A View of Auckland from Mount Eden Crater
Cathedral Cove
Battling the waves at hot water beach
Korai Trees
Our only purpose in hugging this tree is to demonstrate its girth.
Waiau Falls
Forraged mussel feast
In Bill Buckley's toy shopMonday, April 26, 2010
North Island Pictures
Ok, pics for the last post:
A View of Auckland from Mount Eden Crater
Cathedral Cove
Battling the waves at hot water beach
Korai Trees
Our only purpose in hugging this tree is to demonstrate its girth.
Waiau Falls
Forraged mussel feast
In Bill Buckley's toy shop
A View of Auckland from Mount Eden CraterCathedral CoveBattling the waves at hot water beachKorai TreesOur only purpose in hugging this tree is to demonstrate its girth.Waiau FallsForraged mussel feastIn Bill Buckley's toy shop
Sunday, April 18, 2010
North Island
El Calafate, Argentina
Next, we rented a car and head out towards the Coromandel Peninsula. This quiet area east of Auckland is characterized by lots of conservation land and vacation homes. We stayed in Whitianga on the east coast, which is lined with white sand beaches. One of these, known as hot water beach, has a unique geothermal spring. It bubbles up through the sand around the low tide mark, making it theoretically possible to come with a spade (british for shovel) and dig your own spa (british for hot tub). We tried this, along with about a million other people, but the tide didn't get quite low enough to build a tub that would withstand the surf. Still it was pretty cool to stand in the waves near the spring and feel the alternating hot and cold water.
We also hit up Cathedral Cove, a secluded beach with a huge stone arch and stone pillars, and a long enough access hike to keep some of the tourists at bay. I tried to snorkel at nearby gemstone bay, where there are a lot of stingrays. Unfortunately, I was equipped with neither mask, snorkel nor wetsuit, so I couldn't see much through my foggy swim goggles and didn´t last long anyhow. I saw some fish though.
Our next stop was the town of Coromandel on the west coast. On the way we drove down a long dirt road to the sedcluded Otama and Opito beaches. These were absolutely stunning and empty and we spent most of a day there. From Coromandel, we explored a rare, undisturbed grove of giant Korai trees. These were logged almost to the last tree, but a few remain. The oldest in the grove was 6m in circumference, about 40 meters high and 600 years old. The largest one ever cut down was 20m in circumference, about 80 meters high and 4000 years old. It's a shame, but it's nice to see they're being preserved now.
We continued down the rocky west coast of the peninsula back toward Auckland, stopping occasionally to forrage for green-lipped mussels. I got about a dozen, which I cooked up back in Auckland with butter and a little local sauvignon blanc. They were delicious.
Our last morning in Auckland, we went to visit Bill Buckley at Buckley systems. He gave us a great tour of his shop, including the 'toy shop' where he builds midget cars for racing. It was really an impressive operation, and Bill was a great host. We were glad we squeezed it in. Then, we went to the airport where we almost didn't get on our flight because we didn't have proof of exit tickets from argentina. We got it worked out though, and got an escort past the security lines (sweet!). We settled into our transpacific time machine, and arrived in Buenos Aires 3 hours before we left! To be continued...
We apologize for the lack of posts recently, but technical difficulties are preventing us from uploading any pictures at the moment. We've resolved to put up a few text-only posts, and we'll add pictures when we can.
We had less than a week to explore New Zealand's north island, starting and ending in Auckland, so we had to limit our itinerary to something managable. In Auckland, we explored the parks and markets, took in a movie at the IMAX and hiked up Mt. Eden, the highest of the extinct volcanos upon which the city is built. It has an impressive crater, and we were treated to a great sunset from the top. As night fell, we found ourselves looking down into the glowing statium below, listening to ecstatic cheering crowd gathered for to watch the local rugby team. It was really cool.Next, we rented a car and head out towards the Coromandel Peninsula. This quiet area east of Auckland is characterized by lots of conservation land and vacation homes. We stayed in Whitianga on the east coast, which is lined with white sand beaches. One of these, known as hot water beach, has a unique geothermal spring. It bubbles up through the sand around the low tide mark, making it theoretically possible to come with a spade (british for shovel) and dig your own spa (british for hot tub). We tried this, along with about a million other people, but the tide didn't get quite low enough to build a tub that would withstand the surf. Still it was pretty cool to stand in the waves near the spring and feel the alternating hot and cold water.
