Auckland

Auckland is New Zealand's attempt at "the big metropolitan type city".  They've manged to pull it off quite well, I think!  With one third of the population of the country, skyscrapers, a vibrant city centre, and even a mini CN tower, it kinda *does* feel like a real city.  Which is not meant to be a snub at the other cities I've visited here at all - I quite enjoyed their 'small town' feel.  Apparently Auckland is also the city with the largest Polynesian population in the world..  but you could have fooled me - I only saw 6.  Judging by the ethnic makeup of downtown you'd really think that the city was 40% east Asian, 20% east Indian, 5% German, and the rest non-German Caucasian.

I arrived here yesterday afternoon, checked into my hostel..  which according to Lonely Planet was supposed to be "downtown Auckland's best hostel", but which quite clearly wasn't..  and went on a small tour of downtown and the surrounding areas.  I visited the University of Auckland and the adjacent Albert Park, St. Patrick Church, which was quite boring (damn you again, Lonely Planet!), dined on the trendy Vulcan Lane (Hooray for $13 beers), and eventually went up the Sky Tower.

At 328m it is the southern hemisphere's tallest structure...  but..  it really does not seem that high up on that observation deck.  Maybe I'm just spoiled by the CN tower...  which to be fair I've only been up once.  The one cool thing about the SkyTower is that you can jump off it!  They strap you to some safe-looking contraption and off you go..  Those crazy Kiwis will jump off just about anything, it seems.

Afterwards I went to the big movie theatre downtown and watched the worst movie of 2010 - Skyline.  I have no idea if this piece of crap made it to the theatres in Canada, but if it did..  DO NOT see it.  Trust me.  It is bad.

Today it was actually quite nice out (cloudy and rainy yesterday, like it's been for the last week or so), so I went on a bit of a longer walking tour of a city.  Lonely Planet advertised a "coast to coast" walk you could do, which took you by some of the things I've already seen, but also several of the extinct volcanoes..  so off I went.  I started off at the wharf, where I had a giant burrito for brunch..  Seriously, that thing was HUGE.

I walked over to a park known simply as "The Domain".  I'm not quite sure who'd domain it is, but I did not stick around long enough to find out.  It was pretty, but...  The Auckland Museum was nearby!  I'm not really big on museums, but this was apparently "must see", so I checked it out..  and ended up spending over 2 hours there!  There were 3 interesting floors, the first one being devoted to Maori & Polynesian culture, second one to flora, fauna, etc., and the third to wars that New Zealand has been involved in (ww1, ww2, boer, various nz wars, vietnam, etc.).  It was all very interesting!..  but next thing I knew it was 5pm and I realized that I probably wouldn't make it to the other coast (Auckland straddles an istmus)

Next on the walk was Eden park and Mount Eden, an extinct volcano.  I climbed that bitch and was rewarded with nice views of the city!  The volcano crater was quite clearly visible, but inaccessible..  due to its 'sacred' status (to the Maori).  It was all quite cool though - I took a lot of pictures.  After my descent I dined at a placed named CAC.  which amused me for maybe 25 seconds..  They served me an adequate steak..  maybe a bit too small.

So tomorrow I depart!..  My flight is at 7pm..  I'm checking out of the hostel at 10am and killing some time downtown..  (beers?  lunch?  souvenirs?), then catching a bus to the airport..  then waiting..  then flying!  I arrive in London Thursday at 6:30am or so.  Please don't bug me until at least Saturday, as I will be sleeping..  and attempting to celebrate Christmas on Friday.

It's been an incredible journey through New Zealand though, I've quite enjoyed it!  And to those who have actually read my rants - thanks!  It's much appreciated..  I hope all of you received postcards ;)

Rain rain rain

I'm sitting here in Rotorua and it's raining..  It's also raining in Taupo, Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Queenstown..  It's pretty much raining EVERYWHERE.  Apparently there's some sort of a battle going on between low and high pressure systems and it's being waged all over the country..  This has been going on for about a week now and it's been getting worse and worse.. at least from my point of view.  The Tongariro Crossing was closed the day after I walked it and I wouldn't be surprised if it's been closed since.  My skydiving bookings have all been cancelled, both in Taupo and here in Rotorua..  I booked some white water rafting for today, but that got cancelled too..

