New Zealandf

October 13, 2002 Dunedin, NZ

I am sure our arrival at the local bus station was very humorous. Three, very green travelers, with far too much stuff . We had an address, a map, and some of us were very determined to walk the uphill blocks to Auntie's Backpackers Lodge. We had three very large, very heavy backpacks, three day packs, a clam shell case with wheels, and a soft sided computer pack and another odd bag. Did we seriously think that we were simplifying our lives?

We finally arrived at Auntie's Backpackers Lodge\133..it was perched on the side of a huge hill. Upon announcing our arrival, we were told that our room was on the second floor\133\133\133.now, steps to climb with all this stuff! As soon as we reached our tiny room (which must have been a closet with a bay window in its previous life), we had a very lively discussion about volume, weight and necessity. We emptied our bags and began eliminating "stuff"\133\133..some went directly in the trash and some, in the pile to be sent home. How could this have happened?

Facts and Highlights\133..

\149    Dunedin, Victorian city founded in 1848, settled by the Scottish.

\149    The second largest city on the South Island, a town of stone churches,

museums, and the only castle in New Zealand( we walked seven hilly kilometers to see it).

\149    Near Dunedin are the protected breeding grounds of the royal albatross\133.. sightings are very rare, we got lucky!

\149    Close by, are nesting places of the rare yellowed-eyed penguin. Every evening at sunset, they walk from the ocean back to their nests\133..they are, like little Charlie Chaplans. We were able to watch from specially dug and hidden trenches.

\149    We visited the Otago Museum which houses many Maori artifacts.

\149    We got lucky with ballet classes, McKay had several private classes and was invited to participate in others.

The best part of Dunedin\133\133..the people! Ange Wilson, the manager at Aunties

Backpackers was great. We shared several bottles of wine over lengthy conversations during the ten days that we stayed in Dunedin. She fixed an authentic Kiwi meal for us, complete with Pavlova cake. She prepared pancakes for us on October 23, the morning we left for Invercargill.

October 23 and 24, 2002 Invercargill, New Zealand's southernmost city.

Again, we got lucky with our accommodations\133\133..got a lead from some other

backpackers and found a room at "Southern Comfort". It was a great place to stay.

Wonderfully quiet and peaceful\133\133..beautiful gardens, and located in a residential section of town. Not as busy and Aunties, which made communal living a little easier. It was a 1930's residence, converted to a boarding house, with tall ceilings and a fireplace, quite cozy and great places to read. We stayed for two nights\133\133we needed to rest for our next adventure.

Facts and highlights\133\133

\149    Invercargill was settled by the Scottish.

\149    Very flat city, wide tree-lined streets, with modest houses behind brick walls or fences. Most all homes have elaborate but small gardens.

\149    Queen's Park is a lovely area in the center of town with formal gardens, an aviary, deer park and many playing fields\133\133..we found this wonderful place soon after our arrival, it was free and we spent several hours there.

\149    Great shops\133..lots of wool products\133..lots of antiques\133..no money!!!!

\149    Area surrounded by sheep farms, six million lambs a year processed and exported.

October 25 and 26, 2002 Stewart Island, New Zealand

Early Friday morning we rode twenty-seven kilometers south, to the small port city of Bluff. From there, we took a catamaran across Foveaux Strait to Stewart Island. We were warned by the locals as to the roughness of the waters\133.I was a bit apprehensive that morning when we boarded. I knew many people opted to fly, but that was twice as expensive. As it turned out, it was quite a thrilling roller coaster ride the first fifteen minutes, and then it was fairly calm the rest of the one hour trip. As we approached the island, we spotted the tiny little fishing village of Oban, the only town on the island. We were already booked at Portside Lodge for the weekend, a going away gift from some of our friends at the Lexington Ballet. Total privacy at last!!!! We had no trouble finding our lodge and it was lovely. We unpacked and went to find some of the tramping trails. Many people visit Stewart Island just to go hiking, and we were looking for a challenge. We woke early Saturday morning, packed a lunch and started on a seven hour hike\133.it was absolutely beautiful. Most of the island is left to the wildlife, the terrain is rugged and the weather very unpredictable, some of it has rainforest-like qualities which seem strange, given its closeness to Antarctica. It rained off and on all day and at times we were in mud up to our ankles. We slept very well that night! A bit sore the next morning, but after breakfast we prepared for our trip back to Bluff.

