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  • Mary Kieran Gap Year

New Zealand

Et 31-dagers eventyr av Mary Kieran Gap Year Les mer
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    16. desember 2024
    Mary Kieran Gap YearNew ZealandReisende
    1

    Day 341: Flight to New Zealand

    16. desember 2024, New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 48 °F

    Sometimes to save money, you’ll do really stupid things like booking a 7 hour flight to New Zealand with a layover in Melbourne, even though you could go direct for 2 hours. Well we did it. Benefits included some Pokémon Puzzle League practice, book reading, and watching Lord of the Rings to prepare.

    The flight into Queenstown was amazing. You fly directly over the Fjords and snow peaks, and zigzag to land on the air strip. As you descend, you fly closer to the mountains and can see the deep blue rivers over head. We land around 7pm. Upon exiting the aircraft outside, we feel the wonderful cold breeze of 55 degree weather 😍😍 it was Patagonia all over again and we are so happy to be out of the heat!

    For our New Zealand trip, we plan to camp a bit to save money; a big tip we received is to visit second hand stores or Facebook marketplace to pick up gear. We made connection with Henrique who had tents for sale; he and his wife are originally from Brazil and have lived in New Zealand the last 10 years. They were so kind and actually set the tent up in side their living room so we could test. Unfortunately Kieran was too tall so the tent didn’t work.

    It was 9pm by the time we reach Queenstown so we opt for Fat Badgers Pizza because it was the only restaurant with a still open kitchen. Queenstown feels like a ski town and the cold weather created a true Christmas feel. We could park downtown for free and could walk everywhere. Such a cool city.

    Hostel:
    Nomads Queenstown

    Food:
    Pizza

    Spots:
    Hanleys Farm
    Queenstown    Les mer

    Se oversettelse
  • Mary Kieran Gap YearNew ZealandReisende

    Day 342: Camping Gear Scramble

    17. desember 2024, New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 70 °F

    New Zealand offers many opportunities to camp for free in its national parks and little towns. We did not pre-send our own camping gear so this morning was dedicated to checking second hand stores for a tent, 2 sleeping bags, 2 sleeping pads, and hiking poles. We also need a cooler, new water bottle, and more layers for the changing weather patterns.

    The first two stores….were not that successful. First store had nothing but the cooler and water bottle. Second store only had children’s sleeping bags and we tested them for Mary (didn’t fit). We were discouraged and tried one more store; luckily this store had a super old tent for $20 USD, Mary sized sleeping bag, and ski poles!

    After second hand shopping, we visited a downtown camping store hoping they had second hand or rentals. This wasn’t the case but the store clerk recommended checking out the Salvation Army out of town and Kmart.

    The out of town recommendation was the spot and we wished we went here first. The Salvation Army had tents, bags, 1 sleeping pad, pillows, and pillow cases. We found a Kieran sized sleeping bag and Mary sized sleeping pad; finished off at Kmart for Kieran’s pad.

    By 12pm, we bought everything we needed and stopped at the Buzz Stop Cafe which was a bee and honey farm that also offered mead and gin tours. Grabbed pre-road trip sandwhiches and started our journey south.

    The landscape was incredible; green mountains, blue lakes, and awesome climbs. We stopped along the road for some viewpoint pics and to visit Lord of the Rings filming locations to include the Dead Marshes Mire Bog (Kepler Mire) and the Andulin River (Waiau River).

    We arrive to our adorable camping hut that will be our home for the next 4 days. Grilled kebabs for dinner and finished up the Fellowship of the Ring in preparation for travel.

    Spots:
    Manapouri Holiday Park

    Spots:
    Queenstown
    Manapouri
    Mire Bog
    Waiau River    Les mer

    Se oversettelse
  • Mary Kieran Gap YearNew ZealandReisende
    1

    Day 343: Rainbow Reach Trail

    18. desember 2024, New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 77 °F

    Finally our first, non-logistics day in New Zealand. We started the day by hiking the Rainbow Reach trail; 3 hour hike that takes you past a scenic river from Lord of the Rings and finishes at a large lake. It was pretty flat, so this was a great starter hike for our muscles. The views included very old trees, marshes, and the fjords sliding down to lakes edge. We debated Marvel movies, X-men, and Kieran's issues with the Lord of the Rings movies that he's harbored since childhood.

    After our hike, we went into Te Anau to pick up some groceries and medicine. Grabbed steaks, rice, and salad for dinner and then finished off the night with the Two Towers

    Spots:
    Rainbow Reach
    Kepler Trail    Les mer

    Se oversettelse
  • Mary Kieran Gap YearNew ZealandReisende

    Day 344: Mavora Lake

    19. desember 2024, New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 70 °F

    Understand that at least 70% of New Zealand posts and places will be Lord of the Rings references. We drove 1.5 hours to the Mavora Lakes region in Fjordlands National Park.

    First stop was the shore of Mavora Lakes where they shot the Fellowship landing on the beach from the river and fighting the orcs. This also includes the hill where the orcs are running down while Frodo, Merry, and Pippin are hiding; Merry and Pippin pop out to distract the orcs so Frodo can sneak away.

    We hike along the lake for two hours, enjoying the beaches, valley, and little streams. We met a retired local who just camped deep in the valley with his ATV and dog for a few days.