You know what though?  I'm a bit vacationed out!  I know I will regret saying this later, but I am pretty much ready to fly home.  Tomorrow a bus takes me to Auckland, where I'll have two and a half days to kill before my flight back home.  This time is probably going to be spent exploring and very likely drinking - if the weather forecast is to be believed.

You know what else I have been doing while it's been raining?  Eating!  I have been really impressed with the food here in New Zealand..  It seems that no matter where you go or what kind of restaurant you go to the food is very tasty..  Now, at first, that was probably a case of me just really enjoying regular food after walking 85km through Fiordland National Park with 17kg strapped to my back..  But afterwards I realized that the people here really do put a lot of soul into everything they do..  Oh, and love!  The food is also infused with love.

I've tried local classics (Kiwi breakfast, Burger with fried egg & sweet beet, Fish and Chips, Hokey Pokey ice cream, etc.) as well as various other random restaurants (Turkish, Thai, Indian, German, whatever), and it's all been really really good.  I think I've only been slightly disappointed once and that's only after my standards were raised to unexpectantly high levels by previously awesome gastronomical creations.

I've been told that the food here is expensive, but that hasn't exactly been my experience..  Sure, it SEEMS expensive...  and yeah, certain things ARE more expensive, but overall I would have to disagree.  I have been eating VERY well and I rarely spend more than $35 for dinner.  Now, when I put it like that, you might say "Hey, that's a bit pricy!".  You've got to remember though that $35 in NZ dollars is about $26 in Canadian funds.

The most expensive meal so far was a porterhouse steak I had in Kaikoura.  The meal included an appetizer and one or two beers. The bill came to $52.  That might not seem cheap, but: 1. Taxes here are included in the price (on the menu and on the bill), 2. $52 nz = $39 cdn, 3. Waiters and waitresses get paid well here, so you don't have to pay their wages with tips - the restaurant does that by paying them a fair wage.  You can tip if you want, but it is generally not done..  You will also usually pay for your meal before being served anyway..  Either way, nobody tips, it's not done, etc.

So while you might be put off by some of the prices you see on the menu ($25 for a main??), it is really not that bad..  and in a lot of cases in the end comes out cheaper than what you would have paid in Canada..  AND the food, like I said, is for some reason always really really good.

So yes, when it rains, you drink, eat, and..  read!  I went shopping for a new book to read after finishing the somewhat entertaining "Winds of Dune" and stumbled upon "The Algebraist" by one Iain M. Banks.  Turns out it's quite the page turner!  Banks is a British author, which is maybe why I haven't been exposed to him before, but I've gotta say..  the man is a literary GENIUS!  I am loving the book and very glad I picked it up..

Now though I must depart to make my way through the rain to a yet undiscovered pub in hopes of being served a pint of fresh cold New Zealand lager.  Wish me luck!

The Tongariro Alpine Crossing ..

was a very interesting and unique experience!  But before I get into that, let me say this: There are far too many Germans in New Zealand.  Can we please limit (checks over the shoulder to make sure that no Germans are reading this) the number of Germans in this country to at most 500,000?  Please?  All I hear is German..  Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against Germans, but there's just way too many of you here!  It's starting to get crowded!  I've heard a LOT more Deutsch than Maori, and that just isn't right.

With that out of the way, let me tell you a bit about the Tongariro Alpine Crossing.  It's a 19.4 km alpine crossing that takes you by 2 active volcanoes through a very interesting landscape in Tongariro National Park, which is New Zealand's oldest national park and the world's second oldest (after Yellowstone, if I remember correctly)  It sort of looks like the moon, sort of like Mars, and sort of like downtown Detroit.  It takes about 6-8 hours to complete and is considered to be New Zealand's most popular day-long hike, as well as one of the 9 great walks.  On the map below you will see the crossing in red.

