plane left at seven
landed in portland at nine
time travel is weird
Showing posts with label North Island. Show all posts
Showing posts with label North Island. Show all posts
Sunday, February 26, 2012
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.)
Pieke had recommended a few stops along the way, which I gladly indulged in.
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.
Continuing north I stopped off for coffee with an attitude...
... 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...
... 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.
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!
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 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
Saturday, February 25, 2012
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.
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...
... 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.
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.
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.
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
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.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Tongariro National Park, Day 1: the end is near.
goodbye to good friends
time for three days on my own
mountains, here i come!
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.
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!
Piriaka Lookout
on the way to Tongagiro National Park
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!
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Wellington, Day 2: nature time.
Finally, we slept past 7am! Acclimation: check.
Had a quick breakfast and headed to the bus stop to find Island Bay. Jill ran across this walk along the coast, just 5 miles south of the city, in her guidebook and even with overcast skies it really delivered.
looks hobbity to me
red rock reward
from whence we came
lazy afternoon nap
master of the house, doling out the charm
The sun came out while we had lunch at The Bach Cafe and we took our time getting back to the bus.
best post-hike beverage evah
sea blue sea
Back in town we rode the cable car up to the Botanic Gardens, a huge layout featuring beautiful flowers, a peaceful bush walk, cool statues and other artsy things... And a boot camp and rugby match, because it is New Zealand after all.
human sundial demonstration
It turned out to be a really lovely day, and there were some nice views of the city from the gardens.
Wellington from above
Had dinner in and packed up for the ferry ride to Picton. After four days here, I am starting to see why people say the South Island is the place to be...
Had a quick breakfast and headed to the bus stop to find Island Bay. Jill ran across this walk along the coast, just 5 miles south of the city, in her guidebook and even with overcast skies it really delivered.
looks hobbity to me
red rock reward
from whence we came
lazy afternoon nap
master of the house, doling out the charmThe sun came out while we had lunch at The Bach Cafe and we took our time getting back to the bus.
best post-hike beverage evah
sea blue seaBack in town we rode the cable car up to the Botanic Gardens, a huge layout featuring beautiful flowers, a peaceful bush walk, cool statues and other artsy things... And a boot camp and rugby match, because it is New Zealand after all.
human sundial demonstrationIt turned out to be a really lovely day, and there were some nice views of the city from the gardens.
Wellington from aboveHad dinner in and packed up for the ferry ride to Picton. After four days here, I am starting to see why people say the South Island is the place to be...
Wellington, Day 1: have I mentioned that I love vacations?
rainy wellington
still a hundred and one times
better than cubeland
still a hundred and one times
better than cubeland
Wellington, Day 1: settling in.
I hate waiting at airports while I'm on vacation, and apparently I did everything in my power this morning to make sure that wouldn't happen. We left a little late, sat in traffic for 20 minutes and had to run to catch the plane. We made it... barely.
no one likes this traveler
The flight from Auckland to Wellington was less than an hour. Wellington's airport was quaint, like most of what we saw of the city itself.
sheepie!
We made our way to the next apartments (City Life - even with their ridiculous 30-minute-only-in-the-lobby wifi access they are already worlds better than the Waldorf Stadium in Auckland) and headed down to the Wharf to find food. D4 was the perfect find.
halloumi cheese, where have you been all my life?
After lunch we wandered around the wharf for a bit and ran across the Te Papa museum. It had gotten rave reviews from various people and since it was a bit drizzly we decided to check it out. Even with a good night's sleep we found the exhibits and general navigation much more confusing than the Auckland Museum, but still worth the price of admission ($0). The highlight for me was definitely the "sheep cam" - watch sheep get herded from a sheep's perspective! watch sheep eat from a sheep's perspective! watch sheep from a sheep's perspective! etc. - but the giant squid exhibit was also very interesting.
Wellington wharf from Te Papa statue garden
(not pictured: statues... um, there were none)
Wandered around a bit more downtown and quickly decided we were ready for some nature. Tomorrow there is talk of a seal/beach walk and then the botanic gardens. Fingers crossed that the weather holds out!
