South Island- Part 1

What's up everyone?

  Checking in from the South Island of NZ! It's been a whirlwind tour, but wicked experiences all around.  We started out in Christchurch, and I'm happy to report it was earthquake free! We boarded the plane to Auckland in the warm, sun and arrived in Christchurch to intense winds and cold temperatures.  Apparently they were expecting a "Weather Bomb" that night - yeah, that's what they call a storm here... awesome! There we met our van, which would be our home for the next three weeks..

Wobs helped us get to stop at any amazing viewpoint we liked!

Introducing Bobbi Wobbles (fondly referred to as Wobs). Why the name? Our trusty Honda Odyssey has quite the body roll on her, it took some getting used to.  Wobs has a few flaws; the stereo speakers are so crackly as hell that we have to pretend we're back in the 50s to appreciate the music, she has trouble kicking from 3rd to 4th gear and as a result could be a bit better on  outfitted with a wooden frame in the back and a mattress for easy "self-contained freedom camping".

We have been touring the South Island in Wobs since and loving it! We've made some damn gourmet meals and stayed at some sweet beachside / lakefront locations, spending virtually nothing on accommodation for the whole trip!
We spent a couple of days headed down the East Coast and even saw some penguins and fur seals.  Though it was really cold and windy it was still clear enough to appreciate the amazing views! Queenstown was gorgeous and I think one of the reasons why NZ is often compared to BC.  We went to a sweet bar on the way to Wanaka called Cardrona Hotel, this old country pub Chris used to hit after a day of snowboarding.  It was pretty awesome (see Cardrona Pub details here and definitely stop in for a pint)!

Moeraki boulders, East Coast of the South Island near Dunedin

On the drive from Queenstown to Wanaka.  This is not a fake background!!

 We went to a kick-ass movie theatre in Wanaka (the weather has been pretty crappy unfortunately!) where the makeshift theatre is filled with donated oversized comfy couches.  So cozy! They even stop the movie for intermission, during which they bring out fresh out of the oven home-baked cookies! My kind of heaven!! The picture doesn't begin to do it justice (check it out, Cinema Paradiso)!

The highlight of our trip so far has been without a doubt the Kepler track, a three-day hike in the Fjordlands of the South Island.  Chris and I, though we are a great team, have been spending a LOT of quality time together, and it wasn't until the hike where we got to spend some social time with fresh faces.  The hike was pretty intense - the first day a steady climb up (think slightly less than grouse grind, but for 4 hours and carrying your own pack..) to the peak of a mountain.  They have huts along the way, bunk-bed-filled rooms to sleep 60, with bare-bones gas cookers and benches downstairs for hanging out at night.  We met a sweet group of people- some from Turkey, the US and a whole lot of people from Israel.  We had a fun-filled. booze-free night (some might say that's an oxy moron, but it was awesome!) playing cards and praying that the forecast for intense rain come morning would turn out to be wrong! Unfortunately the forecast held and we spent day two battling sideways winds and constant drizzle crossing the mountains totally exposed.  The worst part was that this was supposed to be the most scenic, amazing day and we spent the day looking out into a grey abyss of miserable clouds! Nooo!!! But we were all in it together and it's cool being able to share those experiences with good people. The trek ended on day three with a lot easier hike and nicer weather.  Doing a hike is pretty much quintessential to the South Island experience, and it didn't disappoint!

Top of the Kepler track after a steep climb on day 1!

The view on Day 2... stunning, isn't it?

Our crew,.. before leaving the hut on Day 3 for a 20k hike out!

Celebrating an exhausting yet rewarding three day hike!! 

Chris and I scored ourselves some travel buddies en route as well - Matan and Andrea, two (we love them anyway) Americans we me on the hike.  Through beach bonfires, random pictures at tourist attractions, discussing roadtrip challenges, sharing crazy dance moves, and Chris and Matan's incessant conversations about whether Football or Rugby is the better sport, we grew quite attached to these two Americans!

Andrea, Matan and us at the terminal face of Fox Glacier

The last night we spent together we went out in Nelson - I felt right at home :) It also just so happens to be the sunniest place in NZ, love it! Anyway, we went out to this 'bar' with a live band... I have never experienced this kind of weird before (uh-oh, maybe I shouldn't have mentioned that this happened in Nelson).  There were probably 6-8 men in their 40s who were drunk or high off their faces, hitting on the men in our crew.  Matan and Chris kept getting pulled out to dance in weird ways with these hippy freaks.  It was so incredibly entertaining! We also randomly met up with Onur and Pinar, the turkish couple we spent a lot of time with on the Kepler track, so the six of us had a great time people watching and joining in amongst the crazies!

   
All in all, we are looking forward to the last week of the South Island, but will be sad to part with our travel buddies!! Stay tuned for more adventures to come.
Lauren and Chris!

PS I updated pics on the other two entries as well -check em out!!!

Slice of Heaven!

This is my ode to the North Island!! We have had such a great time discovering the North Island of New Zealand and though we are now down at the southernmost point of the south island (well, basically), I thought I would update the blog with memories from the beach-clad north! 