We also hit up Cathedral Cove, a secluded beach with a huge stone arch and stone pillars, and a long enough access hike to keep some of the tourists at bay. I tried to snorkel at nearby gemstone bay, where there are a lot of stingrays. Unfortunately, I was equipped with neither mask, snorkel nor wetsuit, so I couldn't see much through my foggy swim goggles and didn´t last long anyhow. I saw some fish though.
Our next stop was the town of Coromandel on the west coast. On the way we drove down a long dirt road to the sedcluded Otama and Opito beaches. These were absolutely stunning and empty and we spent most of a day there. From Coromandel, we explored a rare, undisturbed grove of giant Korai trees. These were logged almost to the last tree, but a few remain. The oldest in the grove was 6m in circumference, about 40 meters high and 600 years old. The largest one ever cut down was 20m in circumference, about 80 meters high and 4000 years old. It's a shame, but it's nice to see they're being preserved now.
We continued down the rocky west coast of the peninsula back toward Auckland, stopping occasionally to forrage for green-lipped mussels. I got about a dozen, which I cooked up back in Auckland with butter and a little local sauvignon blanc. They were delicious.
Our last morning in Auckland, we went to visit Bill Buckley at Buckley systems. He gave us a great tour of his shop, including the 'toy shop' where he builds midget cars for racing. It was really an impressive operation, and Bill was a great host. We were glad we squeezed it in. Then, we went to the airport where we almost didn't get on our flight because we didn't have proof of exit tickets from argentina. We got it worked out though, and got an escort past the security lines (sweet!). We settled into our transpacific time machine, and arrived in Buenos Aires 3 hours before we left! To be continued...
Friday, April 9, 2010
Queenstown- The Adventure Capital of NZ
Auckland, New Zealand
After a day relaxing in the park in Queenstown watching the frisbee golfers, we decided to take it up a notch. We boarded the gondola just outside town and rode up to the little amusement park at the top, courtesy of Rony. (Thanks!) We used the ride as a jumping off point for a tramp up 1700 meter Mount Ben Lomond. Almost the entire hike was above treeline in the tussock. We made the summit in two hours, and enjoyed panoramic views of endless mountains in all directions and a hasty lunch with frozen fingers before heading back down.
When we got back to the top of the tram we made use of part two or Rony's gift and took a couple of runs on the louge. It was great fun, I was surprised at how much liberty they give you to go as fast as you like.
When we got back to the top of the tram we made use of part two or Rony's gift and took a couple of runs on the louge. It was great fun, I was surprised at how much liberty they give you to go as fast as you like.
After a day relaxing in the park in Queenstown watching the frisbee golfers, we decided to take it up a notch. We boarded the gondola just outside town and rode up to the little amusement park at the top, courtesy of Rony. (Thanks!) We used the ride as a jumping off point for a tramp up 1700 meter Mount Ben Lomond. Almost the entire hike was above treeline in the tussock. We made the summit in two hours, and enjoyed panoramic views of endless mountains in all directions and a hasty lunch with frozen fingers before heading back down.
When we got back to the top of the tram we made use of part two or Rony's gift and took a couple of runs on the louge. It was great fun, I was surprised at how much liberty they give you to go as fast as you like.
When we got back to the top of the tram we made use of part two or Rony's gift and took a couple of runs on the louge. It was great fun, I was surprised at how much liberty they give you to go as fast as you like.
Queenstown is where bungy jumping was invented, so I figured I pretty much had to try it out. The girl that we bought the bungy jump from told us "It's not like anything else... except maybe dying." Despite this poor salesmanship, I decided to go ahead with it anyhow. The Nevis bungy is the highest in New Zealand at 134m. That's about 40 stories. They couldn't find a bridge high enough to jump off of so they suspended a little room over a canyon on a cable, accessed by gondola. It's really a crazy set-up. They toss 150 people off this thing each day, one after another so they really run an efficient operation. It's good for most people who will be smart enough to reconsider the idea of jumping off a cliff if they think about it for too long, but I wished I had a bit more time to savor the whole thing.
