Driving in New Zealand

So I love that I have a car to get around in, even if it does stall on me sometimes when I put it in reverse (not too bad for a 1989 with 170,000 km on it)! And I love driving around here cuz there are beautiful mountains and lakes everywhere, and each kilometer gives you such a new and different perspective on the natural environment. But driving in New Zealand is annoying sometimes because people seem to be in such a rush to get wherever they're going, and they're pretty aggressive. I'm not a fast driver, and I'm even slower on those beautiful scenic roads. But I guess the kiwis have been there and done that, so there's almost always someone all up on my tail even if I'm driving the speed limit, which I'm not too keen about. I thought people who lived on islands were supposed to be laid back and patient and not in any rush to get anywhere. But that's not the case here. I like it when the campervans are on the road...they go pretty slow cuz they're also just enjoying the ride. Another strange thing about driving in Queenstown is that drivers have the right of way over pedestrians. It doesn't matter if you're a pedestrian in the middle of the street--you better watch out cuz that car ain't gonna stop for you. It's completely opposite in the bay area, especially Berkeley. So when I first got here I thought I could cross the street and cars would stop, but I quickly learned that's not how it works here in Queenstown. I've gotten used to driving on the left hand side of the road now, so that's no problem. I occasionally hear a story of the American visitor who accidentally drove on the right hand side of the road and caused an accident. Hmmmmm. Damn Americans! :)

Kayaking Doubtful Sound

Last week I went on an overnight guided kayaking adventure in Doubtful Sound. That was the first time I ever went kayaking, and it was pretty awesome. It was very wet and cold at times, but overall a really good trip. The highlights were: drinking from a waterfall, seeing the rare crested penguin, and changing into warm, dry clothes at the campsite! We had a really good, fun group of 10 who went on the trip--two were from Australia, four from the UK, and one from Germany. Ron and Nick, both Kiwis, were our guides. Ron was the older, more experienced guide, who came along on the trip to supervise and evaluate Nick, who is a young, new guide who just went through training. We were all in 2-person kayaks, so I paddled with Nick the first day, and with Ron the second day. I was lucky to be able to paddle with the guides because I felt safer and I didn't have to paddle as hard. :)

The trip started off with a boat ride across Lake Manapouri. Of all the lakes in New Zealand, I think Lake Manapouri is the most beautiful. Lake Manapouri became famous in New Zealand as a result of the "Save Manapouri" campaign, a successful grassroots campaign in the 1960s and 1970s to prevent raising the lake by 30 meters for hydroelectric power. Campaigners collected hundreds of thousands of signatures from New Zealand resident to "save Manapouri." The raising of the lake became a hot campaign issue nationwide in the 1970s. Apparently, the Labour party's position on this issue alone resulted in it taking power in the 1970s, because its leaders promised not to raise the lake levels. Anyhow, here are some pictures from the boat ride across Lake Manapouri, which was very scenic, as you can see.







After we got off the boat, we packed up the van with all our stuff and drove to the launch point for our kayaking adventure. It took a while putting on all the gear (thermal shirt, wetsuit, fleece, waterproof jacket, vest, skirt, wetsuit booties, hat). I tried not to drink too much water on the trip so I wouldn't have to use the bathroom, for 2 reasons: 1) takes too long to take off and put on all that gear, and who wants to keep taking off and putting on a really wet, sticky wetsuit, and 2) no bathroom facilities (just the woods) in Doubtful Sound. The first day kayaking was calm and peaceful. It was a bit cloudy, but not rainy. We were the only kayakers in sight, in this remote body of water surrounded by grand, dramatic mountains. There aren't many tour boats that go out to Doubtful Sound, so it was very serene on the water. We saw a couple of crested penguins that poked their heads out of the water to say hello. But they disappeared just as quickly, meaning we couldn't snap any pictures. There are some dolphins that supposedly hang out in the area, but we didn't see any. We paddled about 16 kilometers the first day. Here are some pictures from the first day. The first picture is of me, taken by my paddling partner and guide, Nick. The second picture is of Nick (looks like he's trying to move out of the picture). And the third picture is of Annabelle, from Australia, who was also on the trip with her husband James, and they were both super cool.











When we arrived at the campsite, we were greeted by a swarm of sandflies that love to suck the blood out of you! I'm still itching from those bites! But anyhow, there was a nice fly-proof shelter set up at the campsite, where we cooked our food and just chilled. Ron, the older guide, entertained us with his jokes an stories and educated us with his extensive knowledge of the region. After dinner, because there was no sink at the campsite, we washed our dishes in the freezing cold river. When it got dark, I turned on my headlamp to walk to my tent, and the light attracted all these sandflies that decided to have a party around my forehead. It started raining very heavily in the middle of the night, and the thunder was like I've never heard before. It echoed through the valleys and had a very strong, deep, clear sound. It was actually very soothing. I can't describe it well, but it was the coolest thunder I've ever heard.

