Auckland (the end): next up... ?

plane left at seven
landed in portland at nine
time travel is weird

Auckland (the end): sad face.

Saturday morning I waited until the five very nice but very chatty Slovenian girls sharing my dorm room headed out for their own Tongariro Alpine Crossing adventure, then I packed up and started the drive to Auckland.

Natch, as compared to the day before it was a gorgeous day and I bet they had a gorgeous hike. (I suspected I would remember mine more than they would remember theirs though.)

the only kiwi I saw the whole trip,

Ngauruhoe in the background -
which I could not see the day before!

Pieke had recommended a few stops along the way, which I gladly indulged in.

Lake Taupo vista point

Huka Falls

Huka Falls turned out to be beautiful but quite touristy so I opted for a side walk from the main strip. Along the way there were lovely views and lookout points.

Spa Park walk - population: me

Continuing north I stopped off for coffee with an attitude...

I agree!

... followed by a quick visit to Cornwall Park in Auckland. My intention was to finally see One Tree Hill to pay homage to the tale I'd heard where a Maori chopped the latest tree down in protest to the monument ("this is in honor of a dying culture? our culture is not dying, thank you very much, and now I shall chop down your monument" - my words, legend sentiment).

But in the short time I had, I never did find it. Instead I wandered among the tall trees and lovely flowers in the amazing old park for a bit...

not One Tree Hill

... and then headed to Auckland airport to end my three-week adventure. What a fantastic trip, and I am so grateful that I could share it with good friends.

farewell for now, New Zealand

Tongariro National Park, Day 2: can't say they have these in Portland... oh wait yes they do, except for the cicadas.

rain, volcanic ash,
craters, lakes, bush, cicadas -
this hike had it all

Tongariro National Park, Day 2: still no hobbits! I want a refund.

Pieke, the lovely guide from our Tui trip who offered to hike the crossing with me, arrived bright and early Friday morning and we boarded the shuttle to the drop off point. On the way she chatted with the bus driver - she seems to know everyone on the island as it is, but she also used to work winters in National Park so this tramp was a bit of a homecoming for her. Given the impending weather, I was even more grateful that she offered to join me on the trek.

The bus driver gave us a stern safety talk before letting us off the shuttle. It's a pretty intense hike (they estimate 6-8 hours of exposed hiking over about 12 miles, winds can be treacherous, visibility can be low to nil, etc) and once you get up there you're pretty much stuck with no means of shelter from wind or rain. They've had to rescue people who head up without water, proper clothing, food - we call them dumb - and as a result, they've really upped the safety warnings in recent years. The girl working at the hostel even said that the shuttle won't take you there if winds are more than 80km/hour. (You can still go on your own, but this absolves them from responsibility.)

But! Off we went, starting from the Mangatepopo car park.

about 20 minutes in,
before we lost all visibility

The first two hours pretty much sucked. Not the hiking - the trail itself was well maintained and fairly easy - but the mountains were completely fogged in and for the most part we couldn't see a thing. I was sad that I missed the peaks and a lot of the scenery (especially since my nerd curiosity was interested in comparing landscape to the Lord of the Rings movie - this is where they filmed the Mordor scenes). At some points we caught glimpses of mountains...

... but for the most part it was this ...

... and this ...

... and a few foggy lakes
(this one was Emerald,
which I bet is gorgeous on a clear day)

Don't get me wrong, I have no regrets. It was an absolutely amazing trek. At times it was like I was walking on the moon - if the moon had really low visibility and red rocks scattered across volcanic valleys, that is.

The good news was, since the weather was such crap, we made it to the hut for lunch in record time (as I recall, we left around 8am and reached the hut by 11:30am or so). Freezing and wet, we rested there for about 20 minutes and then put our soggy boots back on to finish the trail.

hostess with the mostess Pieke

On the way down the weather cleared remarkably. REMARKABLY. In about 30 minutes we started stripping off layers and the balmy rainforest thawed us out.

balmy

rainforest

We reached the end of the trail around 2pm and the shuttle wasn't coming until 4pm. Lucky for me, Pieke ran into some friends and we got a ride back to town. Squeezing into a hatchback with five other people wasn't exactly fun, but they were very nice, it was a short ride and I was so very grateful not to have to sit in the sun for two hours.

That evening I enjoyed a glass of wine with dinner and attempted to read by the fire... and promptly fell asleep by 9pm. Long, good day. The perfect almost-end to an almost-perfect trip.

Tongariro National Park, Day 1: the end is near.

goodbye to good friends
time for three days on my own
mountains, here i come!

Tongariro National Park, Day 1: I {heart} quiet mountain towns.

Big travel day today. The morning flight to Auckland was uneventful, and after picking up the rental car I headed south. The weather was dreary - overcast if not rainy, cold - which didn't bode well for the Tongariro Alpine Crossing the next day, but I figured that however the day turned out, it would be better than sitting in a cube.