Oh yeah, the two volcanoes were used in the Lord of the Rings movies as Mount Doom.  So..  {insert ring-related joke here}

I arrived in Tongariro at 2pm or so via train (the park is one of the stops on the Wellington-Auckland line), found a hostel, made myself comfortable, and prepared my gear for the next day's hike.  The weather was very nice, in contrast to what I experienced in Wellington, so I was hoping for the same sort of thing for the next day.  I booked a shuttle to pick me up at the hostel at 7:15am to take me to the crossing..  I wanted to head to Taupo right after the hike, which I *thought* meant that I'd have to head back to the hostel, wait a day, and then arrange transportation..  but apparently shuttles run from Taupo to the crossing as well..  so I contacted the bus company in Taupo and arranged for them to pick up my backpack (big 17kg one; all my crossing gear was in a small day pack) at the start of the hike - and to take me to Taupo afterwards..  It would save me a day - and I got lucky..  the shuttles from Taupo *usually* arrive 5-10 minutes after the ones from the hostel by the train station..  so basically the plan was for me to take a bus to the start of the hike - wait for the shuttle from Taupo to arrive - load up my big backpack onto the Taupo bus - do the hike - and then catch that bus to Taupo when I was finished with the hike.

Whew!  I hope all of that made sense!  Before I get into anything else, let me say that the weather was NOT nearly as nice as it was the previous day..  It was very cloudy and looked like it would rain at some point in the near future.. We didn't even know if we'd be able to hike until shortly before the bus left.

While I was waiting for the Taupo bus to arrive I ran into somebody from the hostel - a German (surprise surprise) named Ruediger.  We made a blood pact to become hiking buddies for the day.  We agreed that it might make sense not to be walking alone in light of the bad weather..   and in hindsight it was a pretty good idea.  It was also good to be able to practice my English...  oh..  wait a second, nevermind, that's probably just what the German guy was thinking..

The hike starts with a steady climb upwards for about an hour and a half, at which point you end up..  in clouds!  At least on that day..  It was quite a bizarre experience.  Not only were we hiking through volcanic debris & terrain that might be best described as lunar..  or martian..  but our vision was limited to maybe 15 metres in either direction.  The best way I can think of to describe it is by comparing it to one of those old Star Trek rocky planet sets.  Does anybody know what I'm talking about?  I'm sure at least one of you do.

Walking through a cloud is not at all like walking through fog.  There was quite a bit of moisture all around us and every once in a while we'd walk through "sideways rain".  It was all quite bizarre and nothing I really expected when I signed up for this thing.  I'm glad I brought all the gear that I did, because I really did need all of it - a fleece top, waterproof jacket, wool hat, gloves, 2.5L of water, food, and my camera..  which I actually attempted to use - with interesting results.

We continued climbing until we reached 1,950 metres or so, at which point we hiked along a very strange and level plateau.  It caught us by surprise..  a pleasant surprise!  I really enjoyed this part of the hike..  It really seemed like we were on a movie set or something..  and not at all sure what was around us, especially in front of us.

Eventually we reached the emerald lakes, which usually look yellowish, light blueish, and greenish..  They looked quite strange under the cloud..  I took some pictures but I'm not sure how they'll turn out!  I'm not sure if ANY of the pictures I took will manage to convey the experience in any meaningful fashion..  The videos that I took of us walking should hopefully do that job a bit more effectively.

The hike continued with another plateau later on, a climb here and there, and a strange descent down volcanic sand of some sort that was a bit annoying.  The sandy descent only lasted a bit - but the last 3 hours of the hike was a descent as well - down stairs, rocks, and other such things.. I was forced to take some ibuprofin an hour and a half into the hike and then some more maybe 2 and a half hours before the finish (due to a painful left knee)...  but overall I found the hike somewhat easy.  The Routeburn Track was far more difficult - and not only because I happened to have 17kg of stuff on my back (and only 1-2kg now).  I was really expecting a bit more of a challenge from the Tongariro Alpine Crossing..

