Days 7 & 8 of Fall Break: Franz Josef Glacier

WARNING: This blog post is Rated R for Adult Language. Reader discretion is advised.

The ocean I was able to wake up to

We departed Mahinapua at 9:30 on April 14^th, but before we left I had time to take in the sights of the ocean which was about 300 meters from our hostel.  It is not every day I get to wake up to the ocean.  Oh wait, I guess I do that in Wellington a lot, but I am not right next to it—I just have an “awesome as” view.  It was a relaxing way to start the day.  Then, to my surprise when I headed back, I was able to see the mountains that were covered by clouds the previous day.  It was another scenic drive as we made our way to Greymouth—home of Franz Josef Glacier. 

Friendly mama goat

Our first stop; however, was not scenic.  We stopped at the Bushman’s Center to learn about deer population control.  The “tour” consisted of an entertaining video watching people jump onto deer from a helicopter—literally, among other hunting techniques.  Thankfully, after the educational video we were able to feed possums and see a real eel that was supposedly 80 years old.  I also got to pet a mama goat that was very friendly and just wanted some attention by everyone.  It brought a smile to my face.  After that we stopped at some neat places including a glimpse of the Southern Alps.  When we pulled to the side of the road, our bus driver reminded us of the importance of looking both ways before crossing the road.  He said, “In NZ we have this really awesome law—it’s called ‘common fucking sense’ so look both ways!”  It was pretty funny.  Our last stop was at Lake Mapourika, which turned out to be more of a bathroom break because it was a windy day.  It is a sight that produces some neat mirror images, but we did not get to enjoy them. 

View of the Southern Alps

Upon our arrival in Greymouth we went to book our glacial activities for the next day.  My mom and I planned to do the Glacial Explorer.  This particular activity included a helicopter ride up to Franz Josef Glacier and a three hour guided hike.  Afterwards, we went on a hike in town called the Canavans Knob Walk.  We were able to see the Tasman Sea and Franz Josef Glacier at different points during the hike.  It was a fun and free activity because the hike was about an hour walk away from the Rainforest Retreat, our hostel for two nights.

During the helicopter ride

The real fun began the next day.  I feel like this day was and is by far one of the best days of my life.  I was able to cross off two things from my bucket list: a helicopter ride and exploring a glacier.  It was absolutely incredible.  In fact, I don’t think that incredible even comes close to describing this experience.  The whole morning was so fun and being on a glacier was indescribable.  We hiked around, crawled through crevasses, sat in glacier holes, saw waterfalls on the ice, and climbed through ice waves.  What is so unique about this experience is that every group that goes on the glacier experiences something different—we literally had to chop out “ice” steps as we moved around the glacier.  Hands down, one of the coolest things I have ever done in my entire life.  I still feel like it was a giant dream and it does not seem like something that was a reality.  Luckily I have amazing pictures to remind myself that it really happened.  I’m proud of my mom too.  She’s afraid of heights and doesn’t like small spaces, and she conquered her fears effortlessly the entire morning.  We finished the afternoon off at Glacier Hot Pools.  There were three separate pools: 36, 38, and 40 degrees Celsius.  It was relaxing after a morning of playing on the ice.

Views of Franz Josef Glacier

My mom and I during our glacier hike

Days 4-6 of Fall Break: Nelson/Abel Tasman/Westport

3:30 a.m. came very early on the 4^th day of our trip.  We had to be at the airport by 5:30 which meant our taxi was at my flat to pick us up at 5 a.m.  We were early, but I figure it is always better to be early rather than late.  In fact, I cannot stand when people are late, but I won’t get off on that venting rampage of mine at the moment.  We had to go to a remote area of the airport.  I had heard about flying through Sounds Air, which was really our only option to arrive in Nelson in a timely matter that day.  Well, this particular airline only allows a carry on so my extra luggage and my mom’s luggage had to be paid for by the kilogram.  It was our lucky day because there was only one other gentleman on our flight, so our extra weight did not matter and the guy who checked us in did not charge us anything.  This is why I love NZ.  In the planning stages I had booked the flight to Nelson on the wrong day and they simply just let me change it with no fee!  Oh, and the guy who checked us in, Gordon, also loaded our bags, also gave us our flying debriefing, and also flew us to Nelson.  My first experience on a 12 seat plane was a pleasant one.  Everything from check in, to take off, to the actual flying time, and to the landing was completely smooth.  The sights from the flight made me feel as though I was dancing along the light of day as I watched the sunrise along the horizon. 