Piriaka Lookout
on the way to Tongagiro National Park

I arrived at the Ski Haus hostel late in the afternoon and was thrilled to learn that I had a 5-bunk dorm all to myself. Tongariro National Park is in a pretty remote area of the island so after settling in, I wandered around "town" for a bit and then headed back for dinner. Other than a few families and couples, the only others at the hostel were three young folks who hung out in the common area all night complaining about how there was nothing to do.

I, on the other hand, loved that there was nothing to do.

Early to bed in prep for the big adventure!

Queenstown, Day 3: note to self.

wine tour and dinner
low residual medium dry south island
rieslings: my new cab

Queenstown, Day 3: wine-ing and winding down.

After a very loud night at the aforementioned hostel, a lovely lady named Debra picked me up for the Central Otago wine tour. Five beautiful vineyards and many excellent wines later, I have to give a wholehearted two thumbs up for Pinot Thyme Boutique wine tours! And dry Rieslings! Who knew.

I really liked this one,
partly because it was really good, but also
because it was named "the Viper"

but this one really sold me
on the whole "dry riesling" thing

downtown Cromwell

Debra's vineyard

After the wine tour, Kim, Jill and I met up for one last celebratory dinner and drinks at finz. Great seafood dishes, and especially excellent fish & chips!

last celebratory drink :(

After this I would say farewell to my friends and head north for my own Tongariro adventure. But first I would endure another LOUD night at the hostel... Sooooo ready for some mountain time.

Queenstown, Day 2: I did go back for seconds, after all.

jumping off a cliff
willingly and on purpose
might be addictive

Queenstown, Day 2: "AAAAAAAHEEAHEEAHEEAHEEAHEEAH!"

(That's how you spell the Tarzan yell, right?)

Tuesday morning I drove back to Queentsown and met up with Kim and Jill for lunch at Bob's Weigh (yes, again - chicken pesto...mmmm!). We wandered around a bit and headed over to the canyon swinging place to prep for that day's adventure.

from their brochure - 'nuff said

wondertriple powers, activate! form of: scared ladies!

I can't really describe the experience properly. Probably best if I just point you to a few videos. OK, four. Suffice to say, we all survived and I had a great time.

mandatory round of celebratory drinks

After drinks Jill and I headed to Fergburger so that I could truly round out my Queenstown experience.

lines like Portland's Screen Door or Voodoo Doughnuts

NOM!

Or so I thought. I opted to stay at Nomads Backpackers. This may have been the only bad decision I made the entire trip... It was a total party house, and even though I requested an all-female dorm (which was nice and quiet), the walls were thin and the street party outside went on until about 2am.

I would stick it out there for another night, because time was too precious to waste looking for another place and transferring my stuff, but let the record show two things: 1) I am not a city girl and 2) I am too old for that shit.

Next up: wine tour!

Wanaka, Day 2: can you?

there must be worse ways
to kill an afternoon but
i can't think of one

the view from the traffic jam

Wanaka, Day 2: glaciers and sheep and carrot cake, oh my.

The plan was to get up early this morning and head to Rob Roy Glacier, since the weather was a little questionable. But I think the last week was catching up with me and instead of rushing out, I enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and coffee and hit the road around 9am.

"The road" ended up being 50km of driving, 30km of which was on a gravel road and the last 10km of which involved fords (fortunately dry creek beds). Rappelling, rock climbing, treacherous/slippery/steep/alpine hikes, canyon swinging - whatever. That drive was probably the most stressful activity I would perform on this entire trip.

OK!

after 30km of gravel road, a warning

Finally headed out to the trail around 11am. It started steep and leveled off, all through a lovely beech forest with the river running constantly right next to the trail.

I want to live in a van...

And then suddenly Rob Roy Glacier was right there.

not a bad lunch spot

A few more switchbacks and I was a bit closer - but not too close. I ate my PB&J and marveled at the beauty around me, then headed slowly back just as the rain started. And then stopped and started and stopped and started and stopped.

looking back down the valley

The weather has been amazing this whole trip, and if the only bad day is Friday when I'm supposed to hike Tongariro Alpine Crossing, so be it. I cannot complain.

On the drive back I was treated to an unstaged sheep herding...

New Zealand traffic jam

...and a deer herding (complete with one lone confused sheep running alongside the deer).

just a cute sheepie, not related to the
aforementioned deer herding story

Back at the hostel I cleaned up and went for a coffee, which turned into a flat white and "famous" carrot cake at Ritual Cafe...

it REALLY IS THAT GOOD

... and then a few glasses of wine overlooking Lake Wanaka.

hey, it was happy hour and I was happy

I was in an amazing place, had seen some amazing things in/around this place, and the hostel and the hostel staff had found my iPod that I was sure was lost and gone forever. What was there not to be happy about? Other than the nearing end of my vacation, of course...

Wanaka, Day 1: OK, it was mostly an accidental misstep.

a brief thought of work
almost sent me off the edge
no more work thoughts please

Wanaka, Day 1: solo adventure, part I.

