hiking along the way. Once again I managed to keep up, despite my obvious lack of hiking poles.

Reached the gondola and parted ways with the Austrian. Had a look around the area near the top of the gondola – not too much going on. There was a small luge track, but it didn’t look like you got much speed – and an unused bungy jump platform. It was $10.00 to take the gondola down, but no one was taking tickets so I hopped on and headed back into Queenstown.

Stopped at the internet shop and finished burning some cds for the road. Headed back to the hostel and had a quick shower, then jumped in the car to Te Anua, to the south.

The drive was beautiful, but not too eventful. There was a hitchhiker just outside of town, but I didn’t see him until I had passed him. No other hitchhikers on the road, so I trekked on solo, happy to have some music to listen to.

In Te Anua, I went in search of a decent web connection, to upload some pictures, but the situation was even more dire than Queenstown. I grabbed some groceries for lunch the next day, and dinner for the next two nights, and headed back to the hostel.

Read for a bit, and met a couple of girls in my room from Canada, Katie and Jen. Like most of the Canadians I’ve met thus far, they were from B.C. Vancouver, this time. Went to cook dinner, but the kitchen was too busy, so I headed back to the room and played some cards with the Canadians. They were off to happy hour at a local bar, so I told them I’d join them later, and prepared my dinner. Dinner was lamb, and potatoes. Not much I could do to add some flavour to the potatoes, since the spice rack at the hostel was dry, but the lamb was good. I’ve seen a huge number of sheep here in New Zealand (they outnumber humans by a longshot), so I figured it’d be a shame leaving without trying some.

Joined the girls for a drink, then headed back to the hostel and eventually went to bed.