Our tiny plane

On Thursday we were to meet up with Kiwi Experience, a hop-on, hop-off traveling bus at 2 p.m.  Since we had no other way to get to Nelson by that time, we had to fly early and I figured we would find something exciting to do in Nelson in the meantime.  We left the airport about an hour after we arrived, which was an hour too soon.  I figured we could store our bags at our pick up location and tour the city.  Unfortunately the place did not open up until 11 a.m. so we sat underneath an overhang and out of the rain on a cold day for an hour.  Luckily, we tried again at 9 and someone was around.  We spent the morning shopping around shops in Nelson.  It was an enjoyable morning and early afternoon.  My mom and I usually spend Wednesday’s together shopping, running errands, and going out to lunch, so it felt like a Wednesday all over again, only this time it was in New Zealand.  We had lunch at a place called Mango because it was the cheapest we could find!  I still cannot seem to get over the prices for food—especially when it comes to going out to eat.  I introduced my mom to cider (a fruity beer is the best way I can describe it) at the bar that held our bags all day (we had to do something to thank them)!  I’m not sure if she enjoyed it or not, but I know I did.

Sights of Nelson

We arrived at our first hostel, Kaiteri Lodge, for the night in Kaiteriteri around 5.  It was raining out so it made it very easy for my mom and me to have a relaxing night in to catch up on our sleep.  On Thursday morning we were able to do a hike in Abel Tasman National Park, which is one of the most beautiful places in NZ.  After spending only a morning there, I already know I want to try and go back at some point while I am here.  We took a water taxi to our starting point and passed Split Apple Rock along the way.  This rock literally split right down the middle one day and it was on my list of things I definitely wanted to see while in NZ.  We arrived at Te Pukatea Bay to begin the Pitt Head Trail.  It was a leisurely hike that we ended in Anchorage, another bay a little further north of where we began.  There simply are no words to describe the beauty of the golden sand and the clear blue water.  There was an area at the end of the beach that had some unique rock formations so we checked that out as well.  It was the best part of the day for me.  I enjoyed taking my hiking boots off and dipping my feet in the crystal clear water.  I am glad I did it because I spotted a stingray close to shore.  And to make things even better, during the walk back down the beach I also spotted a jellyfish and a starfish.  Abel Tasman was absolutely beautiful and I only saw a small part of it. 

Abel Tasman

We left Kaiterteri at 12:30 and headed for Westport.  There was an opportunity to do some adventurous activities, by my mom and I decided to pass since we had already done something that day.  It was a low key night once we arrived, but the low key nights have provided me the opportunity to reflect upon each day.

Split Apple Rock

On day #6 we cruised down the west coast of the South Island of NZ.  It is called Highway 6 and I’m a nerd and appreciate the irony of it being on our 6^th day.  This was mostly a day to travel down the coast, but Kiwi Experience allowed us to stop at numerous locations and do some hiking.  Unfortunately, it was raining, but I have learned to not let weather bother me much here.  After all, I am living in Wellington and it is always either nice or not nice—not much in between.  Our first hike was the Cape Foulwind Walkway.  We were able to spend an hour taking in scenic views of the coast that even included the sites of seals.  I took tons of pictures because it is what I do when I travel, but the pictures just will never do justice to the sights I see here.  Our next stop was a viewpoint along the coast called Irimahuwhero.  It was a short stop, but again, the sites were worth it.  Stop #3 was at Truman Track.  It was a short hike to the coast.  My mom and I were able to take in the unique sights of the coastline.  Our last stop of the day was at the Punakaiki Pancake Rocks.  This was also a place that I had on my list of must-sees before arriving in NZ.  They were awesome!  I am completely in awe of the beauty the God has created in this world.  We did stop at one last place our bus driver compared to the Great Ocean Road in Australia called the Apostles.  It was gorgeous, and even though it was raining, I can see why he compared it to this place that I have seen pictures of.