Facts and highlights about Stewart Island\133\133

\149    Located twenty four kilometers from Bluff

\149    Oban, the only village, has a pop. of approx. 400 people.

\149    The village consists of just a few short streets, a waterfront, The Travel Center, The South Seas Hotel, a grocery market, a Post Office and a very small school.There are only 32 kilometers of paved road, in an area that covers approx. 1800 sq. kilometers of space.

\149    Originally settled by the Maori Natives and then purchased by England in the 1800's.

October 27 & 28, 2002 Invercargill

Back to Southern Comfort for Sunday night, we washed clothes, re-packed our bags (we had eliminated two) and prepared for the next twelve days of world-wind site seeing. Mark picked up a car at noon, and we headed north for some west coast adventures.

October 28 - November 1, 2002 Te Anau , Wanaka,

And Fox Glacier

This leg of the trip covered some of the most beautiful country-side in all of New Zealand. We spent two to three hours a day driving to our next destination, spending just one night in each location, except for Fox Glacier. Each sight in this area of Fiordland National Park and Mount Cook National Park was breathtaking. With the turn of your head, there was something else magnificent to see. To intensify the excitement of the moment, one also had to appreciate the traveling conditions, narrow roads cut into the sides of high and rocky mountains, and with Mark driving on the wrong side of the road! At the bottom, was either a deep gorge or a beautiful lake\133\133..there were no guard rails! Those few days were very intense in many ways.

Facts and highlights\133\133

\149    Te Anu, very small lakeside town on route to Milford Sounds, well known for it's tramping tracks. We stayed at Steamer's Backpackers.Milford Sound, three hour drive from Te Anu\133..only one road in and out! Homer tunnel, about mid-way was a least a mile long and totally without any illumination.

\149    Wanaka, located on the southern shore of Lake Wanaka. It is the headquarters for Mt. Aspiring National Park. We stayed at Wanaka Backpackers, great view!

\149    Mount Cook, the most famous place in NZ. It is 12,349 feet high and can be seen from both the east and west coasts. One third of the park is under snow and ice the year round.

\149    Fox Glacier, truly one of the highlights of the trip! We participated in an all day walking tour of the glacier that was quite challenging. There were only thirteen on the trip which made it much more unique. We had to get special

permission for McKay to participate because of the age restrictions. Navigating the terrain was difficult, we had to climb through a rain forest and up the side

of a mountain to reach the start of the glacial walk. We were still sweating from the climb (or maybe from the anxiety of holding on to chains to keep from falling off the side of the mountain), but we added more layers and attached crampons to our boots. At this point, in addition to our regular clothing, we were wearing wool socks, special boots(with the crampons), oilskin-type pants(cinched tight at the bottoms), wool hats and gloves and oilskin-type coats with hoods and carrying backpacks with food and water. We were then issued long sticks with spikes on the ends. At this point, I was beginning to realize\133\133this was pretty serious (I should have realized this when I was desperately hanging onto the side of the mountain). At this point, we were told by our guide, the seriousness of using the crampons properly, and given further instruction on what to expect. He then asked, if anyone had a fear of heights\133..I kept my mouth shut, it was too late then. He told McKay to follow behind him as he began to cut a walkway into the ice. We were on our way! Two hours into the trip at that point, five more hours to go. We heard a very loud sound, there was a rock fall behind us, and to our right. A few moments later it began to hail and then rain for a while\133\133\133\133\133\133\133\133\133\133\133.the day was full of surprises!!

November 1, 2002 Greymouth, NZ

After surviving our walk and returning our gear, we headed north to Greymouth.

We had reservations at a lodge called Global Village Backpackers. It was different than any other place that we had stayed. There were people working there that had come to visit and simply stayed. It was very earthy and reminiscent of the 60's.We were quite happy to stay a couple of days, I was hoping to recover from our glacial walk\133..they had a hot tub!

November 3, 2002 Renwick, NZ

It was time for us to get serious, we had to get the car back to Picton.

We needed to fly out of Auckland, NZ on Friday, November 8.Our last night on the South Island of NZ was spent in Renwick, a small village in the famous Marlbourgh wine region. The lodge was nice, but the room was so small that we couldn't all fit, unless one of us was on the bed. The wrap around porch was lovely\133\133\133we had a bottle of wine and toasted the South Island.