You might wonder whether the clouds (aka no good pictures of all the things people usually take pictures of when they complete this crossing) meant that I viewed the experience as a failed one..  but, not really!  It was a strange and unique experience that I will probably never forget.

Near the end of the hike (after we were low enough to no longer be covered by clouds) it started raining..  Twenty minutes later we were at the end - under a roof..  with 40-50 other people.  Somehow we were able to find room...  and we waited for the buses.  for an hour and a half.  See, usually it takes 8 hours to complete the hike.  It took us 6.  I suppose when it's nicer out people stop a lot more often to take in the views - as well as partaking in 1 or 2 of the 2 optional side hikes..  The buses were due to arrive at 4 - we arrived at the end before 2pm.  Luckily for us the buses arrived early..  and I was off, to Taupo!  Where there were more clouds and more rain.  so I didn't get to skydive :(  (it is the skydiving capital of the world - it is surprisingly cheap to skydive there)..  I was going to write more about Taupo here, but that will have to wait..

Tomorrow I am off to Rotorua.  I am hoping for sun!  And btw, usually I quickly go over my posts and do a rough spell and grammar check before publishing..  but I have no time for that right now.  So if any of the above made you cringe (I know that some of you are grammar nazis), my apologies!  My next post will be a lot more cleaner, I promise.

Goodbye to the South Island

Unfortunately all good things must come to an end.  Ahead awaits the north island, which, judging by what I have been told by south island locals, really stinks. 

I spent my second last day on the south island in Abel Tasman National Park, where I had kayaked just a day before.  I really wanted to walk on the Abel Tasman Coastal Track, which is one of New Zealand's 9 great walks.  It usually takes a couple days, but an aqua taxi can take you to anywhere on the track..  so I booked one!  I walked from Bark Bay to Anchorage Bay, the most popular stretch on the track.  It was a pretty enjoyable walk.. 12km, took just over 3 hours..  It takes you uphill quite a bit, which my left knee did not enjoy at all..  but you get some really nice beach shots from above.  All in all it was nothing compared to the Milford or the Routeburn, but it was pretty cool in its own way.

The next morning I was off on a bus to Picton, which is where I caught a ferry to Wellington.  The ferry was HUGE - very likely the largest boat I have ever been on.  The ride takes you through the Marlborough Sounds, which were advertised to me as 'amazing' and 'spectacular'..  which they kind of were, but it was quite cloudy, so I did not spend too much time on the observation deck above.  I went down to the bar and discovered that their pints were quite cheap!  The cheapest I have ever had the pleasure to consume anywhere in New Zealand so far!  Obviously this is where I spent the rest of the 4 hour long trip.  Along the way I met some friends..  2 Aussies and a German who were discussing the tv show The Wire, so I obviously had to chime in with my own views..  and observations..  and other such things.  By the way, if you haven't seen The Wire yet, you really should.

Wellington was really cloudy and slightly rainy.  I took the cable car up to the Botanic Gardens, which were nifty, took a peek at the 'Beehive' (The NZ parliment - building looks like a beehive), checked out the hip Cuba Street, walked around downtown a bit, saw this and that, returned to my hostel, and booked a train ride to the National Park (I'm pretty sure this park has a longer name, but everyone just calls it National Park) where I would do the Tongariro crossing.  Exhausted, I crashed early.

So that's it for the south island..  I'll miss it!  I've now spent a couple days on the north, and it's pretty cool in itself..  but the south has been far superior..  so far

Kayaking in Abel Tasman National Park

So where did I leave off last..  I was about to go eat lunch and check out the Kaikoura Peninsula Walkway, right?  It was sweet as! 