View from Cape Foulwind Walkway

We arrived in Mahinapua for the night.  Our hostel was called Mahinapua Hotel, also known as the legendary “Poo Pub.”  This place has been on 20/20, and the Prime Minister in NZ calls the owner, Les, who is 87 to wish him a happy birthday.  They say he’s the oldest bar owner in the country.  It was wonderful to be greeted by him and to meet him.  Every Kiwi Experience bus traveling the South Island stops at this place; it’s really quite remarkable to think about how he makes a living.  We were able to walk down to Lake Mahinapua upon our arrival.  It was breathtaking and I met a woman from Christchurch who said it would be the most remote spot in NZ we’ll ever be.  It was peaceful.  Les and our bus driver, Bods, cooked us a wonderful steak meal inclusive of potatoes, rolls, pasta, corn, and green beans.  I always jump at the opportunity to stuff my face so that’s what I did that night.  After that, we had the bar (which looks the same as it did 20 years ago) to ourselves and we had a dress theme of “Bad Taste.”  It was everyone’s goal to offend other people in the room.  “Bad Taste” with a combination of alcohol made for a very fun evening that I’ll never forget.  There we were partying with people from Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, Poland, Brazil, Holland, and everywhere in between.  Anyone who walked in that bar would have never known we were strangers.

Days 1-3 of Fall Break: Auckland & Wellington

I know I mentioned this in my very first NZ blog post, but I am going to say it again. NZ reminds me a lot of Wisconsin. For example, take the “Welcome to Wisconsin” sign that we pass upon entering home territory. That sign reads around it: agriculture, recreation, and industry. These three words define NZ in many ways. When driving around, one sees farms of all sorts: dairy, sheep, beef, pigs, alpacas, and even deer. I have decided that NZ is dedicated to not working hard—by this I simply mean that they are dedicated to being with people they love or doing things they love; if they are always working they are not able to do these things. Therefore, recreation can describe NZ very well (not to mention all the cool things that a person can do here at any given moment). All in all, it is a very outdoors-based country. As far as industry goes, well, the travel and tourism industry is huge here. Not a day has gone by where I haven’t met someone visiting this beautiful country.

At the hot water beach

This is the first of probably four or five blog posts that I will write about my fall break/vacation. Let’s begin with Sunday, April 8th. I met my mom in Auckland at about 9:15 a.m. Surprisingly enough, she was the first person I saw upon entering the baggage claim area because customs was a breeze for her. It was an early morning for me. I didn’t exactly go to bed until 2 in the morning, and got up at 5:45 in order to get ready, do last minute packing, and make it to the airport in time to check in and go through security. I think I was feeling the jet lag my mom had all day too. A couple I was put in contact with through one of my parents’ employees met us in Auckland. Keith and Carolyn live approximately two and a half hours north of Auckland. I had been talking with them since the beginning of January about anything and everything pertaining to New Zealand so it was wonderful to finally meet them.