The first feeling when you clear the platform is the usual feeling you get when you jump off of something, greatly intensified of course by your altitude. However, the real thrill comes several seconds later when you are falling really fast, and still accelerating, completely disconnected from anything (as near as you can tell), and getting uncomfortably close to the ground. It's really an exquisite, life-flashes-before-your-eyes type of moment. Once the bungy starts arresting your fall, you feel pretty secure again, but at the top of the bounce, there's a little bit of a 'here we go again' feeling. Then you get the fun of releasing your feet so you fall onto your harness, and they can reel you in right-side up. A couple of girls who went after me couldn't figure that part out and got reeled in upside down. Pretty funny. After the jump, we headed back to the park for sunset. What a great day.
Fjord!
Auckland, New Zealand
Since the internet at the Auckland library is super slow and the firewall will only let me upload one picture at a time, I'm going to have to be more descriptive than usual when explaining our trip to Milford Sound. So, use your imagination!
Heading to Milford is supposed to be the highlight of everyone's trip to the south island of NZ, so there were pretty high expectations heading out in the morning. It had finally stopped raining in the Fjordlands, just in time for our trek to be over. But, although the sun was bright and sunny in Te Anau, by the time we neared the sound it was pretty overcast. But at least it wasn't raining!
We got on the boat and were immediately surrounded by high steep mountains coming straight out of the water. You couldn't really appreciate it until the boat came closer to the mountains and you were looking straight up the sides of the cliffs.
What was really surprising was how much vegetation was able to grow on the cliff walls. Our guide explained to us that due to the 7m of annual rainfall, the moss grows very thick and then the roots of the trees embed into the moss since they cannot go into the rock. What happens sometimes though, is that if one tree dies or gets blown over, it rips all the connecting moss and other trees down with it. They call this a treelanche (very creative). You can see this in some of the pictures, that there are lighter streaks on some of the cliffs where the trees and moss are missing.
More from Queenstown soon!
Since the internet at the Auckland library is super slow and the firewall will only let me upload one picture at a time, I'm going to have to be more descriptive than usual when explaining our trip to Milford Sound. So, use your imagination!
Heading to Milford is supposed to be the highlight of everyone's trip to the south island of NZ, so there were pretty high expectations heading out in the morning. It had finally stopped raining in the Fjordlands, just in time for our trek to be over. But, although the sun was bright and sunny in Te Anau, by the time we neared the sound it was pretty overcast. But at least it wasn't raining!
We got on the boat and were immediately surrounded by high steep mountains coming straight out of the water. You couldn't really appreciate it until the boat came closer to the mountains and you were looking straight up the sides of the cliffs.
What was really surprising was how much vegetation was able to grow on the cliff walls. Our guide explained to us that due to the 7m of annual rainfall, the moss grows very thick and then the roots of the trees embed into the moss since they cannot go into the rock. What happens sometimes though, is that if one tree dies or gets blown over, it rips all the connecting moss and other trees down with it. They call this a treelanche (very creative). You can see this in some of the pictures, that there are lighter streaks on some of the cliffs where the trees and moss are missing.
More from Queenstown soon!
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
What's the Difference Between a Weasel and a Stoat?
Queenstown, New Zealand
New Zealand left the rest of the world before mammals evolved. Their usual evolutionary niches were filled by birds who quit flying and started foraging on the ground. When people came to New Zealand for the first time, about 1000 years ago, they brought with them a number of mammals that changed the balance of the ecosystem. Rats, dogs, cats and possums either competed with the native species or hunted them. Flightless birds in particular, were sitting ducks. One of the most damaging introduced species was the stoat, a weasel-like little guy about the size and color of a chipmunk. They run wild in Fiordland, and the survival of a few colorful bird species hangs in the balance. The Takahe and Cacapo are particularly close to the brink, with only about 100 of each species left in the wild. The kiwi is in slightly better shape, but the stoats don't help. The upshot is that even the most fervent environmentalists don't object to the trapping of stoats using what are basically big mouse traps. These are distributed every few hundred meters along the tracks, baited with chicken eggs. Anyhow, that's the official line on stoats: "the only good stoat is a dead stoat".
We passed through Queenstown on our way to the Kepler track, but didn't stay long. First thing in the morning we headed on to Te Anau, gateway to Fiordland National park. This is the least developed part of NZ, and that's saying something. The town sits on the shore of a huge glacial lake, with views of the Kepler Range beyond (yes, actually named after Johannes Kepler, father of the laws of planetary motion).