I had lunch close to where you see that blue i near the top of the map (a really good "Pud" Thai) and walked clockwise all the way around the peninsula.  It was supposed to take 3-4 hours, but it took me 5 or so.  My knee is still bugging me so I took my time..  and I took lots of picture breaks anyway.  The first hour or so of the walk isn't supposed to be that nice, but I found it pretty interesting anyway..  There's a plaque every once in a while with something interesting on it (history this, geology that), a park here and there, and a bunch of mountains all around you.  Eventually you reach a seal colony.  You are basically free to wander around the rocks, as long as you don't get 10m or closer to the seals..  You are also not allowed to touch or move them, which was all explained to me on a big billboard..  which I found amusing..  who's going to try to move a seal?  How *would* you move a seal, anyway?  The seal colony was cool, though.  There was a seal relaxing fairly close to the car park and several more in the distance.  I'm pretty sure I go closer than 10m - he didn't seem to care.  I continued the walk by climbing up a cliff and continued along the walkway to 2 other seal colonies, as well as a bird colony of some sort (mating place, maybe?).  It was a great walk overall - I took tons of pics.  (The grand total so far: 5,250+)

The next day I was on a train again - with an hour stopover in Blenheim (pronounced Blenhem for some reason), then a bus to Nelson (pronounced Nelson), an hour layover there, and then Motueka, the closest place to Abel Tasman National Park that nakedbus.com let me book transportation to.  As I said I had an hour to kill in Nelson - and the bus happened to drop us off right in front of the Nelson isite - so I walked in and I booked a bunch of stuff:  1. Bus to Kaiteriteri the next day, 2. A day-long sea kayaking trip in Abel Tasman National Park, 3. An aqua taxi excursion to Abel Tasman national park including a 3.5 hour walk, 4. hostel accomodation in both Motueka and Keiteriteri..  phew!  That was a lot of stuff!  The people working the isites are really good at what they do though.  Even though I took a lazy 25 hour lunch while waiting for my bus (meaning I only had 35 minutes to book stuff), the girl helping me was able to book everything with 5 minutes to spare..  not to mention showing me all the brochures and giving me time to decide what I wanted to do.  I wasn't even going to book anything there - I just wanted information..  but it turned out that the Motueka isite would have been closed by the time I got there - in my mind equaling a wasted day, so I went ahead and booked everything right there.

Anyway, onto the subject that this post was supposed to have been about in the first place: the sea kayaking trip through Abel Tasman National Park.  First of all, Kaiteriteri has a really really nice beach.  I found out about it months ago and planned to come here initially..  before altering my plans and scrapping the side-trip.  Kaiteriteri is very close to Abel Tasman though, and I have been hearing such great things about it from other travellers, that I just HAD to come here.

The bus dropped me off at the beach at 8:30am and I was introduced to a Kiwi named Brett, who surprisingly sounded a lot like The flight of the conchord's Jermaine.  He was our guide dude and was going to share a kayak with me (in the normal sort of way that two gentlemen might share a kayak).  The only other kayak in the group was an English couple - a Royal Navy captain and his seemingly significant other.  We were introduced to the gear, dressed for the occasion, and loaded onto an Aqua Taxi along with our kayaks.  We then headed out about 16km northwards towards maybe the half-way point on the Abel Tasman Coastal Track (one of the country's great 9 walks).

From there we climbed into our kayaks and off we went!  kayaking!  I was in the front and Brett was in the back, cracking Jermaine-like jokes as we went.  The first stop was a seal colony..  And you know what?  seal colonies are cool, but they STINK.  a lot.  From there we visited some sort of a bird sanctuary island, which was intresting enough, and then made a stop at New Zealand's most photographed beach.  We went for a 5 minute walk up a hill to get a better look, spent some time there, then returned to our kayaks.  On another beach we had lunch: REALLY good ham/egg/cheese/stuff sandwiches, weird NZ muffins (with spinach, cheese, and I think egg), and coffee (yes, Brett brewed us coffee).  We ran into 2 Australian girls, who were going to be camping there overnight.  They were going to start a fire, which is illegal.. and which Brett did not like one bit.  We befriended the Aussies though - Brett offered them free gas and coffee..  but was refused hugs.  They took pictures of us on the beach, and off we went again.