I swore I would not eat bread again today, but the mushroom/feta/pine nut/spinach pizza at Scopa won me over. We at least coupled it with a salad of rocket (lettuce), cauliflower, fennel and pomegranate...
and more celebratory drinks, of course
After dinner Kim and I enjoyed some local music (The Filthy Two, an Irish folk band who were surprisingly clean) at Molly Malone's and then headed back. Not sure what everyone else did at that point because I passed out cold!
no one likes this travelerThe flight from Auckland to Wellington was less than an hour. Wellington's airport was quaint, like most of what we saw of the city itself.
sheepie!We made our way to the next apartments (City Life - even with their ridiculous 30-minute-only-in-the-lobby wifi access they are already worlds better than the Waldorf Stadium in Auckland) and headed down to the Wharf to find food. D4 was the perfect find.
halloumi cheese, where have you been all my life?After lunch we wandered around the wharf for a bit and ran across the Te Papa museum. It had gotten rave reviews from various people and since it was a bit drizzly we decided to check it out. Even with a good night's sleep we found the exhibits and general navigation much more confusing than the Auckland Museum, but still worth the price of admission ($0). The highlight for me was definitely the "sheep cam" - watch sheep get herded from a sheep's perspective! watch sheep eat from a sheep's perspective! watch sheep from a sheep's perspective! etc. - but the giant squid exhibit was also very interesting.
Wellington wharf from Te Papa statue garden(not pictured: statues... um, there were none)
Wandered around a bit more downtown and quickly decided we were ready for some nature. Tomorrow there is talk of a seal/beach walk and then the botanic gardens. Fingers crossed that the weather holds out!
I swore I would not eat bread again today, but the mushroom/feta/pine nut/spinach pizza at Scopa won me over. We at least coupled it with a salad of rocket (lettuce), cauliflower, fennel and pomegranate...
and more celebratory drinks, of courseAfter dinner Kim and I enjoyed some local music (The Filthy Two, an Irish folk band who were surprisingly clean) at Molly Malone's and then headed back. Not sure what everyone else did at that point because I passed out cold!
Monday, February 6, 2012
Auckland, Day 2: it's no spreadsheet, but...
pet a friendly eel
in a cave lit by glowworms
how was YOUR monday?
in a cave lit by glowworms
how was YOUR monday?
Auckland, Day 2: a little R&R&R.
Monday was a holiday and we worried that we wouldn't find breakfast, but Jill came to the rescue through a supermarket discovery during an early morning walk.
Mango yogurt... YUM
After breakfast Kim drove us 2.5 hours south to rappel, raft and rock climb in the Waitomo Caves. The countryside along the drive was really lovely - rolling green hills, lots of farmhouses, some mountains and lots of cows. Later I would learn that one of their top three industries is dairy, so the cows made sense, but at the time I was just wondering where all the sheep were!
Before checking in for the cave tour we stopped for lunch at The Big Apple (where I vowed off New Zealand "bacon" for a little while, and also vowed to eat a salad at some point on this trip). Energized, we headed into our 5-hour adventure which consisted of:
rappelling 129 meters down a cave shaft
walking up the river a bit to see a constellation of glowworms
tubing down the river a bit, including
a random jump off the cave wall at one
point (they do love their action down here)
crawling through crevices for photo opportunities
stopping to pet a friendly little eel who swam
right up to us and moved from person to person
rock climbing back up the 129 meter shaft
The cave was beautiful, the glowworms were really amazing and the rappelling/rock climbing were an adrenaline rush. It was definitely not like the eco-tours I'm used to, though. The tour owner opts to leave the cave in its natural condition instead of installing ramps and ropes and other accessibility features, which is great, and the cave itself doesn't seem too prone to damage from human touch like some of the other delicate caves I've visited.