The Kepler track is a loop track from Te Anau, about 60 km long. It is only about 30 years old, and the track is in amazing condition. It goes to show the difference that good trail management can make. The first day involves a climb up above treeline, located very low at around 1000 meters here. What we hadn't counted on was the rain. It turns out that Fiordland gets a huge amount of rain, about 7 meters per year at Milford Sound. The day we headed out on the bus to Te Anu, we learned that they had received more rain the previous day at Milford than Queenstown gets in 6 months. That made us nervous. Sure enough, it was pouring as we headed out on the Kepler Track.
Our first night was at Luxmore hut, and the rain cleared up in the evening, providing great views of Lake Te Anau. We did our best to dry our stuff out. In the morning, we were treated to a great sunrise. We were advised to 'run over the mountain' before the rain started again. We started off, climbing further into the alpine tussock, and soon found ourselves traversing a series of ridges, from one peak to the next. The sun came and went, but it never rained much, and we saw some amazing rainbows.
Sun!
No sun ):
In the afternoon, the wind picked up, and just as we dropped below treeline, the rain started again. We hurried on to the Iris Burn Hut.
Yellow plastic pack-liner: A must.
Day three was all rain again. We didn't take the camera out to take any pics, but we did spot a stoat tail sticking out of trap 79. Score one for the flightless birds!
When we woke up on the last morning, the weather had finally broken, and we had great views of Lake Manapouri from the Motarau hut. The level stroll through moss-covered beach forest with the sun sending rays of light between the trees was really beautiful. We spent the rest of the day back at the hostel relaxing... and playing volleyball with some Israelis we met on the track.
New Zealand left the rest of the world before mammals evolved. Their usual evolutionary niches were filled by birds who quit flying and started foraging on the ground. When people came to New Zealand for the first time, about 1000 years ago, they brought with them a number of mammals that changed the balance of the ecosystem. Rats, dogs, cats and possums either competed with the native species or hunted them. Flightless birds in particular, were sitting ducks. One of the most damaging introduced species was the stoat, a weasel-like little guy about the size and color of a chipmunk. They run wild in Fiordland, and the survival of a few colorful bird species hangs in the balance. The Takahe and Cacapo are particularly close to the brink, with only about 100 of each species left in the wild. The kiwi is in slightly better shape, but the stoats don't help. The upshot is that even the most fervent environmentalists don't object to the trapping of stoats using what are basically big mouse traps. These are distributed every few hundred meters along the tracks, baited with chicken eggs. Anyhow, that's the official line on stoats: "the only good stoat is a dead stoat".
We passed through Queenstown on our way to the Kepler track, but didn't stay long. First thing in the morning we headed on to Te Anau, gateway to Fiordland National park. This is the least developed part of NZ, and that's saying something. The town sits on the shore of a huge glacial lake, with views of the Kepler Range beyond (yes, actually named after Johannes Kepler, father of the laws of planetary motion).
The Kepler track is a loop track from Te Anau, about 60 km long. It is only about 30 years old, and the track is in amazing condition. It goes to show the difference that good trail management can make. The first day involves a climb up above treeline, located very low at around 1000 meters here. What we hadn't counted on was the rain. It turns out that Fiordland gets a huge amount of rain, about 7 meters per year at Milford Sound. The day we headed out on the bus to Te Anu, we learned that they had received more rain the previous day at Milford than Queenstown gets in 6 months. That made us nervous. Sure enough, it was pouring as we headed out on the Kepler Track.
Our first night was at Luxmore hut, and the rain cleared up in the evening, providing great views of Lake Te Anau. We did our best to dry our stuff out. In the morning, we were treated to a great sunrise. We were advised to 'run over the mountain' before the rain started again. We started off, climbing further into the alpine tussock, and soon found ourselves traversing a series of ridges, from one peak to the next. The sun came and went, but it never rained much, and we saw some amazing rainbows.
Sun!
No sun ):
In the afternoon, the wind picked up, and just as we dropped below treeline, the rain started again. We hurried on to the Iris Burn Hut.