    Next we headed towards St. Nicholas and drove through a free range farm where cows and calf’s roamed, stood in the road, and looked at us. Kieran got to drive through a tiny river crossing and it was awesome. Some other filming locations include Fangorn Forest where the orcs stop with Pippin and Merry for rest AND where Gandalf calls Shadowfax after meeting up with Aragon, Gimli, and Legolas.

    For dinner we cooked Japanese curry and rice. Crashed early for a hike tomorrow.

    Spots:
    Mavora Lake
    St. Nicholas Mountain    Les mer

    Se oversettelse
  • Mary Kieran Gap YearNew ZealandReisende

    Day 345: Routeburn Track Mini

    20. desember 2024, New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 61 °F

    There are many hikes across New Zealand, but there are four hikes considered the Great Walks: 2-5 day backpacking hikes through the fjords. We are really sad to have come all this way and not partake because we don’t have our gear and it’s just too expensive to fly it over. However, we found you can do a mini portion of Routeburn!

    We woke up early and drove 1.5 hours into the Milford Sound area. While gearing up for a 3.5 hour hike, we met an elderly couple who were dropping of their kids and grandkids car who did the overnight option. It was their first time and this mother/father cooked warm food for when they arrived; they just didn’t know what time the family would come down from the mountain.

    The hike starts with several switchbacks and a waterfall to get the elevation. Midway, you have the option to hike down to a glacial lake. We took that route and admired the water, ducks, and hut facilities for backpackers.

    Finally made our way to the peak (Key Summit) and it was awesome! Straight out of a Nat Geo magazine with beautiful mountains, snow, moss, and clouds. Ate our sandwiches up top and hiked down.

    It’s such a drive to reach Milford Sound and the weather was in our favor so we continued through the fjord and got to see some more amazing views to include the Chasm, The 100 Waterfalls, and Homer Tunnel West!

    Absolutely amazing day and glad we took advantage of the weather!

    Spots:
    Key Summit Via Routeburn Track Hike
    Gertrude Valley
    100 Waterfalls
    Homer Tunnel West
    The Chasm    Les mer

    Se oversettelse
  • Mary Kieran Gap YearNew ZealandReisende

    Day 346: Doubtful Sound Cruise

    21. desember 2024, New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 59 °F

    We had hoped Mary’s parents would join us in Australia and New Zealand for Christmas, but we know a 17 hour flight can really take the energy out of you. They were generous to gift us a fjord day cruise in the remote Doubtful Sound as a Christmas gift! We pre-ordered a cheese board and snuck red wine in our backpack 😉 Before starting our trip, we called Andrea to check in on post-wedding life, snow in Boston, and her sweet kitties Elsie/Smog.

    The first trip leg is an hour boat ride across Manapouri Lake; after landing in the west arm cove near a dam power plant. The power plant takes water from Manapouri lake, shoots it through a tunnel in the mountain, and out to the Doubtful Sound; the whole trip takes 45 minutes!

    We hoped on a bus and drove up through Percy Pass. There were steep drops and we were well above the clouds. It was a rainy day so we couldn’t see straight down the fjord as we came down Doubtful Sound.

    We arrive to Deep Cove, population of 2 people who manage an educational program for school trips. We board the boat and sail our way through the fjords. The rain and clouds limit our views, but we made the best of the cruise. The cheese board and wine definitely got us saucy. We also got to see seals chilling on the rocks. The Tasmanian Sea was calm so the captain took us out of the cove and into the ocean. Another special moment included cruising deep into the sound and turning off the engine. They asked everyone to step outside, make no noise, and get off the phones to listen to nature for 10 minutes with no sound. Amazing!

    We cruised back and split a much needed coffee after a bottle of red wine. After arriving to Te Anau, we hit a restaurant for dinner and ordered the local meats to include lamb and venison🤤

    Thank you Susan and Andy for the wonderful Christmas present and delicious dinner ❤️❤️❤️

    Hotel: Te Anau Top 10 Holiday Park

    Restaurant:
    Bailiez

    Food:
    Lamb Shanks
    Venison

    Spots:
    Doubtful Sound    Les mer

    Se oversettelse
  • Mary Kieran Gap YearNew ZealandReisende

    Day 347: Milford Sound & Mistake Creek

    22. desember 2024, New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 59 °F

    Big day with too many activities! First we drove the full distance to Milford Sound; it was good that we hit a few spots two days ago because we got the same weather as the Doubtful Sound Cruise which means you can’t fully appreciate the fjords! We did get to watch the transition from low tide to high tide which was awesome. Turned over many rocks to find crabs burrowing into the sand.

    After frolicking around Milford Sound for several hours, we drove to Mistake Creek for what was listed as a 1.5 hour hike and actually was a 3.5 hour hike. On the way, we got to see the local Kea bird jump onto the road and stand in front of our car like a begger. These guys are super smart like crows and will wait till you open your car for food and steal shiny things.

    We loved it though and did the full thing. It starts with a really intense tree root drop where you need to climb down roots to get to the trail. There were some boggy bits and rock jumping to avoid mud.

    Next we crossed a really cool wire bridge over a river; you could only cross one person at a time. After the bridge, there was a beautiful flower valley view on a river brand and mossy green forest. We had to walk across large trees, climb around overturned roots, and use our hands to scramble up sections. The hike sadly did not end with an epic viewpoint and we tried to go father to see if there was a cliff; nothing 🙃it was still an amazing hike and no one else was on it until we got back to the parking lot and met local Andrew who offered advise on flies and made many cheeky jokes about the US.