Cathedral Cove

We began our journey with them to the Coromandel Peninsula. I highly recommend googling this place. It was absolutely gorgeous. Our first stop was a hot water beach. A hot water beach entails digging a hole in the sand and having hot water rise up in it during low tide. Unfortunately we arrived late (and it was Easter) and the hot water spots were well taken up so I dug my own hole close to where the tide came in. The water may not have been hot, but it was warm and worth it. It was a great experience and I am glad to say I was able to do it. From there, we drove about six kilometers north to see Cathedral Cove. Again, google this place! We hiked for about 45 minutes before arriving at the beach where we were able to see the cove and the gorgeous scenery it entailed. It was nice to get some sun on a warm day. Keith and Carolyn took us on a scenic drive to Coromandel Town. It was here that we got fish and chips (NZ’s official meal of choice) and drove to the beach and ate off the back of the truck at sunset. I couldn’t think of a more unique way to enjoy my first official meal of NZ. We headed back to Auckland. It was an early night for my mom and me as we were both extremely tired from traveling and lack of sleep.

Sights from our hike to Cathedral Cove

On Monday we got up early, had breakfast with Keith and Carolyn and said good bye. I cannot express my gratitude enough to these kind and generous people. They made our first day in the Auckland area a smooth one. They dropped us off at the ferry station so we could begin our travel adventures for the day. My mom and I took the ferry to Rangitoto Island where we were able to hike up a volcano to a lookout point of the Auckland city skyline. Quick fact: Auckland is made up of volcanoes so we had to do something volcano-related while there. The hike was enjoyable for us because we had another gorgeous day to enjoy. And the view? Well, it was incredible of course! Once we were finished we took the ferry to Devonport to have a late lunch and do some souvenir shopping. We arrived back in Auckland at about 3:30 where we did some more shopping before relaxing.

Auckland city skyline from Rangitoto Island

CAN I GET A DRUM ROLL PLEASE?! I still cannot believe I can say that we did this. We had dinner at the top of Sky Tower! Sky Tower is a lot like to Space Needle in Seattle. I cannot say which is cooler since I have only been to Sky Tower, but I can say that the views of Auckland at night from a height of 328 meters took my breath away. We ate at The Observatory. Lucky for me it was a buffet so I did my usual three trips for dinner and two trips for dessert. I was stuffed from mostly seafood. I have developed a love for sushi and my love for fish has deepened since being in NZ. It was delicious and incredible to enjoy dinner at such a height. Sky Tower is the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere and the 27th tallest building in the world. I personally cannot think of anything being much taller.

Sky Tower at night

My mom and I spent so much of Tuesday in an airport. Our flight was at an odd time so we didn’t have time to do anything before leaving Auckland and then it was delayed by an hour which really cut our time in Wellington short. I am disappointed I wasn’t able to show my mom more of my city that feels like a home away from home to me. I was able to show her the highlights in about two hours: Cuba Street, Courtenay Place, and the Wellington Waterfront. We had dinner at Burger Fuel and my mom was able to officially try Tim Tams: the best cookie in the world. Even though the time was cut short, I think my mom got a decent vibe from Wellington. It was another early night because of our early morning flight (6 a.m.) to Nelson.

Life's Luxuries

WARNING: This will be a long blog post, but I feel it is an important one.

Since arriving in New Zealand, I've had to adjust to the time difference from here and home 3 times already. When I arrived, I knew I could add 5 hours to the current time to get an idea of the general time of day it was back home, not necessarily what day it was. After day light savings two weeks ago, it became 6 hours that I had to add. Now, since it's fall in New Zealand, we "fell" back an hour this morning and now there is a 7 hour time difference. That's a lot to adjust to, and I feel that now that I have been in this beautiful country for 6 whole weeks, I've adjusted to more than just time.

My life here is so simple. I have no car, no smart phone, no commute to school, no hot tub to relax in after a hard day, no job, no decorations in my room, no horses, no dog, and no family. Everything here is so different from my life in Wisconsin, and I find it odd to think about. I am not meaning to sound spoiled, but I have grown to miss those things more than anyone could ever imagine. I had a feeling that the simplicity that I would experience in my life in New Zealand would have an impact on me, but I was unsure what type of impact it would have. I feel like many people are hoping to hear that I have learned how unimportant these things are in life (some, not all), but I'm writing this blog today to express how much these things have come to mean to me. And how thankful I am to have such luxuries in my life.

