New Zealand

February - March 2016
A 16-day adventure by Darcy
  • 16footprints
  • 1countries
  • 16days
  • 0photos
  • 0videos
  • 2.6kkilometers
  • 1.0kkilometers
  • Day 1

    Day 1

    February 21, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Kia ora,

    The first official day in New Zealand has been a good one, but I should also touch on the travel time it took to get here. It was nice to drive to Chicago and see Chad and his family again. Our time together was short, but still good. The flight from Midway to LA had one of the strangest delays I've experienced. Apparently, one of the seats broke on the plane; and it took almost an hour to repair and get us in the air.

    We still arrived in LA with plenty of time to spare, and I ate before boarding the plane, which then kickstarted my 16-hour fast to overcome jet lag. The fast itself wasn't a difficult challenge (the concurrent season of Lent is good prep for that); the biggest challenge was telling the airline staff twice that I didn't want a meal. One was pretty insistent I have something, but he was in good spirits too. He was just doing his job, and the entire service staff were top-notch the entire flight. (I've always liked Southwest Airlines, but they felt like MLS vs the EPL in this case). Upon arrival and clearing customs, I had just passed the 16-hour window. Unfortunately, my only warm breakfast option at the airport was McDonalds, so I replaced an empty stomach with stuff that should not enter a stomach...it was delicious though.

    I was able to drop my bags off at my hostel this morning - check in was not until 2 pm. I spent the next few hours wandering the city streets, and went to mass at the cathedral. Just before heading to the hostel to check in, I found an awesome gelato place that was supposedly award winning (according to their sign). I was sold, and it was tasty.

    After checking in, I finally got the nap my body craved, as I only mustered 4ish hours of sleep on the red eye. (The ambien helped for a bit, but seemed to lose its effect after a bathroom break during the flight.) I got a really nice nap in, and then headed back out for a walk and to find a place for dinner. That is where I write this post from. I don't imagine much more to talk about today. My body feels like it is on a New Zealand schedule as a result of the fast, but we will see how I feel when I wake up tomorrow. Not a ton of great scenery, as most of these photos are in the city, but still plenty to yap about. Tour kicks off tomorrow morning, booya!
    Read more

  • Day 2

    Day 2 - February 22

    February 22, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    Kia ora,

    I am realizing it is going to be difficult to post every day, as this tour is really packing things in, which is good. Today, I met up with my tour. I am still learning names, but getting better with it. I have met people from the UK, Germany, Australia, Netherlands, Austria, Canada, and Belgium on my tour. Both tour guides are native Kiwis. There are a few of us from the States, but I am the only one from the Midwest.

    So far, the North Island has a lot of green, rolling hills. Our first stop was at Tairua, the home of Hot Water Beach. This place was really unique, as we grabbed shovels and dug our own pool at the beach. Some of the pools we dug had cold water, but there were a couple with scalding temps. I then went into the Pacific Ocean and swam and jumped waves in the mightiest of oceans for the first time ever.

    After this, we drove and hiked to Cathedral Cove, which was very scenic with rock formations protuding from a beautiful turqoise ocean.

    We set up camp for the night, ate dinner, and then a few of us went eeling with our tour guide, Jonno. This was a fun late night experience as we put bait (fish and chicken) in a stream and then watched the eels come up. We caught two eels on our line. The things are ugly, but they will hopefully taste good when we cook them in a couple nights. I will write about that later.

    So far, all the people I have met are really nice, and a few good conversations have been had.
    Read more

  • Day 4

    Day 3 - February 23

    February 24, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    Kia ora,

    Note: I have had trouble uploading photos here, but will hopefully have good wifi access when we get to Wellington in a couple days.

    Yesterday, we drove through a lot of farm country in the morning. I really enjoyed seeing so many green, rolling hills; and I would have loved the opportunity to run up and down a few of them - assuming a wouldn't be arrested for trespassing on someone's property. We made a stop at a town known for the soft drink L&P, and took a group photo in front of a large bottle. Their slogan is "World Famous in New Zealand." I then bought some of it and tried it. It was good, but also my first soda in a couple years, and made me remember how sugary those drinks are.

    Our next stop was in a town where the Hobbiton tour was. I did not go, because there are other Lord of the Rings areas I would rather see. The ones who did attend it, said it was good.

    A few of us got dropped off at the Redwood Forest, and I went on a trail with a girl from Portland, Oregon. We covered a lot of ground. She said these redwoods were not as big as the California ones, but I was impressed with it being my first time among redwoods.

    At night, a few of us got a ride into town and went out to eat. It has been fun meeting people from around the world and learning about their life back home. I was enjoying learning about life in the Netherlands while eating fish and chips last night.
    Read more

  • Day 4

    Day 4 - February 24

    February 24, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌙 15 °C

    Kia ora,

    Today was another amazing day. We got to sleep in a bit, though I was still awake before 7. After breakfast, we headed to Wai-O-Tapu. This was the heart of the geothermal activity I had been anticipating. We checked out some bubbling mud pools, and then drove to the Lady Knox Geyser for her daily eruption. We were told that sometimes the geyser will only erupt a few meters, and other times it will shoot up much higher. On this day, we were fortunate to witness a very impressive explosion that was between 20-30 meters. I took a video of it that I will probably upload to Facebook at some point.