    To finish the evening, we drove down to the South Fjordlands Monowai Lake Campsite to break out our Salvation Army tent. It looked janky, but it was standing. We got a fire going and enjoyed the warmth until the mosquitos and sand flies were too much.

    Campsite: Monowai Lake

    Spots:
    Milford Sound
    Mistake Creek Hike
    Monowai Lake    Les mer

    Se oversettelse
  • Mary Kieran Gap YearNew ZealandReisende

    Day 348: Fjordlands & Tuatapere

    23. desember 2024, New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 57 °F

    We woke up this morning with a partially flooded tent and rain falling at a steady pace. Our air mattresses had kept us off the ground and allowed us to sleep through all the rain, but it was time to deal with it. We scrambled to get everything packed into the car while slapping away at sand flies. The top priority for today would be trying to dry out our gear.

    We used the first half of the day to drive deeper into the Fjordland National Park. We had the heat on full blast for several consecutive hours to dry out the tent, sleeping pads, and all the other stuff that got wet; Kieran drove shirtless without shoes on at some point. We got to enjoy some great views of the Fjords all the way up to Grebe Valley; they closed the road and we could not pass.

    Next, we headed South for the coast. We've been using the Campermate app to help us find camping accommodation across NZ. It's been really helpful, but we've noticed an issue. It likes to claim that camp sites have clean drinking water when they really don't. Such was the problem with last night's spot and would continue to be a problem today. We were running low on water and had taken a few detours with no luck. Finally, we made it to Tuatapere, which had a grocery store. We noticed that the small town had a Christmas parade later so we planned to return for it.

    We continued down the road to our camp site on Monkey Island Beach. We set up our tent and then went for a quick stroll on the beach. Even though it's summer down here, the high temperature was ~60F today and with no sun, we definitely weren't going in the ocean. After the beach, we made a few sandwiches and drove back to Tuatapere for the Christmas parade.

    It was an awesome small town Christmas parade with food trucks, tractors, old cars, and then a military vehicle. There were mullets EVERYWHERE. We don’t know what’s in the water but these kids from age 7 and up rocked mullets at all lengths and curliness. These same kids would wear short shorts and rubber boots.

    We decide to leave after Santa left and ended up following him until a certain turn and he waived the whole time. It felt great to be in a local community and celebrate Christmas with others.

    Campground: Monkey Beach

    Spots:
    Fjordlands National Park
    Monkey Beach
    Tautapere
    Gemstone Beach    Les mer

    Se oversettelse
  • Mary Kieran Gap YearNew ZealandReisende

    Day 349/350: Merry Christmas in Bluff

    25. desember 2024, New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 61 °F

    It’s hard to celebrate holidays on Gap Year and we actually made an effort this time to not travel or do anything crazy for Christmas. We found a small house in a town called Bluff in the Deep South on the coast. Our campsite was only a 50 minute drive and we couldn’t check in until 1 pm so we stopped by a community pool to swim and shower. We get a treading workout in and met an older couple from Phoenix who are HUGE Lord of the Ring Fans and traveling in New Zealand for 8 months (the third time). We talk in the hot tub for 45 minutes and cooked ourselves because the convo was too engaging.

    Close to check in we hit the store for Christmas goodies (lamb, root veggies, cookies, hot chocolate, mulled wine). We agreed for Christmas we wouldn’t worry about gifts and instead go to a liquor store to get each other a drink secretly.

    Our house in Bluff is a group home with three bedrooms and we hoped no one else booked the place. Made it our own in the time being and set up shop in the living room watching Love Island. They had a real fire place, but we couldn’t figure it out at first and smoke would sneak out the front so the flume was blocked or something else needed to occur.

    Woke up Christmas Day and called both parents at 10am because it’s Christmas Eve at home! We open each others gifts; Kieran got 6 different beers (mostly stouts) and Mary got two bottles of wine to match her personality (one skull and another with weird little lambs trimming gas). We made hot chocolate coffee with Baileys and ate caprese sandwhiches for breakfast. Lunch was a Camabert cheese with raspberry jelly and bread

    We figured out how to make the fire and enjoyed movies, reading, and video games. Roasted the lamb at 4pm and sadly at 5:15pm we hear the door open!!! We had to share our Christmas house and evening with another couple; we scrambled to clean up some messes, un-take over the living room, and get the food out the oven. Luckily, we timed the lamb to come out during a potential check-in time so we would be out of the kitchen for the rest of the evening.

    Lamb and food turned out great!

    They were a very nice Australian couple with the husband originally from Poland. They planned to do a great hike tomorrow so they went to bed early and woke up early. We stayed in our room and continued Love Island Australia.

    Spots:
    Bluff    Les mer

    Se oversettelse
  • Mary Kieran Gap YearNew ZealandReisende

    Day 351: Riding up the Coast

    26. desember 2024, New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F

    With time zone changes, it’s hard to keep up with folks or even know when concert tickets go on sale. Luckily, our New Zealand time zone allowed us to catch the Christmas Day football games. Kieran watched the Chiefs game at 7am local time and then we checked out and located a cafe for the Ravens game!

    We found an amazing hotel / cafe / brewery / art house to plug into for the game. The brewed the beer on site and also offered food and coffee. Ravens won with a total blowout.

