Terry's TrekI’m back from quick trip to Chicago where I hung out on the beach, ate tasty Vietnamese and Ethiopian food, and saw Blue Man Group. Now I’ll be at home for the final stretch before I leave next week.
I’ve updated the logistics section with my packing list and costs so far. Tomorrow I plan to add my detailed itinerary, and upload some pictures. Things are winding down.
Only one week to go now. I did a few minor things with the site. I uploaded a couple pictures to the gallery, rewrote my plan, which I was never happy with, and added my budget info.
Things are winding down. I found a great new travelogue to keep me occupied. For some strange reason, I like logs by single American men in their mid to late twenties who used to be tech workers.
Today I went for what will most likely be my last run through the vast cornfields of Indiana, getting in a good seven miles. Other than that, there isn’t much else to do, so I’ve been working on the website. I decided to apply the KISS principle to the website, and deleted allot of the default crap that came with Movabletype, such as that silly calendar. I also changed the way the latest entries are displayed, and the country indexes. You now have to click on “more” to see the whole entry, then you can jump forward and backward from entry to entry, without having to look at a huge page of text. Hopefully this makes sense. Let me know what you think.
I just booked my first night’s accommodation at Auckland Central Backpackers, for $20 NZ, which is $10 US. You can’t beat that. I will get there at 5:30 am after 14 hours of flying, so the plan will be just to try to stay awake that first day.
Well, I guess this will be my last USA entry for awhile, since tomorrow my mom will drive me to Indianapolis International, where I will board a series of flights that will take me to Auckland two days later. It's only fifteen hours of flying, but I will cross the International Date Line, so I will lose an entire day. Freaky. Anyways, I've thought about all the worrying and planning I have been doing, and realized I've been being silly. I'm incredibly fortunate to have the chance to do this, so I'll gladly accept whatever happens along the way.
So with this in mind, I made a revised packing list. You really only need three things:
I'd like to thank all the people who have wished me luck. I'm happy that people are interested in what I am going to do. Hopefully I can keep you all entertained! I'm not sure when I will update the site, since for me, the point of traveling is avoid things like work as much as possible. I am going to keep a pen and paper journal, and update the site maybe once a week with my daily entries. The plan was to notify subscribers to the mailing list that the site has been updated, but I'm having some technical difficulties with the mailing list. To make a long story short, I have to manually subscribe everyone who signs up. Luckily, not too many people have signed up, so I may get this going eventually. Obviously, it would be nice if this were an automated process, but I don't have time right now to work on this. :)
So, signing out for now. Tomorrow, the adventure begins.
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My journey was long and arduous, but I arrived safely. Twelve hours crammed into coach is not pleasant. Upon arrival, the New Zealand immigration officer quickly and efficiently gave me the first of hopefully many passport stamps. In fact, they were so quick and efficient that it was 7 am and I couldn’t check in to the hostel until 10. Luckily, they had moved since Lonely Planet published their address, so it took me an hour to find them. Then I caught up on email and read until I could get a room, which two of my three roommates were still sleeping in. So it was off to try to stay awake for The Longest Day.
I ended up doing quite a bit. I walked up and down Queen Street, several times. Then I had a “Kiwi Burger” at McDonald’s, which was a quarter pounder with fried egg and pickled yams. I was rather unpleasant. Then I found the library and read my Lonely Planet for awhile. Finally I walked over to the Auckland Domain, which is a large hill with a museum on top. The museum seemed OK, but I was too tired to appreciate it.
In all this walking, I noticed that Auckland seems to be pretty multi-cultured; about half the people were Japanese or Indian. Many were young, female, and beautiful. Perhaps the sample was skewed due to nearby Auckland University.
Back at the hostel I met my non-sleeping roommate Ken from Japan. We had some trouble communicating, but suggested Victoria Market for cheap food. Later on I met a Canadian woman who had done the Stray tour and recommended it, so I may do that rather than Kiwi Experience.
At 9 pm it felt like 3am, so I went back to the room, where I promptly friend my battery charger by setting it to the wrong voltage. Tonight I will need my earplugs to keep out the booming techno music. Overall I’m not sure I like the hostel since it seems to consist of workers who already have their own cliques.
Jet lag got me up at 8, so Ken and I walked over to Victoria Market, but it was closed, so we got cheap breakfast at a nearby supermarket. Ken is a cook and is looking for work here. He remarked that there are many Asian people here. I asked him why, but he didn’t know. Then he said something strange. He said he couldn’t tell which ones were Japanese. Apparently he had gone up to some Koreans and tried to talk to them, but they didn’t understand him. Strange.