The next part of the trip was somewhat unexpected.  Earlier in the trip Brett informed us that he brought a sail and that we would sail across one of the larger bays instead of paddling across..  which I took as another one of his jokes..  but no!  Out came a large piece of fabric.  This was for real!  Two of the corners of the sail were attached to 2 paddles, each one held high by the 2 guys in the back of the kayaks (Brett and the English guy).  Me and the English lady (name already forgotten) held on to the other two corners by hand, with the other hand holding to the other kayak.  It was a bit weird, but it worked VERY well.  too well, almost!  As soon as we deployed the sail the wind just took a hold of it and pushed us forward with incredible force.  It was a real challenge to hold on to the sail and keep the kayaks close together at the same time..  plus I was at first a bit unsure about putting my hand so close to the English lady's groin, which was the only place I could really get a good hold of the kayak.. Her husband was in the Royal Navy!  You don't screw with that.  And while all that was going on, a LOT of water was making its way all over me, especially when the kayaks started getting seperated and we had to pull them back together..  a LOT of water.  I got pretty damn wet!  We ended up making it across the bay in record time, in only 21 minutes.  Usually it takes a half an hour, or so Brett claimed anyway.  If we had paddled it would have taken almost an hour..

There was one last stop - a "World famous beach", Brett said, "at least NZ world famous".  There was a large rock maybe 50m out in the water, spherical, and split in the middle.  Split Apple Rock beach.

We relaxed on the beach for a half an hour or so - enjoying some Brett-suppied cookies (or biscuits as the Kiwis call them), the sand, the sun, and all that.  Afterwards it was 40 or so minutes of more kayaking until we were back in Keriteriteri.  Once there, Brett and his kayaking associates were nice enough to drop me off at the hostel I was staying at (the ONLY hostel in town).  It's pretty damn nice, if a bit pricy, but I do believe I have the room for myself!  Which is awesome, cause I'm exhausted, and I need rest.

Tomorrow morning I am off on another expedition through Abel Tasman National Park - this time all the way north to the beginning of the great coastal walk.  And I even get to walk some of it!  Hopefully my knee doesn't complain.

How I spent a night in jail

This story begins in a little town called Greymouth, the largest on the west coast of the south island.  The city's metro population is 10,000, which should give you an idea of how sparsly the west coast is populated..  which is no wonder really, given how much rain they get here (200+ days a year).  There isn't really much here, aside from the Monteith's beer brewery, which the locals are very proud of.  I arrived into town at about 6pm and promptly booked a tour of the brewery, after checking into the extremely cool Noah's Ark hostel...  probably one of my favourite hostels so far!

The tour was very informative; the beer making process was explained to me (and 2 others - from Chicago) very thoroughly.  I don't really remember any of it, except that magnets and magic are involved and that the beer samples were delicious.  After the 7 samples (one of each kind of beer the company brews, plus a cider) we got to have a pint of our favourite beer..  (I got 2, because I'm Polish).  The tour comes with a meal, which you have at your choice of 3 restaurants - which was also very good by the way.  All that for just $30!  Pretty good deal if you ask me.

On the next day I had a tranzalpine train booked (across the alps, to Christchurch), which is supposed to be one of the world's best train rides.  Somehow I was able to get a $50 discount on the fare too..  possibly due to low demand?  I'm not sure..  Either way it was pretty damn scenic!

The train ride takes about 4 hours and takes you through Arthur's pass, which is only one of three ways to get from the west coast to the east.  The cars on the train have large windows, for your viewing pleasure, as well as two "observation cars", for picture taking.  The observation cars (they weren't called that..  but the name they used escapes me at the moment) don't have any windows..  Which is great for picture taking..  the only downside being that there are a LOT of tunnels on the ride..  which means that each time you go through a tunnel - a bunch of smoke makes it into your face..  and camera..  it's not really that bad, but it gets annoying when it happens every couple minutes.