But the guide poured the leftover juice directly into the river before packing up, and I actually winced. It didn't pain me as much after he explained that the water contained farm run-off and was probably all kinds of contaminated (information which would've been helpful to know BEFORE we got wet, actually), but a few minutes later when I saw the little eel I couldn't help but wonder how healthy it and the rest of the river inhabitants were. I just kept picturing Blinky.
Then again, maybe that little eel really likes mango orange juice. Stranger things have happened.
I got to drive back to Auckland. Driving on the other side of the road was weird but not too bad. The whole time I thought about how I needed a little more practice with my travel zen. There wasn't a moment of silence on the cave tour - the guide and other guests chattered the whole time, whereas I just wanted 5 minutes of quiet while I lay on the rocks in that underground cavern, staring up at the glowworms. I ended up lagging behind the group just to have a few moments to myself in that gorgeous cave. Hopefully the people on the overnight trek next week will appreciate silence, for a little while anyway.
Dinner at the apartment was delivery Indian food (Little India this time), to supplement the leftovers from the night before - good call, great food to get us ready for Part 2 - Wellington!
Mango yogurt... YUMAfter breakfast Kim drove us 2.5 hours south to rappel, raft and rock climb in the Waitomo Caves. The countryside along the drive was really lovely - rolling green hills, lots of farmhouses, some mountains and lots of cows. Later I would learn that one of their top three industries is dairy, so the cows made sense, but at the time I was just wondering where all the sheep were!
Before checking in for the cave tour we stopped for lunch at The Big Apple (where I vowed off New Zealand "bacon" for a little while, and also vowed to eat a salad at some point on this trip). Energized, we headed into our 5-hour adventure which consisted of:
rappelling 129 meters down a cave shaft
walking up the river a bit to see a constellation of glowworms
tubing down the river a bit, including a random jump off the cave wall at one
point (they do love their action down here)
crawling through crevices for photo opportunities
stopping to pet a friendly little eel who swam right up to us and moved from person to person
rock climbing back up the 129 meter shaftThe cave was beautiful, the glowworms were really amazing and the rappelling/rock climbing were an adrenaline rush. It was definitely not like the eco-tours I'm used to, though. The tour owner opts to leave the cave in its natural condition instead of installing ramps and ropes and other accessibility features, which is great, and the cave itself doesn't seem too prone to damage from human touch like some of the other delicate caves I've visited.
But the guide poured the leftover juice directly into the river before packing up, and I actually winced. It didn't pain me as much after he explained that the water contained farm run-off and was probably all kinds of contaminated (information which would've been helpful to know BEFORE we got wet, actually), but a few minutes later when I saw the little eel I couldn't help but wonder how healthy it and the rest of the river inhabitants were. I just kept picturing Blinky.
Then again, maybe that little eel really likes mango orange juice. Stranger things have happened.
I got to drive back to Auckland. Driving on the other side of the road was weird but not too bad. The whole time I thought about how I needed a little more practice with my travel zen. There wasn't a moment of silence on the cave tour - the guide and other guests chattered the whole time, whereas I just wanted 5 minutes of quiet while I lay on the rocks in that underground cavern, staring up at the glowworms. I ended up lagging behind the group just to have a few moments to myself in that gorgeous cave. Hopefully the people on the overnight trek next week will appreciate silence, for a little while anyway.
Dinner at the apartment was delivery Indian food (Little India this time), to supplement the leftovers from the night before - good call, great food to get us ready for Part 2 - Wellington!
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Auckland, Day 1: a driving homage.
windshield wiper turns,
sweaty palms, good directions -
keep to the left, please!
sweaty palms, good directions -
keep to the left, please!
Auckland, Day 1: getting acclimated.
After a rousing airline safety talk featuring Richard Simmons (yes, THAT Richard Simmons), the 14 hour flight in wasn't so bad. The food was decent, the wine was free and there were some excellent movies to choose from (on this leg, I opted for "Life in a Day" and "Drive"). We arrived at the Auckland airport and picked up the car.
(I should note that after just two days, I already anticipate a lot of "yes, THAT..." disclaimers on this trip.)