The next order of business was to book a tour. I decided to go with the Stray one for $340. That’s pretty expensive, but it will be nice not to have to worry about transportation, and it hits all the big sites. Between all the activities available, I hope I don’t spend all my money.
So I still had half a day here, so I took a bus to Mount Eden, Auckland’s extinct volcano, and climbed it for some good views of the city, and the cows grazing inside it. Back in the cell like bunk room I finally met my other two roommates, ? and Stefan from England. Aparently the day before I got here Stefan had brought a bird (girl) back with him, much to the consternation of the German guy in the bunk above, which is now mine.
Later Ken taught me some Japanese, including a secret phrase for picking up Japanese women, if I understood him. Then it was early to bed (I made it to 11 this time) while the techno boomed again.
At 7:15 it was up and out to catch the Stray bus. It seems pretty good, and there is a good group of people, 5 English, 2 Swiss, 1 Aussie, 2 Dutch women who only talk to each other, and an elusive German girl. Our first stop was Mount Eden, which we drove up. What a concept. Then it was to the hot springs at Hamilton, where we swam. I didn’t think one of the first things I would do here would be swimming. The water was warm and nice.
Then we headed for Raglan, a little surfer town. We stayed at a funky little place in the woods run by a surfer from California. This guy basically likes to party and have a good time, and has made a career out of it. There was a BBQ, then off to bed in our freezing bungalows.
I’m not sure I like the tour that much, since it’s shuttling us from site to site, with no time to relax. Also, there are activities at each stop, which cost extra, of course. I must be careful not to spend too much money.
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Today was “black water rafing” day. It was only about 50F out, so we all put on wet-suits, boots, goves, and helmets with lights. Then we each picked out an inner-tube and jumped into the freezing water. Now that our wet-suits were wet, we headed for the Waitomo Caves entrance, which was a very small hole you could barly fit through. Blakc water rafting was a combination of spelunking through narrow, dark, wet passages, and floating on our tubes when we got to deep water. The most exciting part was jumping backwards over a 10 foot waterfall. The thing that makes these caves special are the glow-worms, so we floated through the huge glow-worm caves with our lights off, which was quite spectacular.
After this we headed for Hot Water Beach, where we stood in hot water for awhile, then off to another remote lodge. Today was another busy day and it was quite tiring. I need some time to relax, get organized, work on the website, and do laundry after wearing the same clothes for five days. I also need some time to myself, so I will be getting off the bus at Taupo. The problem with Stray is there are only 3 busses a week, so if you get off you have to stay for 3 days. I have enough time for two stops, so I plan to stay in Queenstown to learn to snowboard.
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Thanks to jet lag, I’m an early bird, so I was up at 7. Today was sea kayaking, which turned out to be pretty incredible. The location was Cathedral Cove, a marine reserve with cathedral-like cliffs. We had double kayaks, so I paired with Daniela from Switzerland, who has kayaked many times before. We set off to inspect the cliffs up close, and enjoy the clear (but freezing) water. When we made it to Stingray Beach, we could see some stingrays darting around beneath us. Then we beached ourselves, and our guides Natan and his lovely Japanese wife Keiko prepared cappuccinos for us, with full silver service. Then it was back into the boats to cross to one of the many islands. It got very windy and choppy, and the Dutch women couldn’t handle it, so Nathan had to tow them back, and we had to head back early.
Tonight was our Maori (pronounced May-ree) “cultural night,” and I have mixed feelings about it. I wasn’t interested in a Disneyland type experience with women in grass skirts and such, so I was glad that we were doing a homestay. But meeting some of these people, hearing their thoughts, and seeing how they live was pretty depressing. One guy showed us their traditional meeting house, which was a bit run down. Four old Maori were getting lessons in their language. These people were educated in English-speaking schools, and converted to Christianity, so now they are ignorant of their own culture, but don’t fit into white society. Some older Maori seem interested in learning how, but still don’t know much about their past.
We went back to their lodge where thy served a mediocre meal, and we infused ourselves with alcohol. Then they sang a couple Maori songs, which changed to Beatles karaoke. Then it was another early night without heat again. Since the Stray crew is a bit older, we drink every night, but not until we are totally pissed (drunk), and we go to bed at about 11.
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Firstly, a few notes on backpacking in New Zealand. There is an entire infrastructure set up for this. Each city and town as multiple hostels (aka backpackers), and the larger ones have dozens of them. They all have kitchens and fridges, so you can eat for cheap. But the rooms are not always heated, and duvets (blankets) are not provided, so a sleeping bag is useful. I’m going to look for one, because I’ve been freezing my arse off.