I got into Christchurch at around 6pm.  Christchurch is a town similar in size to London, Ontario..  Just a bit smaller, maybe.  The main difference seems to be that their downtown is actually pretty damn cool!  The main town square is dominated by a cathedral and college, with parks nearby as well.  There is a tram that only seems to serve downtown, which adds something or other to the feel of the place.  All in all the downtown area seems very stylish and welcoming. 

So, about that jail.  The hostel I checked into in Christchurch used to be an old jail!

It also happens to be one of the only hostels close to the rail station (about a 30 minute walk from downtown), so it appealed to me for that reason as well..  It was a bit eerie in there at first..  the door to your room is thick and heavy, and when you lock it you totally get that "whoa, i'm in OZ" feeling.  They left one cell untouched; it has interesting scribblings and drawings from an inmate..  all in all a very cool place to spend a night!  Not very close to downtown, but what's a half an hour walk?

Next morning I jumped on a tranzcoastal scenic train to Kaikoura, home of whales, dolphins, and seals..  which is where I am right now!  I was going to go whale watching, but you need to go on a boat to do that..  and then you apparently only see the tail..  so forget that!  There is a 4 hour long trail in the area that is supposed to be quite amazing.  Lonely Planet has it listed as one of the 10 things you should see when you're on the south island..  so I'm going to check it out!  Tomorrow I am hopefully headed towards Abel Tasman National Park.  And now..  I must go eat lunch!

Franz Josef Glacier

Most people travelling through New Zealand are doing it in the opposite direction as me - They start in Auckland and make their way south. I flew into Queenstown right after arriving in Auckland and have been making my way north. One of the unexpected pros about that is that the more people I meet, the better of an idea I get of what to see on my way north. One of the things that was on my 'maybe' list was Abel Tasman Park - New Zealand's most visited national park. It's got spectacular beaches, a great walk, and is the best place for kayaking (maybe 2nd best.. Milford Sound might be better?)  During the planning phase of the trip I eventually decided that I wouldn't have time to go to Abel Tasman..  but..  Way too many people I'm meeting are telling me that it's "must see", so..  I'm going try to head that way!

As such, I got out of Queenstown as soon as I could. I took a 7 hour long bus to the Franz Josef Glacier, through Wanaka, and the Haast pass. I was quite tired - didn't get much sleep due to the fact that there were party-oriented Americans in my dorm room.. so you'd think that I'd sleep on the bus to the glacier.. but nope! The scenery was way too amazing.. I might have dozed off a bit on the west coast, but for a half an hour max.

The drive to Wanaka was just spectacular and the Haast pass was fairly impressive as well. We made a couple stops - Thunder Creek Falls (picture time!), Knight's point (on the Tasman Sea), and then lunch at a Salmon farm. I ate an interestingly constructed smoked salmon & cream cheese dark rye sandwich, which was pretty damn good. On the bus with me was a Dutch guy, a couple Germans (surprise surprise!), an Indian girl (I think), and a Brazilian girl, who I talked to briefly. All in all it was a pretty interesting bus ride.

The Franz Josef township is basically a tiny town 4km from the glacier car park (6km from the glacier face) with a population of somewhere between 300-400 or so. There's a road ("highway" 6) going south towards the Fox Glacier, Haast, Wanaka, etc. and the same "highway" going north towards Greymouth. It's not much of a highway, really.. It's a 2 lane road.. And ALL the bridges along the way have 1 lane only.. which was kinda weird at first. I remember seeing the same thing between Glenorchy and Queenstown, but didn't think the trend would continue.

My hostel - the Rainforest Retreat - was pretty damn cool. As soon as you enter, there's a hot tub, out in the open, for all to use. There's also a bar/restaurant, a kitchen, laundry, tv room, and other amenities. Overall a very nice place!  The bar's motto is "When it rains, we pour!".. It was raining, and there isn't really anything to do in town other than glacier-related stuff, so I took advantage of the pouring.