Yellow plastic pack-liner: A must.Day three was all rain again. We didn't take the camera out to take any pics, but we did spot a stoat tail sticking out of trap 79. Score one for the flightless birds!
When we woke up on the last morning, the weather had finally broken, and we had great views of Lake Manapouri from the Motarau hut. The level stroll through moss-covered beach forest with the sun sending rays of light between the trees was really beautiful. We spent the rest of the day back at the hostel relaxing... and playing volleyball with some Israelis we met on the track.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Driving Down the West Coast
Queenstown, New Zealand
After leaving Abel Tasman, we drove south towards Franz Josef, but stopped halfway to sleep at Punakaiki which we nicknamed Pancaky. This area is known for the Pancake Rocks which we checked out on a rainy morning before driving the second part of the way to the glacier.
The rocks were pretty interesting to look at, but I think the locals take it too far. As we entered the park area a big plaque read:
"In an age when it seems everything has been explained, nature hangs on to a few mysteries. The Pancake Rocks of Punakaiki are one of them."
Fortunately I was traveling with Dr. Smick who was able to give the rocks a quick once over and solve the mystery.
When we got to Franz Josef the weather was not looking so good. In fact, it was pretty much a downpour situation. As we made plans for our glacier tour, we found out that it had been raining for three weeks straight. Somehow though, sun was forecasted for the next day. Our fingers were crossed as we slept that night.
And the next morning was gorgeous. We got equipped with some waterproof jackets and trousers and some wet boots and soon we were on the glacier. The whole experience was pretty surreal, especially as we squeezed through the cracks and climbed down into a tunnel which was supposedly the coolest "feature" they have had in the past two years. The ice down there was so blue!
From Franz Josef we drove through the mountains and along the lakes to Wanaka. I actually can't say too much about it because I was sleeping most of the time. Who knew climbing around on a glacier would be so exhausting? When we got to Wanaka, Noah was in need of a nap too, but since Wanaka came so highly recommended by Rony (and since we only had one day there), we went out for a tramp.
The hike up the mountainside was so steep. If we had been in the States, there would surely have been a fence. But not here, can't swap views for safety!
As we neared the peak, we got to the grassy tussock area. Beautiful! Even the sheep were amazed by the views.
The next day we rented some mountain bikes to explore the single track around Wanaka. The trails were pretty hard, and Noah had to brave the black diamonds by himself.
Then we were off to Queenstown. More on that, plus Kepler Track and fjords to come!
After leaving Abel Tasman, we drove south towards Franz Josef, but stopped halfway to sleep at Punakaiki which we nicknamed Pancaky. This area is known for the Pancake Rocks which we checked out on a rainy morning before driving the second part of the way to the glacier.
The rocks were pretty interesting to look at, but I think the locals take it too far. As we entered the park area a big plaque read:"In an age when it seems everything has been explained, nature hangs on to a few mysteries. The Pancake Rocks of Punakaiki are one of them."
Fortunately I was traveling with Dr. Smick who was able to give the rocks a quick once over and solve the mystery.
When we got to Franz Josef the weather was not looking so good. In fact, it was pretty much a downpour situation. As we made plans for our glacier tour, we found out that it had been raining for three weeks straight. Somehow though, sun was forecasted for the next day. Our fingers were crossed as we slept that night.
And the next morning was gorgeous. We got equipped with some waterproof jackets and trousers and some wet boots and soon we were on the glacier. The whole experience was pretty surreal, especially as we squeezed through the cracks and climbed down into a tunnel which was supposedly the coolest "feature" they have had in the past two years. The ice down there was so blue!
From Franz Josef we drove through the mountains and along the lakes to Wanaka. I actually can't say too much about it because I was sleeping most of the time. Who knew climbing around on a glacier would be so exhausting? When we got to Wanaka, Noah was in need of a nap too, but since Wanaka came so highly recommended by Rony (and since we only had one day there), we went out for a tramp.
The hike up the mountainside was so steep. If we had been in the States, there would surely have been a fence. But not here, can't swap views for safety!
As we neared the peak, we got to the grassy tussock area. Beautiful! Even the sheep were amazed by the views.
The next day we rented some mountain bikes to explore the single track around Wanaka. The trails were pretty hard, and Noah had to brave the black diamonds by himself.
Then we were off to Queenstown. More on that, plus Kepler Track and fjords to come!
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