So on to the day’s activities. Most of us went white water rafting. This particular run was rated grade 5, the highest raftable level, and had a 7 meter (31 ft) waterfall, apparently the world’s highest commercially raftable. We suited up in wetsuits and helmets again, and set off. It was a rush, but I don’t think the waterfall was 7 meters. Maybe 5 or 6. Afterwards, three of us went skydiving (not me).
Tonight was a special occasion, because it was our last day with Dave, our Kiwi driver, since everybody will be getting off the bus at Taupo tomorrow. It was also Dave the Aussie’s 33rd birthday, so the plan was to go and get wankered, pissed, drunk, or whatever you want to call it. When you go out as a backpacker you take a shower, comb you hair, and put on the same clothes you’ve been wearing all week. We went to the Holy Cow, an infamous backpackers bar, which turned out to be dead. It was fun for awhile, until I had to start fighting off the advances an overy affectionate drunken Kiwi guy.
Most of us moved to the Rainbow Lodge, which is right in town. We will be staying here three nights. Such a luxury. Now I can spread out a bit and get organized. My goal was to do nothing, which I accomplished. I bought some stuff, updated the website, and generally hung out. That night a call for "one beer" at the Holy Cow turned into one round of beer each, so we were up to three again. I slept to noon.
Life in hostels is very strange, and I'm still adjusting to it. There is absolutely no privacy. I'm sharing my room with seven other people, and the kitchen, dining room, and showers are all communal. It's almost like being in college again, except everybody is English.
Got up at noon today, so I didn't do much. One group took a bus to Rotorua to see Maori dance. I'm not interested in seeing a Disney-ized version of Maori life, so I passed. Another group went to Rock 'n' Ropes, which I passed on too. Instead I walked to Huka Falls and back in the cold rain. When I got back the news was that conditions are poor on the slopes, so no snowboarding tomorrow. It was Charlie from England's last night with us, so it was off to the Holy Cow again.
So far, I haven't actually lost anything yet. However, I nearly left my USB cable for my camera at an internet cafe. Luckily Daniel saw it. Later I almost left my precious fleece behind. Luckily Daniel saw it. Just now I thought I lost my journal. I suppose it is inevitable that I lose something eventually. I just hope it's not my camera.
Today was another rainy day in Taupo. We can't ski, and we just found out we can't do the Tauranga Crossing Trek, the best one-day trek in NZ, due to snow. There wasn't much else to do, so four of us and an Israeli guy rented mountain bikes. It was fun until the hale started. Luckily that didn't last for long, so we rode out to Craters of the Moon, a volcanic area. Later that night it was to the bars again. The bars here all play the same songs by Michael Jackson, B-52's, Meatloaf, Bon Jovi, and the Australian National Anthem, Land Down Under, or whatever it's called.
Today it was off tot he Tauranga National Park, but we left so late there was no time for snowboarding. I will have to wait for Queenstown. I was tired so I went to bed early.
After sleeping 9 hours, it was a long day on the bus, which put me to sleep again. We checked out the Museum, then checked into the backpackers, which was a bit grim. Dave (Aussie), Daniel (Swiss), a Swedish woman, and I headed off in search of Thai food. In the hostel bar we played giant Jenga and giant Connect Four for awhile. After tomorrow, most of the original group will be gone. Dave, Claire, Sara, Kathy, Ines, Kathelijjn , and I remain. Tomorrow we take the ferry to the South Island. I haven't seen much of Wellington, but it doesn't seem to be that great of a place.
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Up and out early from our depressing and noisy hostel. I have developed the ability to sleep through anything, though. Today was our ferry crossing. The boat was quite large, and carried 1000 people. On the incredibly cold and windy deck I met most of our new contingent: John, Theresa, Kara, and Caty from England, and Ines, a non-elusive German woman. After the three-hour ride, we got on our new bus. Ironically, now that we have more ppl than we ever had, the bus is small, shitty, and nothing works. After a couple of hours we made it the Old MacDonald's Farm, located inside the Abel Tasman National Park. It is truly in the middle of nowhere, and features sheep and llamas.
I was feeling a bit glum today. I think it was because I'm not used to meeting a whole new group of people every day, and I was feeling like an outsider. I have to get better at just inserting myself into a group. Anyway, once we got to the Farm and started drinking and playing a card game called Shithead I started having fun.
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I decided at the last minute to go sea-kayaking again, and it turned out to be a wise decision. We split into two groups, and half of us walked the coastal track, while the others kayaked. The park is beautiful, and I wish I had more time to spend here. I took lots of pictures, which I hope to post some day, but I don't know when, since it is such a pain. We met the kayakers on the beach, had lunch, then switched places. I paired with Katy, and I was tasked to drive and paddle, which proved to be rather difficult. It was still "good fun," though, as the English say. I was pretty tired when we got back at 5pm.