Other than a few mishaps confusing the windshield wipers and turn signal, and me as a very confused passenger on the left side, Kim's first experience driving opposite was successful and we made it to the Waldorf Stadium Apartments around 10am to meet up with Jill. Determined not to nap, we headed downtown to see what Auckland was all about.
Our first priority was food - the Occidental Belgian Beer Cafe showed us how Auckland does breakfast:
"Bacon" is actually more like ham,
and "bloody mary" is actually really
tomato juice with tobasco and vodka
Then we headed over to the Sky Tower's Sky Deck, 220 metres/722 feet high, for a panoramic view of Auckland. Fun facts: Sky Tower is the tallest man-made structure in New Zealand, is as tall as 37 buses laid end to end, and weighs the same as 6,000 elephants. (There, now I can ditch this brochure.) It wasn't the clearest day but we got some good views:
One Tree Hill in the background
If one so chooses, one can bungee jump off the tower or take a walk around the perimeter. We did not so choose but others did:
Truth in advertising
From the Sky Tower we'd noticed a colorful park, which turned out to be Albert Park, so we headed in that direction. (And by "headed," I mean we wandered around for half an hour attempting to find the park.) The colors were from the Auckland Lantern Festival in honor of the Year of Dragon. This 13 year tradition hosted over 200,000 visitors last year. Our visit was not that populated but the lanterns were neat:
Not pictured: butterfly and rose lanterns,
gorgeous garden flowers
And the views of the Sky Tower were amusing.
I squish your Sky Tower!
Next we headed over to the Auckland Museum to see their amazing gallery of Maori artifacts and history. By this point I was fading a bit and having trouble absorbing facts and culture, but the canoes and intricate sculptures were really interesting and I look forward to learning more about the Maori throughout the trip.
Finally, we headed over to The Eagle to enjoy a celebratory drink and then to Satya for a very good Indian dinner. We managed to stay up until at least 9pm - something to celebrate for sure!
Cheers!
(I should note that after just two days, I already anticipate a lot of "yes, THAT..." disclaimers on this trip.)
Other than a few mishaps confusing the windshield wipers and turn signal, and me as a very confused passenger on the left side, Kim's first experience driving opposite was successful and we made it to the Waldorf Stadium Apartments around 10am to meet up with Jill. Determined not to nap, we headed downtown to see what Auckland was all about.
Our first priority was food - the Occidental Belgian Beer Cafe showed us how Auckland does breakfast:
"Bacon" is actually more like ham,and "bloody mary" is actually really
tomato juice with tobasco and vodka
Then we headed over to the Sky Tower's Sky Deck, 220 metres/722 feet high, for a panoramic view of Auckland. Fun facts: Sky Tower is the tallest man-made structure in New Zealand, is as tall as 37 buses laid end to end, and weighs the same as 6,000 elephants. (There, now I can ditch this brochure.) It wasn't the clearest day but we got some good views:
One Tree Hill in the backgroundIf one so chooses, one can bungee jump off the tower or take a walk around the perimeter. We did not so choose but others did:
Truth in advertisingFrom the Sky Tower we'd noticed a colorful park, which turned out to be Albert Park, so we headed in that direction. (And by "headed," I mean we wandered around for half an hour attempting to find the park.) The colors were from the Auckland Lantern Festival in honor of the Year of Dragon. This 13 year tradition hosted over 200,000 visitors last year. Our visit was not that populated but the lanterns were neat:
Not pictured: butterfly and rose lanterns,gorgeous garden flowers
And the views of the Sky Tower were amusing.
I squish your Sky Tower!Next we headed over to the Auckland Museum to see their amazing gallery of Maori artifacts and history. By this point I was fading a bit and having trouble absorbing facts and culture, but the canoes and intricate sculptures were really interesting and I look forward to learning more about the Maori throughout the trip.
Finally, we headed over to The Eagle to enjoy a celebratory drink and then to Satya for a very good Indian dinner. We managed to stay up until at least 9pm - something to celebrate for sure!
Cheers!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