Got dropped off at the airport, said goodbye to our new friends...

and goodbye to Frank the tank! I will miss you, Frank,
and your never-ending fruit and snack basket

... and I picked up the rental car for my first solo left sided-drive up to Wanaka, which a coworker had recommended as being "more low key" than Queenstown. Turns out? Boy oh boy, was he right.

The drive was uneventful! Almost disappointing, the lack of solo left sided-driving drama!

um, both thankfully and disappointingly uneventful

the views were lovely though

I couldn't check in to the hostel (Purple Cow - two thumbs up!) until 2pm so I grabbed a flat white and, at the recommendation of one of the past week's tour guides, headed up to Diamond Lake Conservation Area.

There were three trail options - Rocky Mountain Summit Track, Lake Wanaka Lookout, and a circuit around the lake - and I took them all in willingly. The views were stunning and the sounds around the lake were serenity-inducing.

I sent this to a coworker saying "New Zealand is overrated"...
pretty sure he got the sarcasm

bunnies, it must be bunnies!

Afterward I showered, stocked up on two nights of dinner at the grocery store, had a glass of wine and headed three blocks down to the lake to enjoy the scenery with the ducks.

not a bad way to end the day

Tomorrow's adventure: Rob Roy Glacier. Tonight's adventure: surviving the Russian girl skyping next to me for an hour. Ah, youth!

Tui Extreme, Day 7: again! please?

not antarctica
but milford sound kayaking?
pretty damned awesome

Tui Extreme, Day 7: stripes and sounds... and sugar.

Saturday morning we carbed up (again... oh dear lord, all the carbing up) and headed a few minutes away to Rosco's Milford Kayaks. After a brief overview and quick costume change, we set out on clear but slightly choppy waters to see what we could see.

hot! (photo courtesy Rob)

clear water means you can see a lot

It was overcast the whole time and even rained a bit. This made almost everyone else a bit cranky, but I was thrilled - not only was this how one must experience Milford Sound, it was also very reminiscent of Portland. The gray skies were a welcome change from that bright yellow ball in the sky that we'd been dealing with of late.

Milford Sound sunshine

Milford Sound fur seals:
far less annoying than South Georgia fur seals

Along the way our kayak guide shared several Maori folk legends including this one, and made sure we got the full history of Milford Sound. See, technically it's a fiord like many other fiords in that area, but fixing all the signs for the already-named "sounds" to accurately name them as "fiords" would have cost too much money. So the government left the signs as is and declared the whole area Fiordland - problem solved! Ahhh, government.

The kayaking was over far too soon for my taste, and after another costume change and quick but delicious hot lunch, we headed toward Manapouri for our last evening with the tour. Lake Manapouri Inn featured beach access and pet alpacas in the backyard...

Jill and I opted for the beach access before dinner

Dinner was a true barbecue feast followed by magical pavlova.

hostess with the mostest Pieke (photo courtesy Rob)

Kate's sugar-filled, sugar-topped sugar, anyone? (photo courtesy Rob)

Some folks opted to hang out with the locals at the pub, but I wandered off and sat in silence for a while, listening to the cicadas and birds. I was sad that this leg of the trip was ending but excited for the week to come - especially since Pieke had offered to hike the Tongariro Alpine Crossing with me! So nice of her, so unnecessary... but so appreciated. I had an offer from a local once, but I couldn't imagine a guide in the States committing to spending an entire day with an almost-stranger, hiking a pretty intense trail.

These kiwis are good people.

Tui Extreme, Day 6: no TPS reports involved.

jump shots in big fields
speeding tickets, lovely views...
a decent friday

Tui Extreme, Day 6: keys to silliness, NZ food and the Routeburn Track.

Breakfast was with the gang at Halo, where we sadly said goodbye to Peggy and Gary (who was injured on the mountain biking adventure so he and Peggy had to sit the next few days out). Afterward the rest of us headed south toward Milford Sound.

Along the way we had our first exposure to meat pies - a New Zealand staple! - and then stopped in Eglinton Valley (near Homer Tunnel) to take some silly photos. The fresh air and cameraderie were actually much needed, and we all had a really good time cartwheeling, pyramiding and starfish jumping in the beautiful field.

chicken curry... mmmmm

my favorite group shot

Next was a quick hike up to Key Summit on the Routeburn Track. The weather totally cooperated, the views were fantastic and we had a great walk. (This is the point where I decided that I wanted to go back and do all the Tracks start to finish. So gorgeous and so accessible!)

top of Key Summit

another terrible view our guides arranged for us

Then back on the road.... When we reached Milford Sound we settled in at the lodge and walked down the road for dinner.

can you see me?

I honestly couldn't believe that lounge patrons were watching the television instead of marveling at the beauty around them.

oh right, what was I thinking? -
TV is far more interesting

On the way back I found myself very preoccupied with what I needed to prep for the next morning. I had to stop, take a deep breath, ditch my friends and listen to the cicadas and crazy birds instead:

I want to live in a van down by this

And then all was well with my world. Next up: kayaking in Milford Sound, also known as the eighth wonder of the world - could not be more excited!