    We remained in Wai-O-Tapu a bit longer and attended the thermal wonder park. I had the pleasure of seeing very uniquely coloured lakes among steaming craters and additional mud pools. I was amazed at seeing so many landscapes I had not seen before.

    For as great as this day was shaping up to be, it got even better in the afternoon. I ended up doing something I did not plan on trying - skydiving. Each day, our tour guides send a list of activities for us to sign up and do. I initially passed on skydiving, but as time passed, I couldn't stop thinking about it. So, I went for it - and I could not be happier with the decision. We arrived and got registered, and then went straight to putting on our jump suits. Our plane was waiting for us, me and a girl from our group boarded the plane. I did not even have time to build up anxiety. The plane was packed tight, and we made our way up to 15,000 feet to jump. Wearing the jump suit had me imagining myself in Top Gun. Our turn came, I smiled at the exit camera, and my jump partner did the work to get us out of the plane. He was great and kept talking with me during the plane ride. I was surprised how little nervousness I felt. Once in the air, I was having a blast. I saw amazing views on a sunny day, and once our parachute opened, I got to control it and spin us around a bit. It was an incredible time.

    In the evening, we had a fantastic grillout of sausage, chicken kabobs, lamb chops (gotta eat lamb in NZ), and the eel we caught the other night.

    Now it is off to bed, as we have to hit the road for the highly anticipted Tongairo Crossing hike at 5:45 am.
    Read more

  • Day 5

    Day 5 - February 25

    February 25, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Kia ora,

    This was the big day of the Tongairo Alpine Crossing. I was up at 5 to make sure I was packed and ready for the shuttle. One of the challenges with spending the night in a different place each time is that you are constantly packing and unpacking. I misplaced my contacts for my right eye (still haven't found them), so I had to use two left eye contact lenses instead. They worked fine, and will have to work fine the rest of the trip. The searching caused me to not have time for a cup of coffee, and I went the whole day without caffeine for the first time in a few years.

    We made our way to the entrance for the 19.4 km hike (over 12 miles) before 7, and then I hit the trail with a few others. Many people were there at the start, but eventually things started thinning out. The scenery was breathtaking, and I took more photos than any day so far. I had the Lord of the Rings theme running through my head many time throughout the hike, as this was the setting for places like Mordor and Mt. Doom, which was great to hike around.

    Th trail had a lot of up and down activity, and a lot of climbing at the beginning. There were really strong winds at the highest points, probably 60-70 mph. I usually like to stand at the edge of a drop to take a nice photo when I hike, but didn't do so today. The wind was as incredible as the scenery. The steepest climb was my favorite part, as my low center of gravity form allowed me to pass a lot of people going up. I also passed a lot of people going down the volcanic ash on the other side. I wasn't necessarily faster, but proper form is everything on those steep climbs and descents. Once the descent was over, I was greeted with the view of two blue lakes that were gorgeous.

    We had packed sandwiches with us, so I took a well-earned break. Shortly thereafter, I got in view of a hut in which a helicopter was making runs every 5 minutes. Apparently, they were repairing the septic system. At this point, most of the climb was a descent, which was harder on the knees. Ascents can take a lot out of you cardiovascularly, but descents are the ones that can take more of a toll on the body. I made pretty good time on the trail, even though I wasn't trying to be competitive. I finished in a little over 5 hours, and was the first one back from the tour group. I had to wait a few hours for everyone to get back, but it was fun sitting and hanging out with folks from the group as they gradually came in.

    We then embarked on a long bus ride to our spot for the night, but we made a few stops, and I got some ice cream to reward myself for the long hike. We had fish and chips at the beach for dinner just after sunset, and then made our way to the lodge for the night.
    Read more

  • Day 6

    Day 6 - February 26

    February 26, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌙 23 °C

    Kia ora,

    We traveled to the capital city of Wellington today, and what a fun and quaint national capital it was. The city is surrounded by hills and sits at the bottom of the North Island. This was also our last day on the North Island.

    After leaving our luggage at a hostel, I left with a couple others from the group to head to the Te Papa museum. On our way, we stopped at a cafe with outdoor seating and bean bag chairs in which you could sit all day. After forcing myself from the chair, I made my way to the bank for some NZ dollars and then went to the museum. This is the national museum, and is as large as three football fields. There was some interesting stuff there, including a giant squid.

    I wanted to take the day off of hiking, and didn't even bother to put hiking shoes on today. That being said, I can't help myself when I know there is a fantastic lookout I can get to. Mt. Victoria had a fantastic lookout, and there were some steep climbs to get to. I found out later that I went up the steepest trail, because my route down was stretched out a bit more. The view from up top was incredible, and a photo will be coming most likely when I get home, because it doesn't work too well on this app.