    We needed to drive 4 hours to our next destination so today would be a true road trip day. With an hour left, we stopped in Dunedin for a small walk and stretch. Settled by the Scottish, the town drips with pubs, kelts, and Catholic Churches. They had the cutest little train station and the bushes were trimmed into Celtic symbols. Grabbed more beer and cider from the store as well as local sausage. We drove one more hour to a small little spot (maybe population of 66) where Kieran booked metal containers converted to mini cabins. It was awesome and so warm in our little pod.

    We ended the night with Pokémon Puzzle League, HollowKnight, and reading.

    Restaurant: Tuatara Lodge

    Spots:
    Invercargill
    Dunedin
    Maheno    Les mer

    Se oversettelse
  • Mary Kieran Gap YearNew ZealandReisende

    Day 352: Lake Tekapo and Ōhau

    27. desember 2024, New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 64 °F

    Woke up frightened to the sounds of birds pecking away at our room which we assumed someone was knocking at the door at 6am. Because the room was a metal container, we could hear them on the roof walking around and building a nest.

    After morning coffee, we drove 2 hours north to Lake Tekapo. This is a small town right on a beautiful lake and is a lot like Banff in its tourist trapness (hateful Mary side comment). The glacier water is a color that we can't seem to get enough of. While in this area, we did a small 2 hour hike along the valley surrounding the lake called Lake Tekapo Peninsula Walkway. It took us through a long stretch of farmland, giving us beautiful views of the lake and plenty of sheep to harass.

    Lake Tekapo is a pretty expensive area, so we drove up the road to Lake Pukaki to stay at the Lake Poaka Campsite. The road passed famous Mt. Cook which stood tall at the end of the glacial lake.

    Lake Poaka is a massive campsite with a ton of options, so we picked a spot right next to the flowing water. We looked forward to falling asleep to the river’s flow.

    While setting up the tent, we had a few duck visitors. Mary thinks that they were originally domesticated at someone's house because of their friendliness. Kieran just assumed that they were used to being fed by the campers. They got very close and made cute faces; Kieran wouldn’t let us keep them.

    Before dinner, we drove up to Lake Ōhau to 4WD on some gravel road and get more views. Stopped by Twizel for a food truck extravaganza and went home to fall asleep to the sound of….Alice in Chains. Don’t get us wrong, we love music; we just wish the neighbors across the way would turn their music down.

    Campground: Lake Poaka Campground

    Spots:
    Lake Tekapo
    Twizel
    Lake Ōhau    Les mer

    Se oversettelse
  • Mary Kieran Gap YearNew ZealandReisende

    Day 353: Mount Cook Hike

    28. desember 2024, New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 64 °F

    Hike day! We drove 50 minutes up to Mount Cook, the highest mountain in New Zealand.

    Eyes were bigger than our leg strength as we attempted to tackle the Muller Hut track which was 6 miles total with 3500+ elevation gain. The trail is purely up and down so it would be lots of stairs. We start going and….its not going well. These were big stairs so we were practically lunging up a mountain. The elevation gain was also impacting oxygen flow and Kieran was not feeling good. We made it 1.25 miles up before calling it quits and electing to do a different hike. So in total achieved 2.5 of the 6 mile hike 😂

    Across from the Muller Hut hike is the Hooker Valley hike which is also 6 miles but moderate. Gobbled down our sandwiches and hiked up through Hoover Valley to the glacier lake at the bottom. The path crossed 3 bridges and followed the river from above its cliffs. Once at the lake, we could see mini ice burgs floating from the glacier. Mount Cook’s highest peak stood tall across the lake and made for a great picture. It was our first truly sunny day and 80 degrees out so we burned despite all the sunscreen.

    Following the hike, we drove up to a little town called Methven and stayed at a pub / hotel / coffee shop. Got some fish and chips and called it quits.

    Hotel: The Brown Pub

    Spots:
    Mount Cook
    Methven    Les mer

    Se oversettelse
  • Mary Kieran Gap YearNew ZealandReisende

    Day 354: Torlesse Tussocklands Park

    29. desember 2024, New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 63 °F

    100% sore from the 9 miles on Mount Cook yesterday. What’s the best remedy for muscle soreness? More hiking.

    Our next destination was a cool little hostel lodge deep into the Torlesse Tussocklands Park. On the way you have the opportunity to drive past Raikiki Gorge and steep mountain passes.

    Our first stop was Castle Hill and its weird limestone formations. Geology blurb: The area was once under a large, shallow sea that began to fill 30 million years ago. Pressure over time caused extensive uplift and faulting of the Torlesse and Craigieburn Ranges. Thrust up from their origin, the limestone rock was eroded by water into these formations, a karst landscape.

    This area also has special significance to the Maori tribe Ngāi Tahu and is managed by them. They once used these rocks for shelter, hunting, and herb gathering while passing through the mountains.

    Our second stop was a cave stream where visitors have the opportunity to walk through a cave from one end to the other while water flows through. We didn’t have proper gear, but you can still hike to the entry and exit. The whole trip takes an hour so other family members who didn’t want to traverse through the cave were relaxing at its exit.

    We finally arrive the Forest Lodge and it’s a really cool spot. It’s set up hostel style with 30 beds, but you can rent the whole cabin out. Margie, the care taker, is a beautiful soul who lives on the property for months at a time. When the cabin gets fully rented out, she’s able to go on hikes and explore the area. Luckily the cabin is booked for New Years so she was busy planning away at a huge trek with her girlfriend.