A giant "Kiwi Experience" bus pulled up right before I arrived, with lots and lots of what I call "idiots" booking rooms and being generally annoying. I made my way to my room and found.. a MESS! It was insane.. clothes, pamphlets, random junk, EVERYWHERE.. and who was I sharing the room with? Turns out it was two British lesbians. They were quite alright, in the end! Just a bit messy... There wasn't much to do since it was raining, so I grabbed dinner (bangers & mash) at the bar, read for a bit, went online, explored the town a bit (yeah, in the rain), and crashed early.

Tuesday I awoke to stupid clouds everywhere.. I went to book a scenic flight, which I had been planning to do, but was told that it might not happen.. They put me down for 3pm and told me to check back at 2:40 or so. I didn't have to pay yet, until the flight was finalized, so it was no big deal.. but I really wanted to do the flight.. and get the hell out of this place as soon as I could.. While I waited I saw some Kiwi birds at a Wildlife reserve type place.. It was a 5min walk to my hostel, was pretty cheap, let you check out kiwis, had stuff about glaciers, how they work, when they were discovered, etc. Unfortunately I was not able to take any pictures, but it was a good way to kill the time. Eventually I made my way back to the scenic flight place only to find out that my flight had been cancelled due to the previously mentioned stupid clouds :( They put me down for a potential flight the next day at 10am. I went online and booked a bus to Greymouth the same day at 2:20pm. The flight was going to happen, or it wasn't, I didn't care, I was getting out of there.

There were clouds, but it wasn't raining, so I decided to walk over to the glacier. My left knee was still bugging me a bit, but I decided to give it a try anyway. I walked 4km to the car park (there is a shuttle running between town centre and the car park, but I *just* missed it), and then 2.5km or so to the glacier face. It was actually somewhat disappointing! The only other glacier I've ever seen was Glaciar Grey in Chile, and that thing was just SPECTACULAR.. The face of Franz Josef glacier is grey and depressing.. there wasn't really much to see. I got some decent pictures, walked back to the car park, and then climbed sentinel rock - a 20min climb - which promised "spectacular" views of the glacier.. Again, I was a bit disappointed.. I went back to the hostel, had some beers, ate dinner (monsoon steak sandwich - very good!) and spent the rest of the day watching tv, screwing around online, and reading.

Woke up today to more clouds :( I walked over to the scenic flights office and was told that the flight was probably happening! And sure enough, it did!

We took a shuttle to "Franz Josef International Airport" and jumped on the plane.  The 50 minute long flight was SPECTACULAR.  I took way too many pictures.  The flight took us out to the Tasman Sea and both glaciers (Fox & Franz Josef).  Then we climbed a bit and flew around New Zealand's highest mountain - Mount Cook, as well as the surrounding mountains (including Mt. Tasman), and the 70 or so glaciers in the area.  I am pretty sure the pilot said there were 70 glaciers there!  It was beautiful.  Mountains and glaciers and snow oh my!  After a while I started getting a bit sick to my stomach, but it was really a flight I'll never forget.

That was about a half an hour ago.  Now I'm sitting at an internet cafe waiting for my bus to arrive.  Two hours and I'm off..  to more rain, if the forecast is to be believed.  No worries though, Greymouth is only a stopover - I don't have any significant things planned there.  I have been told there is a "must see" beer brewery there, and only 'must see' because they give you a lot of beer on the tour..  One girl I met claimed that it was "unlimited beer for an hour".  We'll see!  There's also famous pancake rocks about a half an hour north of the city, but I'm not sure if I'll have time to head there.  I am only really stopping in town because that's where my scenic train ride begins..  one that takes me through the Southern Alps again, through Arthur's pass - dropping me off in Christchurch.

I am having a really good time here.  I'll write more when I can!