    Later in the afternoon, we rode the ferry across to the South Island, and it was much bigger than I anticipated. It was very scenic and windy as we navigated through the Cook Strait for 3 hours. I had a little fun, competitive conversation with a couple English girls along the ride as we were determining who said certain words the proper way. I am pretty sure I won.

    We checked in at the hostel and I was finally able to get some laundry done. A group from the trip went to a bar for drinks and late night grub, and I eventually met up with them. I was out until about 1 and even busted a few moves on the dance floor. Six hours later, I am awake and finishing this entry. On to day 7.
    Read more

  • Day 7

    Day 7 - February 27

    February 27, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌙 24 °C

    Kia ora,

    We had a relaxing morning and did not have to hit the road too early. After we left, we picked up 2 new travelers (after 2 left yesterday) - a guy from England and a girl from Scotland. The ratio of guys to girls on the trip has been 1 to 3, but it sounds like another guy is joining tomorrow as well.

    We drove through some very scenic, mountainous country along the east coast and came across a fur seal colony this afternoon. We stopped for photos and I even got a good video of them.

    We then got to do a hike along the coast in Kaikoura that took a couple hours. I hiked with the new guy from England and learned he is a Preston North End supporter, and we talked soccer for a good portion of the time.

    After the hike, we noticed a spectacular sunset while waiting for our fish fry to complete, and then enjoyed an excellent dinner. Early morning calls, as I am leaving for a dolphin swim at 5 am.
    Read more

  • Day 8

    Day 8 - February 28

    February 28, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌙 18 °C

    Kia ora,

    As if a 4:15 wake up time wasn't difficult enough, the winds were really strong and I woke up even earlier than that. However, heading to swim with the dolphins in the ocean was definitely worth it.

    This was also my first time putting on a wet suit and snorkeling. I had a bit of a struggle getting used to the snorkeling form of breathing, but I had numerous dolphins swimming around and under me. It was breathtaking. On the ride back, we had an extra treat of seeing an orca that came really close to the boat. I got some great video of it blowing through the blowhole.

    It was an incredible start today, and only 9:30 am. We then headed to Christchurch for lunch. This area has had recent earthquakes, but also is still rebuilding from the devastating 2011 earthquakes. After lunch, we bid farewell to a German girl who had been with the group for 28 days and picked up a new guy from Germany. I believe the current group will remain this way until I and a few others leave in Queenstown.

    Our bus ride was one of the most scenic yet, with water on one side and mountains on the other side. At night, we camped at an old sheep farm located at the foot of the mountains. The view was incredible, and the stars were the best I had ever seen. I learned where to locate the Southern Cross in the sky, and hope to see a few shooting stars tonight. I tend to always miss them as others point them out. Tonight's view is supposed to be even better as long as we have a clear sky.
    Read more

  • Day 9

    Day 9 - February 29

    February 29, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    Kia ora,

    After lucking out with great weather so far on the trip, today was the first day with rain. Most of the group headed out early for white water rafting. I have done it before, so I opted to stay back and go for a hike; however, the rain kept the hike from happening. It was actually a good morning to relax and not feel like I needed to be heading somewhere.

    We finally hit the road around noon and made a brief stop in the town of Geraldine. There were a lot of nice, little shops, and this place was also home to the world's largest knitted sweater (pic will be coming eventually).

    After Geraldine, we traveled to Lake Tekapo, a really scenic lake with turquoise water and mountain landscapes behind us. We also saw the infamous Mt. Cook for the first time. I asked about summiting it, but when I was told it took Sir Edmund Hillary (the New Zealander who was the first man to summit Everest) 62 hours to climb it, I realized I would need more prep and practice to do so.

    In the evening, we arrived at the most beautiful campsite I have stayed at to date. We are along Lake Pukaki, with a view of Mt. Cook and billions of stars lighting up the night sky. I am now off to bed with the sound of lake water moving in the background.
    Read more

  • Day 10

    Day 10 - March 1

    March 1, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

    Kia ora,

    Love is in the air on the Flying Kiwi tour. No, I am not referring to myself. A guy and girl from Germany who have only known each other for a couple days are apparently still hanging out at the beach as I write this entry and creating a buzz around camp.

    The plan for today was to head to Mt. Cook National Park and do a 3-hour hike to the base of the mountain. This was an absolutely gorgeous route with a glacier along the way. I was able to hear the sound of an avalanche, but did not see it. The hike was far away from an avalanche zone, but positioned to be able to see one. I took many pictures along the way, and it is worth noting how lucky we were to have to the weather we had. One of our tour guides said it rained every time he was here last year, so the sunny and clear day was not to be taken for granted.

    We made a couple stops in towns along the way to camp, and I purchased a couple snacks and supplies ahead of the big Routeburn Track commencing on Friday. A few people on tour are under the weather, so we are doing our best to make sure no one else gets sick. I was on the dinner crew tonight, and we enjoyed some delicious nachos. Afterward, a few of us chatted over wine and beer.
    Read more