Visitors: Part Two

Highlights

-overnight kayaking

-Big Mountain and Old Ice

-Big Tree and Big Buck

-Arthur's Pass...or not.

So Dad and I drove to Te Anau where we were going to get a ride to our overnight kayaking trip.  We spent the day in Te Anau shopping and walking around and woke up super early the next morning for the van pick-up.  To get to Deep Cove, we had to take a long boat ride across Lake Manapouri which provided us with the most amazing sunrise.  

Another bus later and after lots of loading and unloading we were ready to get in the water!  Our group consisted of 1 guide and 8 clients in 4 double kayaks.  Doubtful Sound is amazing.  The weather the first day was warm and somewhat sunny, so we were able to take lots of photos.  

Dad and I had time to venture off when we got to Hall Arm and had fun looking at the jumping fish and huge cliffs.  It's hard to imagine what it would be like covered in ice.  We camped overnight in tents and kayaked back to the beginning the next day.  Day two rained the entire time, but it was great because Doubtful Sound is known for its waterfalls, so we saw heaps of them.  Dad and I dominated (of course) during the squall of wind and rain and waves.  A pod of 15 or so dolphins also swam past us a couple of times also!!!

After that adventure, we drove off and stopped overnight for a hot shower and beds to rest our heads on.  We slept so well that night!  Next we drove to Mount Cook, the tallest peak in New Zealand (12,316 feet) and did a day hike there.  We took our time and went over two swing bridges which were pretty cool.  The whole area (and a lot of NZ) has been formed by glaciers, some of which are still there.  The lakes turn colors like turquoise or tan and is super cold and we got to see the end of the Tasman Glacier (among others).  If you figure the last Ice Age was 12,000 years ago...and the ice was formed before that....we were looking at some really old ice.  This boggles my mind. 

We took a nap at the edge of the lake and moseyed back to drive to Lake Tekapo.  This is another lake that gets its color from the glacial runoff and this town offers (apparently) the darkest and best night sky for star-gazing.  We also had the best mushroom soup that night.

Next we drove to the Peel National Forest where we wandered for a while...it sort of reminded me of the woods up north.  Other than the fact that we saw 1000 year old trees and big stags and sheep and a cute church tucked into the woods. 

          

The birds make crazy noises here, which I don't think I've mentioned before, and they always do their call when you least expect it.  It's also sweet how every hike we did while I had visitors was completely different terrain...one of the things I love about this place.  We made it to Christchurch and did some shopping, stopped off in a few Irish pubs, had a Bangladeshi meal, and just enjoyed each other's company the last night.

I'm so grateful to my visitors and I thank the people who helped get them here.

My plan was to hike in Arthur's Pass and make my way back to Dunedin.  I hitched up there, torrential rain and lots of flooding, hitched back, then home.  Thursday was a long day.  One ride worth telling about is these two 20-something guys who picked me up.  They know more about the NBA than I do maybe and have the lifelong goal of going to a game!  They talked my ear off about different players and rules and coaches and stadiums...these guys from a small town in NZ know about the Palace of Auburn Hills.  WHAT?!  It was too funny.  Anyway, I'm safe and I must now begin to think about classes =)

Visitors: Part One

Part One Highlights for those who don't want to read details:
-RJ visits
-wallabies and penguins and seals
-Dad visits
-chocolate and beer
-hiking and skydiving

After making my way up to Christchurch, I wandered around for a day, went out for drinks with an Israeli guy and German couple, and tried to get sleep before picking up RJ in the morning!!!! I was so happy to see him and we rented a car and checked into a nice little motel. We pretty much wandered and talked and were just happy to be for that first day. We went to the Canterbury Museum, Art Museum, botanical gardens, and saw street performers. RJ got picked to help out with one of the shows and I'm hoping he doesn't switch professions =) The next day was all planned out...however the weather altered plans for us so we drove south and stopped off at a few points. We had lunch in Timaru, walked around the trails in one of the gorges, and stopped in Waimate at the wallaby farm. This place was nuts. There were peacocks, a mentally impaired pony, huge rabbits, ducks, sheep (of course), a possum, and 40 wallabies. They were in pens based on personality types and we were given unlimited time to feed and pet them. When we were done with that we went inside and got to hold Baby Rhubarb. It took everything inside of us to not steal her away. We saw some yellow eyed penguins in Oamaru and then found a hotel (cheaper to have 2 beds than 1 apparently).

Next, we drove down to Dunedin, but not before stopping at Shag Point to see 60ish seals staring us in the face!! Their beady eyes just looked at us and we got pretty close to some of them....boy did they smell. We made it back to my flat and I showed him around town a little bit. We met Katie for drinks at The Baa and to watch the NCAA championship game. Rachel made dinner for us and we went out for karaoke with some friends. Of course I was feelin' the flow and did Eminem proud. So fun! We drove to Long Beach which was really rainy, went in a cave for shelter, and met Dad at his hostel. I showed him my place and we went to do some tours. Cadbury Chocolate is good and they gave RJ many extra pieces for beating the little boy in question answering. We killed time looking around the railway station and driving a ways out on the peninsula before the Speight's Brewery tour. It was interesting since I didn't know much about beer and the tasting afterwards warmed us up. The next day's plans were spur-of-the-moment as it was rainy and cold, so we drove to Wanaka to get out of Dunedin. The weather was much clearer there and we finally made it after many bathroom stops, a petrol fill-up, a beer stop, and lunch. We hiked up Mt. Iron that evening and walked down by the lake as well.


The next morning we had a really good breakfast (pancakes for RJ, muesli for me, the usual for Dad) and went to hike up Mt. Roy. We didn't really know how difficult it would be when we started...but it was definitely a challenge. We took as much time as we needed, but once we got near the summit we just wanted to sit down already! The view was fantastic and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Have I mentioned that I love this place?? We ate our lunch and Dad modeled for a Beck's ad. As we were sitting there thinking about the accomplishment of hiking in the Southern Alps, these two kids come running (yes, running) up the trail. The energy of the young. Anyway, we trekked the long way down and drove to the airport to skydive! The plane was so small and ascended pretty quickly. We had views of the Southern Alps and of Wanaka and the weather was perfect and sunny and it couldn't have been better. Seeing RJ just fall out of a plane at 12,200 feet freaked me out but I didn't have time to think about it because I was next. The 45 second free fall lasted forever and I can't describe how beautiful the scenery was. It was such a thrill and I am so glad we were able to do it together!! We showered and met Dad for dinner, which was so good. I had the best wine I've had here yet and we talked about what a great day we had and how lucky we all are! While nothing can compare to this day, there were more adventures to be had of course.
I dropped RJ off at the airport and we said our goodbyes that next morning (I think I'm on Saturday now). I was sad to see him go, but we had such a wonderful time together and I'm really grateful he came this whole way to visit!!
Whew. Part Two will soon follow....