    We made hamburgers for dinner and relaxed in the lounge playing cribbage with a real board.

    Hostel: Forest Lodge

    Spots:
    Torlesse Tussocklands Park
    Castle Hill
    Cave Stream    Les mer

    Se oversettelse
  • Mary Kieran Gap YearNew ZealandReisende

    Day 355: Arthurs Pass Sadness

    30. desember 2024, New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 54 °F

    Original plan was to do a 5-7 hour hike up into Arthur’s Pass, but the weather was not compliant. We drove into the National Park and found a cozy cafe to wait out the rain. We read and also played Hollow Knight.

    Sadly, it steadily poured from 10am to 6pm. We were able to sneak it a little hike at Devils Punchbowl Waterfall at 6 pm, but it was only an hour.

    We had also made plans to camp in Arthur’s Pass, but the campsite was very wet, next to the highway, and we realized we left our cooler at the Forest Lodge so no food.

    We found a hostel 2.5 hours away and made our way there, arriving at 10pm. The host was amazing and offered to cook us fish and chips. We declined, but he made us feel right at home. Our room was decorated with an excellent 90s comforter.

    Swipe to the end to see Kieran’s diva standard for sleeping.

    Hostel: Berlin Cafe and Hostel

    Restaurant: The Alpine Parrot Cafe

    Spots:
    Arthur’s Pass National Park
    Devils Punchbowl Waterfall    Les mer

    Se oversettelse
  • Mary Kieran Gap YearNew ZealandReisende
    1He's so sad, he didn't find the wallet

    Day 356/357: New Years in Greymouth

    1. januar, New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 68 °F

    We woke up feeling rested from our trip up to Berlins Cafe. Unfortunately, the worst was to come. Kieran recognized that his wallet was missing yesterday in Arthur's Pass. We had assumed that we would be able to easily find it in the car somewhere. After a deep dive of the car and backpacks, we still couldn't find it. The amazing Berlin cafe host let us borrow his phone and we ordered an incredible English breakfast to thank him.

    Dec 31st was dedicated solely towards trying to find Kieran's wallet. We traveled back to Arthur's Pass (2.5 hours) to check at the cafe, but no luck. We checked the Arthurs Pass campsites, and no luck. We drove down to the Forest Lodge (50 minutes), no luck. We even contacted owners and hosts of all the businesses, still no luck. It was officially lost.

    Our original plan was to stay with some people in Westport. The search for the wallet resulted in 5 hours of extra driving, so we picked Greymouth as a better destination for NYE. We booked a last-minute hostel and checked in around 6pm. On our way there, we stopped at a small cafe for some food called the Otira Stagecoach Hostel. Their red wine and venison pie was incredible. It was definitely worth the stop to see the old memorabilia they had inside.

    Greymouth is a small, farming community, but Mary found a town NYE event happening that night. It was advertised as an event with drinks, food trucks, live music, and midnight fireworks. We set out in an effort to salvage a rough day.

    They had an awesome selection of food. We chose to get dumplings and Hungarian flatbread. The food was delicious, even if we put way too much chili oil on the dumplings. Later that night, we met Andre and Ned. They had both just moved to Greymouth from other towns and were excited for a fresh start. We ended up hanging out with them the whole night before calling it quits around 2:30am.

    Our internal clocks woke us right up at 8am on January 1st. In our slightly hungover states, we walked to the grocery store to stock up on food and snacks for the day. Kieran would argue that the ready-made pies in NZ are an excellent hangover cure. We even got a pre-made lasagna for a super easy dinner.

    The plan for the rest of the day was to relax and rest. After a short nap, we decided to hop on a FaceTime with our friends back home. James and Laura were throwing a NYE party, and with the timezones, it was still Dec 31st in Baltimore. We got to chat with a lot of the guests as they trickled into the party. After the call, we ate our lasagna and called it quits for the night.

    Hostel: Duke Hostel

    Restaurant: Otira Stagecoach

    Spots:
    Still Arthur’s Pass
    Greymouth    Les mer

    Se oversettelse
  • Mary Kieran Gap YearNew ZealandReisende

    Day 358: More Rain

    2. januar, New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 61 °F

    At this point, we hit our northernmost point of the south island, and it was time to head back to Queenstown. We drove towards the town of Franz Josef, right at the base of the Fox Glacier.

    We have struggled to time out our travel days against our hiking days against the weather. It rains a lot in NZ and it’s difficult to predict given the large valleys separating the island. We have noticed a pattern where we rest or travel and the sunny days, and accidentally plan hikes on the rainy days. Today would be no exception as the previous two days had perfect sunshine, and today was horribly wet.

    We got to Franz Josef and scoped out our camping spot. Our tent isn't the most waterproof, so we took a short walk into town to grab some food and drinks at the Snakebite Brewery before setting it up.

    It was still raining and Mary felt tired so we headed back to the car for a quick nap. Kieran used this time to replace his lost credit cards and drivers licenses.

    Around 6:30pm, the rain stopped so we set up the tent and squeezed in a hike before it starts again. We found the Callery Gorge hike within walking distance of the campervan park.