Instead of a car, I take the bus, but that's a pretty rare occasion. Anyone who knows me really well, knows that I am extremely frugal so I walk here a lot and take the bus when my destination is over 2 kilometers away, which doesn't exactly happen often. The places I go to get groceries, hang out, or go shopping are all within walking distance. I miss the convenience of having a vehicle--I do not see it as a necessity in life, but I sure am grateful I can afford to have one back home. Not having a job has been a weird adjustment. I feel like I have too much time on my hands, and I even have looked into getting a job under the table here, but I haven't had any luck. I love working, and I love working more than I love school so it is frustrating for me to not have a job.

The other things that make me who I am are my horses, my dog, and my family. Being away from my horses and dog has been beyond hard. Leaving them has been one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. In my time away I have realized how much I have taken them for granted, and I will not do that once I am home again. Animals do not understand why you're away--they just know you are away, and that kills me. They are a large luxury in my life. It is just as difficult being away from my family, but I am able to talk to them every day so I do not necessarily feel like I am away from them emotionally, just physically. I have such a wonderful family and being away from them has made me realize how lucky I am to have such an amazing family. Sometimes my friends here will talk about their families and all I ever think is how lucky I am to have such a loving, caring, supportive, and encouraging family.

As far as the other things go, I miss my commute to school. I literally live 5 minutes from all campus buildings, which is nice at times; however, I miss hearing the news and starting my day off with great music. I do like the fact that I do not have to get up as early though. I miss all the pictures and decorations in my room. My decorations are essentially a shrine of memories from places I have gone and things I have done. My room here is pretty bare and lacks character. I really miss having a hot tub to relax in after each day; I feel like I have not figured out a way to de-stress here. I miss my smart phone only because it is nice to have answers to questions easily. There have been times where I have gone out exploring and gotten lost. If that happened before I would just turn on my GPS and be good to go. Otherwise I also do not miss my phone because I enjoy the fact that I am not easily and readily available to people. Plus, I have come to hate texting so maybe that is a good habit to break.

My life here is simple, but I am learning to love it. It is weird to think about how all these adjustments that I have undergone happened overnight. At first, it was not too difficult to adjust to, but as time carries on things become more noticeable. I am a "creature of habit" as my mom words it. My routine here is very different from anything I have ever had back home, but now I have my routine figured out. I am thankful to say that I had many luxuries in life back in Wisconsin, and I do miss them all. I do not think I could survive without some of them for much longer than 5 months, but for now I do see the positives to living a simple life. I am looking forward to being reunited with my family, my horses, my dog, and a job when I get home in July.

Owhiro Bay

On Saturday I embarked on a journey to Owhiro Bay with my friend Suzanne. We were a little leery about going because the weather forecast said a 50% chance of rain. We went anyways because we are sick of the weather preventing us from doing things we want to do. Lucky for us it turned out to be an absolutely beautiful day.

We took the bus because it would be quite the walk otherwise. Once we got off the bus we went the wrong way and wondered around the city for a little bit. We eventually found the city sky walk area so we went up to see an overlook of Island Bay. It was breathtaking. Despite being so high up, we could still hear the water crashing against the red rocks.

We wandered around the beach for quite a while taking pictures and getting our feet wet. I cannot describe how beautiful this place was. Just when I think New Zealand cannot get any more prettier, something else takes my breath away. This place is full of seals during the winter time so I definitely want to go back once fall passes. I also learned that dolphins and orcas can sometimes be seen here!

After we were satisfied with our beach adventure along the Red Rocks Seal Colony, we walked quite a ways back into town to find something to eat. When I first arrived here, I had heard of a place called Burger Wisconsin which was in the part of town we were in for the day. We wanted to eat there, but they were not open yet so we went somewhere else. I plan to take my mom there next week when she comes for dinner. Before heading back to Wellington we did a chocolate run to the grocery store. It topped off one of the most perfect days I have had here so far.