We flew to Christ
Church on Thursday afternoon to kick things off. There were 13 of us in our group so one of the vehicles we rented was a 10 person van that I am personally amazed made it through the weekend. It was a diesel manual that belched black exhaust, made the angriest noises, had personal "oh-sh*t" handles, supported several moss patches in the interior, and rattled enough that we took to locking the doors to ensure they stayed closed while the van was in motion. A bit surreal all in all.We bustled around Christ Church to find dinner and some of us ended up at an Irish pub. I decided to treat myself to a good meal and split a Lamb dish with Charity which was DELECTABLE. I must make sure to eat delicious and tender baby animals more often, especially if they come with mint jus. (sarcasm)
We wandered around Christ Church the next morning for a few hours. We walked along the river and then visited their botanical gardens which were much showier then the Wellington gardens. It had rained the night before and was sunny when we visited so the dew and sunshine on the flowers made for excellent pictures. We took some time to check out a museum which had some really good displays on the Moa; an avian lineage (including a bird that was 3 meters tall!) that went extinct because of human arrival in New Zealand. After that we found a charming little produce market where I promptly spent $5 NZ ($3.50US) on 2 Kg (4.5 lbs) of Nectarines. Best purchase of the weekend. Then, it was time to leave Christ Church and head for the Glaciers!
Along the way top the glaciers, we stopped at Arthurs Pass and hiked up to the Devils Punchbowl, a very nice waterfall. As usual, Steven could not bear to follow the beaten path and forged his own little side trial...I decided stairs were boring and followed him. Continuing the trend, we ignored the suggested viewing platform that was a safe distance from the falls and wrangled our way up the river and rocks. Steven and I got close enough to touch the edge of the small pool created by the falls but could not get anycloser because of the immense amounts of wind and water coming off the falls coupled with very slippery rocks. Maybe not the smartest decision to get so close with conditions so uninviting, but the vibrancy I felt afterward was undeniable.
We made a stop at one scenic outlook which was inhabited by Kea, a very cheeky alpine parrot. It loves to tear the rubber lining off of windows, which we prevented thankfully! I played with one; I hopped and then it would hop. As soon as it realized I was not going to reward it with food, it stopped. I do have a video of this entertaining interaction which may or may not be uploaded.
We arrived at Fox glacier and I promptly crashed despite not having my book bag to prep for bed (I stupidly left it in car that detoured to see Pancake Rocks). I knew that I was going to need my energy and strength for my Glacier adventures the next day!
The next day (never quite) dawned as the thick clouds drizzled away any hopes of seeing the sun. Five of us (Steven, Drew, Jay, Charity, and myself) had upped the ante and decided to go Ice Climbing at Franz Joseph Glacier instead of a half-day hike at Fox Glacier but our nerve seemed to be in vain because of the terrible weather. Too our great surprise, our ice climbing was not canceled while the other groups hike was canceled. I soon contemplated the idea that perhaps the persistence of our head guide was not so admirable, but shifted to the more positive outlook that at least it made it very easy to imagine myself in Antarctica. Pretending to be an Arctic explorer romanticized the fact that I was dripping wet and freezing through 4 layers plus a gor-tex shell. Let's not forget to mention the extreme comfort of my boots that led to 4 sole blisters, 3 side raw spots, 2 areas of shin bruising, and an entire ring of chaffed shin skin. Despite all of this piddling physical discomfort, I had a BLAST!
The glacier was absolutely breath-taking both from beauty and physical exertion. My ice-climbing started out a bit weak as I could not get my technique right and my heels kept coming up and forcing my crampons out of the ice. After 2 abortive tries, something finally clicked and I made it up a face. I attempted one more face, which was twice the height of the previous success and more difficult and forced my way to the top. I say forced because it was definitely a case of willpower of mind over a body that did not want to swing that ice-axe again and again and yet again. It was a bit frustrating to watch the other group members get the hang of ice-climbing faster (they're all rock-climbers) but I'm very proud of my perseverance. I would love to ice-climb again.
I recouped strength by devouring a delicious meat pie (from the same bakery my two breakfast cinnamon crumblie biscuits came from) and off our group headed. As a side note, Charity got hit by a van in reverse at this point. Not serious but rattling. I must also note that embarking on a 9 hour drive at 5 pm after 8 hours of intense physical exertion once again might not have been the smartest decision even with youth on our side. Steven, however, is a beast and made the drive with only the slightest of interventions. I made it to about hour 6 or 7 of the drive and then handed off navigation/keep-Steven-awake duty to Drew. I slept happy knowing we had rid New Zealand of at least one pesky possum. We also viewed a most beautiful sunset over Lake Wanaka.
Woke up the next morning very sore, surprise surprise. The usual muscle suspects were protesting but also, curiously enough, my sternum was ridiculously tender and sore. Walking was a terribly enjoyable endeavor as I attempted to not pop any blisters on the bottom of my feet or piss my knees off any more then they already were. Thankfully, our day consisted of a bus drive and a boat ride with minimal walking.
Sunday consisted of a visit to Milford Sound, which has been judged the world's top top travel destination in an international survey, and is acclaimed as New Zealand's most famous tourist destination. Our bus driver for the 75 miles to the sound, Alan, provided witty commentary and information on the landscape and legends of New Zealand. Fiordland National Park was absolutely stunning; quite possibly the most awe-inspiring landscape I have ever seen. There were hundreds of little waterfalls cascading down every cliff, beautiful mirror lakes, the texture of the mountain sides was exquisitely chiseled, and the forest was native vegetation so a T-rex could have easily come stomping out of its primeval looking shadows. There was an amazing waterfall (aptly titled the Chasm) that had carved out the most wicked formation and cheeseholes into the rock.
As usual, the pictures and my descriptions do none of this any justice.
It was a misty, foggy day so the mountains were looming particularly foreboding-ly which really set the mood. Unfortunately, upon reaching the water the mist turned into a cold rain which somewhat obscured the beauty of the sound and made it hard to stay on the observation deck. We did, however, see a pod of dolphins and two separate colonies of fur seals!
We returned to Te Anau (minus one dumb tourist not of our group who got lost during a bathroom break!) and piled into the car to drive four hours to our next hostel. We made a dinner stop in Queenstown which was bustling right along for a Sunday evening. We ate at Fergburger which is renowned for their burgers and mine was such a delicious burger (with AMERICAN bacon!!!) that I snarfed mine it down (minus top bun) before anyone else finished! Perhaps I should of had the Little Lambie Burger with mint jus, but I was enthralled with the prospect of having American bacon for the first time while here.
A few hours of driving later, we discovered our hostel was literally in the middle of a sheep field. We were so far away from any polluting light so the night sky was undoubtedly and without question the best night sky ever. I didn't even know the night sky could look like it did! I learned about and saw huge swirled areas of cosmic dust! I mentally dubbed the first satellite I located and tracked pulsing its way across the night sky my Valentine (it was Feb. 14th both in NZ and USA). We must have sat out there for an hour just soaking it in and if it hadn't been so cold or the next morning so early, I could have easily sat there for another few hours.
As mentioned above, the next morning came early...as in 5:30 am early. The bright side was that we watched the sun rise as we passed Mount Cook (the tallest peak in New Zealand) which made for gorgeous pictures and we had some time to spend in Christ Church before our flight back to Wellington. Which concludes a most epic weekend.
This is an amazing map of where we went this weekend by the amazing and talented Steven!
As a side note of some significance, I am planning to return to New Zealand upon the conclusion of the Australia portion of the program and possibly stay in New Zealand until as late as May 10th, depending on when my money runs out.
No comments:
Post a Comment