    The hike was pretty chill; great views of the gorge created by the glacial river, followed by a nice suspension bridge at the end. We ran into a friendly cat on the trail who loved being pet and eating grass (Hiking Cat)

    We finished off the day with some lackluster sandwiches at the campervan park (cold bread, mozzarella, and pesto). Chatted with friendly Germans (again) at the park there was one who was very familiar with The Wire, which is always a fun conversation when we say we are from Baltimore. The kitchen at the park also came with a kitty (Camping Cat) who received several pets.

    Camp: Orange Sheep Campervan Park

    Spots:
    Gallery Gorge    Les mer

    Se oversettelse
  • Mary Kieran Gap YearNew ZealandReisende

    Day 359: Franz Josef Glacier

    3. januar, New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 52 °F

    Amazing amazing hike day! The weather forecast wasn’t promising but we were blessed with perfect weather to hike 5.5 hours up to the Franz Josef Glacier on the Robert Point Trail (7.15 miles with 1755ft elevation gain).

    The hike is technically challenging because you cross waterfalls and then scramble up wet exposed rocks; hiking boots and feet placement were key. After intense elevation gain, you come down a small hill and are greeted with the glacier hanging over the mountain edge. The cliffs were super sheer and long waterfalls flowed down them. While chowing down on sandwhiches, keas flew around us squawking.

    While most return journeys are quicker, we had to take our time coming down; a few slips and slides on the rocks. Luckily no one got hurt or twisted an ankle.

    The drive to our next accommodation winded through diverse landscapes with valleys, flat ocean cliffs, and another mountain pass (Haast). We treated ourself’s to a little triangle house accommodation and gobbled up ramen, hot chocolate, and wine.

    Hotel: Makarora Wonderland Lodge

    Spots:
    Franz Josef Glacier
    Robert’s Point Hike
    Bruce Bay
    Haast Pass    Les mer

    Se oversettelse
  • Mary Kieran Gap YearNew ZealandReisende

    Day 360: Beekeepers for a Day

    4. januar, New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 64 °F

    Well we confused our days again and ends up we are leaving the South Island on January 6th instead of the 7th which means one less day for activities.

    We shifted plans and hit a short hike to the Blue Pools, a blue glacial river where you can jump in and swim. We visited the town of Wanaka next and enjoyed incredible brisket and pork belly sandwiches.

    Now when we first left Queenstown, we stopped by a cafe and honey distributor that offers bee tours; Kieran really wanted to do the tour so we signed up for the 3pm session and drove back to Queenstown. They walk you through substantial bee facts while teaching you how the collect the honey. We got to extract our own honey and take it home! Pure New Zealand honey. Next, we suited up to visit the hives and got to hold the slats while bees worked on their combs, honey, and children.

    Here are our favorite bee facts:
    1. To make a queen, bees take a baby larvae, put it in a cave, and feed the baby secretion from glands on there body

    2. The men bees (drones) don’t do shit and are useless. When the hive needs to get ready for winter, they stop feeding the men and then kick them out

    3. Bees love 8 mm of space; anything more and they go crazy. It’s called bee space.

    We have way more, but just go on Wikipedia.

    Tonight we were hosted by long time family friends Cath and John who met Kieran’s mom when she took two years off and hiked in New Zealand in her 30s. Their house is absolutely beautiful and sits on a lake across from Queenstown proper. We chatted about local politics and how they only go into Queenstown proper 3-4 times per year because it’s super touristy. Thank you Cath and John for your lovely hospitality ❤️

    Spots:
    Blue Pools
    Wanaka
    The Buzz Stop    Les mer

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  • Mary Kieran Gap YearNew ZealandReisende

    Day 361: Hobbits in Isengard

    5. januar, New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 64 °F

    Today was our last full day in the South Island. Mary planned a full day of LotR site seeing, so we packed away our leftover pizza and set. Our intended destination was a valley of the of Dart River, which was used for Isengard. Along the road, we picked up a hitchhiker named Tee. He was hiking the south island portion of the Te Araroa (The Long Pathway). The full hike is a 4 month, 3000km path that takes you from the northernmost point on the north island to the southernmost point on the south island. He was about 40 days in with 10 more to go. We took a quick detour to drop him off in Kinloch and stopped at an Isengard Lookout spot to enjoy the scenery.

    Next we drove up the Road of Paradise where they filmed Gandalf entering Isengard and the Wizards Veil and the hobbits reaching Lothlórien. We had to drive over fords with our 4WD rental vehicle; we stopped at one river because it was wayyy too deep and walked the remainder of the way. We grabbed a hitchhiker on the way back to Queenstown; a young British doctor who is working in New Zealand with her husband.

    We got back to Cath’s and John’s in time for an afternoon swim in the cold cold lake and kayaking. While Kieran had the kayak, a family of 5 ducks swam up to Mary and pleaded for food. After the swim, used Cath and John’s sauna and outdoor shower, which John designed and built himself. It was amazing and now we want an outdoor wooden shower!

    We made Cath and John dinner to thank them and enjoyed hot tea on their porch before crashing. We thank them again for their amazing hospitality. It was so much fun to discuss deep issues in the world while also reflecting on how privileged we are to enjoy it.

    Spots:
    Dart River Valley
    Glenorchy    Les mer

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  • Mary Kieran Gap YearNew ZealandReisende
    1

    Day 362/363: A Long Expected Party

    7. januar, New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 68 °F

    We took January 6th easy since our flight left at 12:45pm. We dropped off our camping gear at the Salvation Army, returned the rental car, and flew up to Auckland. Stopped by a Chinese and Japanese store for some food goodies and relaxed the rest of the evening in preparation.