Highlights of the North Island

The good:

1. staying in a crazy posh place up North on an estuary and learning to wakeboard, and riding on a 'sea legs' boat (the kind that you drive into the water and then pull up the legs so it goes from 'car' to boat, so awesome!)

Didn't quite get the timing right on the camera, but we thought it was a funny pic anyway.

Going for a walk on the estuary in search of golf balls, after a few rounds on the "driving range". Tough life!

2. catching fresh snapper off the rocks and frying it up for dinner, up in a secluded bare bones cabin in Hihi (pronounced hee hee - awesome city/town names here!).  We headed up there with Chris' university crew, and had lots of campfires and crazy adventures over a few days.

Chris caught the first fish by spear fishing!! Unfortunately it wasn't an edible one... no matter, you always need more bait!

The crew,.. what a spot!

3. beaches beaches beaches - obviously being a country that is also an island NZ has a lot of coastline, but the nice part is there are heaps of beaches to hit! I have so many pictures of beaches and they start to look the same after a while... My favorite however was Maitai Bay, up on the KariKari peninsula. Such a beautiful secluded beach with shell-less sand and clear almost turquoise blue waters - a slice of heaven for sure!

My only concern is the strained look on Chris' face... maybe I need to lay off the ice cream!

In the Bay of Islands, one of the many diverse beaches we have sun bathed on in the last few weeks!

After dinner (and ice cream) in Mission Bay, the closest beach to downtown Aucks!

4. Spending a rainy day soaking in the natural hot springs, where a steaming hot water waterfall meets up with a fast flowing river and you can sit under the bridge drinking beer and having a soak.  Pretty cool! This was in Taupo, one of the few non-coastal cities in NZ, where we splurged and spent the night in an actual hotel room!! Cush!

Relaxing in the 'jets' section of the hot pools... soo good!

5. Having one of Chris' best buds hook us up with free drinks and free meals at his bar, a cheap and easy way to catch up with Chris' friends (thanks Ben)!

6. Not having to work (sorry, I had to throw that in there!)

The bad:

1. The mayo here is disgusting.  Thankfully most stores sell Hellman's, 

2. I do not understand the obsession over meat pies - also disgusting! Although I did have a butter chicken pie and it was delicious! I also do plan on going to a homemade pie shop recommended in the lonely planet, maybe my opinion will be swayed in the other direction...? Stay tuned!

3. I have never had so many mosquito bites on my legs and slept for about two hours total last night due to my itchy legs bringing me close to insanity.

4. I love Vancouver for its smoking prohibitions! So many people smoke and are allowed to smoke in restaurants and public places. I feel lucky to live where we live! 

5. I've seen the lowest plumber's crack ever.  A guy with nothing on under his jeans was carrying something and his pants were completely below his butt cheeks. I almost got a glimpse of frontal from behind, and not in a good way!

The ugly/weird:

1. Chris' buddy dislocating his big toe so badly that it tore completely through the skin (while turning on grass to save a soccer ball from rolling down a hill- freak accident!) and then getting to see seven stitches put in at the local hospital

2. Two days later, Chris' friend got a fish hook in the chin that was lodged in so well that he ended up at the same hospital (we weren't there to experience that!)

3. I have seen on two separate occasions a Maori (NZ first nations) person sitting on a bean bag on top of the hood of their car at the beach, with the car doors open and music blasting...?

4. Trying to learn the rules and to enjoy watching a game of cricket.  We may go to a live match (only if its a one-dayer though!) and I'll hold off on forming opinions until then...

5. Chris trying to break a stick in half for a campfire but instead of breaking it away from his face he broke it towards, resulting in a stick in the face and a very attractive gash on his nose.. what's up with Kiwis and their injuries!? (**Important note: Chris is not usually so ridiculous, this would definitely qualify as a drunken injury**)

Check out Chris' nose, he did quite the number on it!

Kiwi-isms that I want to remember and someone may be interested in:

Sayings: Kia Ora! Wanna chip bro? You're such an egg/hard case/freshie! Chur bro! Sweet as!

That's brilliant! 

Food: Four Square, Meat pies, 

Wheet Bix, Coconut Slab, Moro gold stix, kiwiberries

Bird names: morepork, kea, kiwi, mynah, tui, kakapo

Weird town names: whakapapa (keep in mind "wh" is pronounced like the letter "f") , waipu, papatoetoe, Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu

Overall first impressions of New Zealand: the people are awesome and protectively proud of their country.  Deservedly so, because it is absolutely beautiful! What New Zealand has that other places don't is that it is small so there is a lot to offer in a compact little space.  They also have so many amazing beaches to choose from, seeing as practically the whole country is coastline! I'm not a fan of the sand flies and the mosquitoes last night were out in full force, but the other nice thing (which could also be interpreted as quite an odd thing) is that there is no large wildlife at all.  Let's just say that when we were up north and grilled up all that fish, we all went to bed without thinking of disposing of the remnants (tin foil with half-eaten fish, you get the picture) beforehand.  When we woke up in the morning it was untouched.  To them this may seem like NBD, but to me it was crazy! No wildlife (well, other than lots and lots of birds!). All in all, the sights have been absolutely beautiful and my only wish is that the weather would get better so we can find some more beautiful beaches!

Until next time.... bro ;)