Back at the Farm, some of us headed off to the "restaurant," which was just a sheltered picnic area with a couple of fires burning. Old MacDonald himself was there. A rather scary local offered to show Sara his horse, much to her chagrin. She did have it coming, though. After some games of Shithead and the worst game ever, Bullshit, I bid a sad farewell to Dave, Sara, and Clare. We'll probably meet up in Queenstown again, though. The new folks are nice, so things will still be fun.
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It was an early morning on the Farm. Our driver, Jimbo, instructed us to leave the kitchen immaculate, so we all did dishes as usual. Then we went and sat on our shitty bus, and watched while Jimbo cleaned the kitchen. When he got on, he was mad that we didn't clean up well, and sat and watched him do it for 15 minutes. And that was that. This sometimes feels like a school field trip, except your old enough to drink, and the chaperone has no power over you. However, you shouldn't piss off the driver.
Most people were riding horses today, but me, German Ines, Katy, Kara, and Dennis the Dutchman opted to walk to the seal colony on Foulwind Bay. I'm glad we did, because it was along the tops of tall cliffs the whole way, with a beautiful bay around each corner. Ines summarized the view perfectly: Mountains to the left, clear blue sky above, and ocean crashing in to the right. I took "heaps" of pictures, as the English say. It was good fun. I also watched with horror as Katy made a butter and jelly sandwich. However, being the only American, I was considered a freak for not liking it.
The seals turned out to be anti-climatic, since they were just sleeping on the rocks, so you couldn't really see them.
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Then it was off to a subtropical rainforest, pancake rocks, and blow holes. These walks, while nice, were inferior to the earlier one, in my opinion.
Our crazy lodging continues, as we are staying in this tiny town in the middle of nowhere with about 20 houses and a pub (where we are sleeping). I talked with Ann from England who is in her 50s and traveling alone with us young 'uns. You're never too old. I also talked to Anoushka from London who has never learned to drive, but loves to skydive. When asked how long she's been traveling, she apologizes that it's been "only" three months.
I didn't have access to a spell-checker today, and am tired, so there must be lots of "creative" spellings. Any bored volunteers to go back and correct my spelling? Also, my mailing list doesn't work. Any volunteers to take a look at that? Since we are staying on Farms and in huts, I'm not sure when the next update will be.
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Up early for the bus ride to Franz Joseph. I was tired all day, and never really woke up. This place isn't so much a town as a few shops and lodges for people who want to see the glacier. Every shop advertises helicopter rides, or heli-hikes. Since there's nothing to do, I was able to catch up on the website. I also cooked my first meal in a hostel. Pizza. You gotta start small. I'm sharing a room with the Dutch Duo Ines and Kathelijjn, and we talked for awhile about things. They have been here two weeks also, and have the same complaints about lethargy. They think it's because we are always on the move, seeing new stuff. Travel is hard work. They are also both worried about finding jobs when the get back, since they just finished University, and are traveling for five months. They seemed surprised that I quit a job. All in all, they are much nicer then Dennis the Dutchman, who was a bit strange.
There is a guy from Chicago staying here, who's been traveling for a year. His idea of travel seemed to be just partying, though. He was also half Israeli, and traveling with Israelis, and was mad he couldn't go certain places because "the damn Muslims are everywhere." We didn't hit it off that well.
So I had a request for more anecdotes, which I will try to fulfill. I am still new at this, so I apologize if the journals are boring. We were sitting around the kitchen at Old MacDonald's Farm one day, and Sara was being Sara, outgoing and aggressive. After telling us about how three of the girls had just taken a shower together (not true, unfortunately), she beckoned Ines to sit next to her. Poor Inas nervously came over, then said "But I have a boyfriend," which pretty much brought the house down. The breakdown in communication was that she thought Sara was going to set her up with Dennis.
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Today was out day to climb Franz Joseph Glacier. Things were looking grim as there was a fantastic thunderstorm as we were trying to drag ourselves out of bed. Luckily, by the time we got to the drop-off point, it was warm and sunny. We had about an hour's hike through rainforest before we got to the glacier. Unfortunately, the rain started up again. We passed the "Danger" sign and climbed a ladder onto a cliff. Then it was time to take off our shoes and put on our boots with spikes. A brief hike up the rocks, across some streams and, past the "Extreme Danger" sign, and we were on the glacier. It was really quite spectacular, as our guide led us up through the crevasses. Ahead was the tall blue/white glacier, on each side were tall cliffs covered with tropical trees and waterfalls, and behind was the flat gravel covered valley with a river roaring from the glacier. Unfortunately, the rain and hale continued, and the crappy gear they gave us was not waterproof. Luckily I chose to wear my own rain-jacket, so I was dry from the waste up.