    While Mary loves Lord of the Rings, we have an even bigger fan to pick up from the airport: Doyle, Kieran’s roommate of 5 years!! He flew all the way from Baltimore to join us on our last bit of New Zealand. We pumped him with coffee and hit the road. Stopped at the Thirsty Weta for a pint 15 minutes from Waitomo Caves.

    Today’s activity to keep him awake through the jet lag was to go black water rafting which is to tube in a cave. "Waitomo" comes from the Māori words wai, water and tomo, hole or shaft. The local Māori people knew about the caves for a century before showing them to English colonists in 1884. The cave is known for its bioluminescent glow worms which are actually little fly larvae.

    We suited up and prepared our silliest faces for the pictures they would take throughout the journey. Activities included jumping backwards off water falls, climb through nooks, turning all the lights off to look at the worms, and floating in river streams. It was after the activity Doyle told us he hates really small spaces. We were provided a hot shower and tomato soup post journey and a group of British girls bought the photos and shared the link with us.

    We continued down the road to Te Kuiti, our hotel stay, and ventured to the only open restaurant in town. Hamburgers, wonton soup, and chicken sandwich for the win. We also found the only open bar in town and drank beer while the locals gambled and wondered what we were doing in their bar 🤣

    Hotel: Motel Kuiti

    Spots:
    Waitomo Caves
    Te Kuiti
    Auckland    Les mer

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  • Mary Kieran Gap YearNew ZealandReisende

    Day 364: Tongariro National Park

    8. januar, New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 63 °F

    Today we took it light and explored Tongariro National Park, which is the oldest National Park in New Zealand and the 6th established in the world historically. Many Lord of the Rings scenes were filmed here so we took opportunities to pose whenever possible.

    We hiked the Taranaki Falls which is just 2 hours and stopped by Gollum’s pool. It was so juicy sweet. Found a local pub called Schnapps and Kieran ordered a huge rack of ribs. The owner made hilarious jokes throughout like how they are vegetarian ribs and that we needed instructions for the take away box. It had a fire and was a lovely way to beat out the afternoon rain.

    We drove back out to see Mt. Ruapehu, but there was too much fog. Called it quits early to prepare our bodies for tomorrow…

    Hotel: Howard’s Lodge

    Restaurant: Schnapps

    Spots:
    Tongariro National Park
    Mt. Ruapehu
    Taranaki Falls    Les mer

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  • Mary Kieran Gap YearNew ZealandReisende

    Day 365: Mount Doom & 1 Year

    9. januar, New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 46 °F

    Super exciting day because it’s officially been a full Gap Year of Travel, and we are celebrating it in the best way possible: hiking the Tongariro Alipine Crossing, also known as Mount Doom from Lord of the Rings. This 12.9 mile hike with 2,800 elevation gain is in the top 10 best day treks in the world and over 100,000 people traverse it each year. It can take between 5 - 8 hours to complete and snakes through active volcanic landscapes; there was even a small eruption in 2012.

    A shuttle from National Park picked us up at 7:15 am and dropped us off at the Mangatepopo Car Park along with hundreds of others. The first portion is like walking in a line as people are thinning out, bunching up, passing, taking off layers, and getting pictures. Our squad agreed to not use the first two bathroom stops so we could get out of the crowd.

    Already the journey screamed rustic Mordor hospitality as the vegetation was sparse and the lava fields were endless. After 2 miles of flat, we start our incline with some stairsssss. The stairs definitely thinned the crowd out and enabled little pockets to form with new hiking buddies that would be on similar paces for the remainder of the trip.

    Previously, people could hike up the Mt Ngauruhoe crater for Mount Doom, however, the local Māori view this mountain as sacred so the park took away the signs and stopped people from climbing. We crested over the South Crater and an expansive volcanic valley lay before us.

    Now, since Mary worked throughout the year and would return to 20 hours a week starting Jan 13, her boss and team did need to discuss what everyone’s job would be upon return. They scheduled the call 4:30pm EST which was our 10:30 am; Mary ran ahead over the Red Crater to the Emerald Lakes for cell service and less wind so she could take a fucking work call on the hike (Kieran was pissed and 100% lectured). It was well worth the call because they did discuss her role and asked for her thoughts. So yeah, officially took a work call while munching on sandwiches/cider and active volcanic fumaroles steamed in the background on Mount Doom.

    Squad crested one final crater to the Blue Lake, and started our descent down to Ketetahi Falls along several switch backs. We were trying to make the 2:45pm shuttle because the next one wouldn’t come until 4:30pm. Mary forced the team to keep pace and Kieran/Doyle trudged along obstinately; the last 2.5 miles were killer on the feet. In the end, we finished the hike at 2:10 pm and had 35 minutes to spare; total hike time with a 45 minute lunch break was 5h and 50 minutes! CRUSHED IT 🌋🌋🌋

    We hit a convience store for biltong beef jerky and snacks before driving up 2.5 hours to Cambridge for steaks, beer, and whisky to celebrate.