November 4, 2002 Picton -- Ferry -- Wellington

We left Renwick(Watson's Way Lodge) early and drove a half hour to Picton.

In Picton, we saw some of the village, returned the rental car, and boarded the ferry for a 1:30 departure. The ferry was very crowded, it was a holiday weekend, and it was packed with teens. The trip was fairly uneventful until about half-way through the two and a half hour trip. The waters became very rough and from the sounds of the passengers, they were uncomfortable\133\133.the staff people were busy serving ice chips, passing out bags, and mopping the floor. We survived, arrived, and picked up the next rental car\133..onward!

November 4, 2002 Sheep Farm Glenross Lodge, Pongaroa, NZ

We immediately left the port at Wellington and headed north.. Mark was determined to drive the back roads. Which meant more cliff hanging!

It was getting late in the afternoon, we did not have a place to stay for the

evening, and we needed to cover some ground. We projected a destination,

looked in one of our accommodation guides and made a phone call. It would

be late, but we had a place if we could follow the direction. It was a sheep farm,

pretty far off the beaten path but it would be a new experience. The drive was

pleasant enough, until the road narrowed to a cart path, the dark clouds started to

gather, and the winds began to threaten our safety (my opinion). I began to notice

that we seemed to be the only fools out\133..we traveled for miles and not see another vehicle\133.actually we traveled for miles and not see any signs of life (except for thousands of sheep and cows, many of which were walking on the roads). It was bizarre! I had seen enough of the countryside for one day! A road sign announced that there was a sheep farm ahead with backpacker accommodations. Mark turned off at the entrance. It was all very strange We were taken to a long cinder block building on top of a hill.The only other person there was a cycle rider from Denmark. He had stopped because of the winds .There was a large common room with a fireplace, it was cozy and there was lots of hot water (that was very important). We were told the real purpose for the lodge was as a place to house the sheep shearers that come to work twice a year\133\133.there we were, on a farm with 9,000 sheep, many of them just outside our door. The only sound that I heard that night, was the howl of the wind\133\133\133it was unbelievably peaceful. The next morning, we were up early, Mckay had been invited to bottle feed some orphaned lambs, and Mark had questions about the operation of the farm. Then on the road again.

November 5, 2002 Napier, NZ Stables Backpackers

We continued to drive north, stopping in Napier for the night, a resort on the ocean well known for its vineyards and orchards. We stopped because we knew there was a ballet performance that night at the local arts center. A Russian touring company was performing "Sleeping Beauty", a ballet that we had never seen in its entirety. It was a fabulous! The place we stayed was awful, though!

Up early the next morning and back on the road.

November 6, 2002 Rotorua, NZ Ace Motel

We arrived in the early afternoon. Tired of hostels and wanting some privacy,

we splurged and checked into a cheap hotel\133.they advertised a "hot tub".

I was in heaven! We found a grocery, fixed a salad and had a lazy evening.

Rotorua is known for its thermal pools and Maori heritage. The sulfur smell

was overpowering, but the art galleries were plentiful.

November 7, 2002 Rotorua and Auckland Kiwi International Hotel

Thursday morning before we left Rotorua, we found a gallery that specialized

in New Zealand jade. On premise was the workshop and one of the carvers, away from his bench, took us on a tour. He spoke at length about his passion for his work, and the history of jade carving in New Zealand. He was very curious about

our plans for travel and we shared some "stories". We said our good-byes. Outside the door of the gallery we paused to comment on the experience we had just shared, when the young man came out the door. He reached out his hand to McKay, and offered her a small piece of NZ jade (in the rough). What a lovely keepsake of NZ\133..again, we were touched by the warmth of a NZ stranger.

We arrived in Auckland that afternoon. We found a room at The Kiwi International Hotel, it was close to the airport. We prepared another box of items to ship home and began the task of organizing our bags for flight. It was time to move on!!!!

November 8, 2002 Auckland

Last minute stuff to do\133\133.pick-up tickets for China in downtown Auckland, (they weren't ready for us when we left the states\133.minor detail), and find the FedEx office. We were traveling a lot lighter. It was hard to believe that our first month of travel had already passed! NZ had made quite an impression on us.

The landscape had been breathtaking, but the people had impressed us even more. In many ways, we were leaving with far more than what we had when we arrived.

We departed NZ aboard Thai Airways at 14:30, arrived in Sydney, Australia at 15:50, a three hour and 20 minute flight.

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