Walking on the glacier wasn't too hard with our spiked boots and ice-axes. There was one scary part, though. In a crevasse we were walking through there was a hole, about big enough for a person. Our guide threw some ice down it, and you could hear it banging around for a long time. We had to carefully walk past it, without falling to oblivion. All in all, the glacier was amazing, but it would have been much more enjoyable without the freezing rain.
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We made it pretty high, but not to the top before we had to turn back. We were all wet and cold, so we took the "express path" down, with a brief detour through an ice cave. When we finally got back, we changed in to dry clothes, and headed for Haast, which is in the middle of nowhere. We spent the evening drying our clothes. The "potato incident" also occurred, resulting in one badly burnt potato, and one estranged passenger. Ann, the 50-year-old from Scotland, hasn't been broad for 30 years. She came to New Zealand to visit her brother, but he had a new computer, so ignored her. So she booked a tour with Stray. So that's pretty brave of her, to travel with us young-uns. But she doesn't feel like she fits in, so she keeps to herself. That all came to a head in Haast, when she asked me to set the microwave to 10 minutes, since I'm an American and know how to do that. So I did as instructed, and went back to the room to sort through my wet clothes. About 10 minutes later I smell smoke, hear laughter, and accusations that it's my fault. Apparently Ann forgot about her potato, and its smoke filled the whole place. Now she won't talk to any of us.
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Another long, sleepy day on the bus. We stopped at the bungie site to watch a few brave people jump. It would have been more interesting if one of us jumped. Some of the people who have skydived won't bungie jump. In a way, skydiving is less frightening since you are strapped to someone who know what they are doing. Bungie jumping is a complet leap of faith.
So we finally arrived in Quenstown, the "Addrenalin Capital of New Zealand," and the setting is spectacular. The town itself is small with quaint little cafes and shops. On three sides are snow-capped mountains, including the Remarkables, used as the Misty Mountains in Lord of the Rings, and on the fourth is Lake Wanaka. As you walk around town you can see para-gliders floating around above, jet boats on the lake, and the gondola up to Bob's Peak. There's something here for everyone, and you could spend all your money if you are not careful.
Since we arrived late, the first order of business was to sample the nightlife. We went to the World bar, which I thought was shittier than the Holy Cow. I was hanging out with the crazy Irish lads Noel and Roddy, and Anoushka, so it was all good, as they say. I said "awsome" a couple too many times around them, so now they say that all the time. They've even got Ines saying it. Everyone enjoys it when I play the California surfer dude. We ended up staying there for seven hours until we got kicked out at 3. Tomorrow will have to be an earlier night, since we have to be up early for skiing/boarding.
A pretty slow day today. I slept in, bought groceries, and sorted out my boarding gear. The place we're staying in, the "Hotel" Esplanade, is amazingly shitty. It should be called the Hotel Shitplanade. Even though it's en suite, the toilet is covered with mold. The sheets are dirty, the lights don't work, and the proprietors are weird. On top of that, the kitchen is only open from 8 am to 8 pm. What good is that? Tomorow we have to be on the bus at 7:45, so no breakfast for us.
Tonight me and the Irish lads attempted again the sample Queenstown's legendary nightlife. We went to three bars, each worse than the previous one. Not even the retractable roof of Winnie Bago's made it a good place. And the music is worse than in Taupo.
Jimbo pissed me off. Crickett was on in one of the bars, and being that I never saw it before, I was surprised when the batter took his bat with him when he ran. So when I express my ignorance of the game, he somehow turned that into a snide remark that less than 25% of Americans vote. I don't know what the connection is. Luckily, tonight was our last night with him.
My third day in Queenstown, and I'm finally doing an adrenalin activity, snowboarding. I suspected I would be in for a difficult time when the board hire person asked if I had ever skateboarded or surfed before, and I answered "no." My fears were confirmed as I proceeded to fall on my ass repeatedly. And my knees. And my hands, which your not supposed to do. It turns out that boarding is pretty hard. Well, not for the rest of my class, who quickly learned to execute turns. And not just one, but multiple zig-zag turns. The best I could do was to start going right, turn the board straight down the slope, turn slightly to the left, then fall on my ass. I'm a bit worried, since tomorrow I have an intermediate lesson. My instructor kept trying to sell me individual lessons.