    Hotel: Cambridge Top 10 Holiday Park

    Restaurant: Five Stags Leamington Tavern

    Spots:
    Tongariro Alpine Crossing
    Cambridge    Les mer

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  • Mary Kieran Gap YearNew ZealandReisende
    1

    Day 366 Part 1: Hobbiton

    10. januar, New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 73 °F

    It’s only appropriate that after hiking Mount Doom, our hobbits would return to the Shire. Doyle booked our official Hobbiton Behind the Scenes tour 1-2 months in advance and we couldn’t be more excited. Doyle went full Bilbo Baggins with his pipe and red vest while Mary manifested modern day Pippin. We arrived early enough to order a full English breakfast and toasty to recover more calories from yesterday.

    You start the tour by hopping on a bus and watching a welcome video from Peter Jackson talking about the Alexander Farm and how they searched New Zealand with helicopters and aerial drones for the perfect location. The Alexander Farm was selected due to its rolling hills and perfect party tree for Bilbo’s birthday. The truth is that after filming LoTR, they tore everything down and had to rebuild it for the Hobbit Trilogy. The Alexander farm family had been asked by neighbors and tourists to see the farm so this time they built the Hobbiton set to be permanent for future tours.

    Our tour guide was incredibly knowledgeable and pointed out where camera crews stored equipment and where the working camps were for actors and crew to sleep on set. She also played clips from the movie so we could see where scenes occurred.

    We finally entered Hobbiton and it was a bit of “don’t cry don’t cry don’t cry”. It’s wild to see this world brought to life for a movie we’ve loved since 2001. There was one couple fully dressed and couldn’t help but take pictures at every chance. They pulled Doyle aside for a team picture (Mary didn’t make the cut).

    Our tour guide continued to walk us through Hobbiton, pointing out houses such as Bag End and Sam’s house. We also stood at Bilbo’s Long Expected Party tent and learned the mechanics behind the firework scene and the how the party tree hoisted up the tent.

    Newly added to the tour was the ability to actually walk inside a Hobbit hole, which wasn’t included until this year! It was great to have Kieran (our Gandalf) along because he needed to bend down to avoid hitting his head. The creators were meticulous with detail and the fire in the home was 100% real.

    After walking through the hobbit hole, we stepped outside to glimpse the one and only Green Dragon! Continue to part II to see more.

    Spots:
    The Shire
    Hobbiton
    Bag End    Les mer

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  • Mary Kieran Gap YearNew ZealandReisende

    Day 366 Part 2: The Green Dragon

    10. januar, New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 70 °F

    From our Hobbit hole, we made our way to the Green Dragon for a proper pint of beer that is only made and served in Hobbiton. On the way, you walk over the bridge Gandalf rode his cart over and past the mill. We had a choice between a stout, amber ale, and cider.

    As part of the Behind the Scenes Tour, we would be served a delicious buffet lunch and more beer. The tour guide pulled Mary aside and said she could flesh out her outfit with a vest from the wall and we were so grateful; she could finally compete with Doyle and received recognition from the fully dressed couple 😂

    The lunch spread was incredible and truly felt like a shared meal between friends. There was lamb, chicken, pie, PO-TA-TOES, soup, beer, and smoked fish (as well as an Elvish salad). After lunch, we visited the workshop where employees build the props and original sketches are stored from the creative directors. We finish out the tour with sparkling wine and cheese overlooking the Shire.

    As our bus drove back to the car park, they just had to play the scene in Return of the King when Sam describes the Shire to Frodo while on Mount Doom 😢 They played the music score while displaying film from the movie and then modern day videos of New Zealand in those locations. Mary of course teared up because at the end of the day, Lord of the Rings is about the horror Tolkien endured in World War I and how Frodo/Tolkien could never truly return to the Shire (the English countryside).

    Doyle got one more beer before we drove 4 hours down to Palmerston for our next activities. It was a wonderful day and we thank Doyle for planning and booking it ahead of time.

    Spots:
    The Green Dragon    Les mer

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  • Mary Kieran Gap YearNew ZealandReisende

    Day 367: Rivendell & Wellington

    11. januar, New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F

    Ends up our accommodation last night was a Māori farm so we enjoyed evening goat visitors at the window and sleepy pigs on our way out.

    We spent time hiking around Kaitoke Regional Park where scenes from Rivendell were shot. Our bodies were still sore from hiking and touring so we quickly made our way down to Wellington and ate lunch at an Irish Pub; best fish and chips of the trip.

    For Wellington, we decided to stay at a hostel and signed up for a beer pong tournament (as 31 year olds) to pregame for a night out. The hostel host set everything up and then…left. Our trio stepped up, organized teams, and kept the games flowing until a clear winner emerged. When people were not playing, they sat around the table drinking and chatting.

    We met Andrien from Poland, Courtney from Canada, Miles from South Carolina, and Viren from New Zealand (Hamilton Area). It was a solid squad we found ourselves in. Our trio ran out to grab more drinks and Chinese dumplings and we fed the young folks 🤣 Viren the designated local brought us all downtown to a club that we weren’t dressed properly for. The music / DJ was cool, but people dropped off 1 by 1.

    We eventually met two Irish lads and followed them to a Welsh pub. Kieran got into a silly drunken argument because they said the Welsh pub was the best Irish pub in town. Kieran was adamant it couldn’t be the best Irish pub because it didn’t have Guinness. This went back and forth for awhile and we eventually made our way home. We ate left over noodles and drank a bunch of water before crashing.

    Hostel: Global Trek Backpackers

    Restaurant:
    JJs Irish Pub
    Dumpling’d

    Spots:
    Kaitoke Regional Park
    Wellington    Les mer

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