The second day it was raining pretty hard. In the morning we put on all our wet gear and started paddling again. The cool thing about the rain was that there were so many more waterfalls cascading down the mountains, compared to the day before. I was paddling with Ron the second day, and he maneuvered our kayak to a waterfall, where I filled my water bottle and drank from the waterfall! The second day the waters were very turbulent, so we had to paddle pretty hard to get through the rough spots. But thank goodness Ron was paddling with me cuz otherwise I probably would've been paddling in place all afternoon. Unfortunately, I couldn't get any pictures the second day cuz it was raining too hard and I didn't have a waterproof camera. Towards the end of our kayaking on the second day, the wind was so strong and the water was so turbulent that we joined 2 kayaks together, and held up a sail so that we just rode along with the wind for a few kilometers and didn't have to paddle. I didn't even know you could do that, but it was a pretty cool technique. It was nice not to have to paddle while sailing, but my right hand froze from the cold water splashing over that hand while I held on to the other kayak. By the end of the second day, I was relieved to get back onto land, into warm, dry clothes, and into the warm, dry van back to Lake Manapouri. Although the trip had many highlights, there were also some challenges. But if there's anywhere in the world I was going to be cold and wet and devoured by sanflies, Doubtful Sound was a really nice place to do it!

The evening I came back from Doubtful Sound I stayed at a hostel that had a lodge-type feel, located up on a hill with a view of Lake Manapouri. I woke up the next morning to find this nice rainbow right outside the kitchen window.

The Catlins Continued....

It looks like I had to create another blog post to add all the pictures I wanted to post--not sure why--maybe there's a limit on pictures for each post? Anyhow, here's a continuation of my Catlins tour. The highlight of my trip through the Catlins was the visit to Nugget Point. They call it that because the rocks in the ocean look like gold nuggets. The sun had come through by the time I got to Nugget Point, which made it just breathtaking. Here are some pictures from Nugget Point, including some of me in there so you all don't think I'm putting postcards on this blog. :)











My trip ended at the Otago Peninsula, where I walked down to this beach and saw one yellow-eyed penguin from the penguin hide (they're very shy when they see humans). I was hoping to see more, but at least I got to see one, even though it was from really far away. Here's a picture from the top of the beach where I saw the penguin.



And lastly, here's a picture of MY RIDE--my trustworthy travel companion--my 1989 Mitsubishi! It held up really well on the long journey. Also below is a picture I took on the ride back to Queenstown. I didn't know the ride back would be so beautiful, so it was a pleasant surprise.





Well next week I go on an overnight kayaking trip in Doubtful Sound. So there'll be more pictures coming. I've never been kayaking, so it should be an adventure!

Southern Scenic Route Through The Catlins

Today is blog day for me, so I can update everyone on what I've been doing and seeing here in New Zealand. Last week I took a 4 day, 3 night road trip from Queenstown down south through the Catlins via the Southern Scenic Route, which runs along the southern coast of the South Island. Most of the time it was raining or hailing or really cold. So I didn't get to stop everywhere I wanted to. But it was still a nice trip. On the third day, it hailed in the morning, and got sunny and warm in the afternoon! I tell you, the weather here is so strange. I thought San Francisco was bad when it came to 4 season days--this place is even more extreme. So the pictures below are from random stops I made in the Catlins area.















Here's a picture of a sea lion just hangin' out on the rocks in the Catlins.

Mount Aspiring National Park Via Wanaka

I know it's been a while since I've posted. I've been working like a madwoman--more than 40 hour weeks! (Those of you who know my laid back work habits would be surprised!) But more work = more money = more TRAVEL for me! Despite the long work hours, I've managed to take a few trips. About 2 weeks ago, I stayed in Wanaka for 2 days, and on one of those days I did the Rob Roy Glacier hike in Mount Aspiring National Park. I saw a glacier (an some avalanches) for the first time in my life. I felt really privileged to have seen a glacier cuz after watching An Inconvenient Truth on the plane ride here, who knows how much longer they'll be around. Though it doesn't seem like global warming is hitting New Zealand cuz it's still freezing here! Supposedly, summer is around the corner, but I'm still sleeping with a heating blanket. Anyhow, I digress. The 4 pictures below are from my hike to the glacier. There was a cool suspension bridge to cross over the river at the beginning of the hike. And I met a fellow Bay Area resident on the hike, who kindly took my picture at the summit.






The next few pictures below are from the lake in Wanaka, which was absolutely beautiful and so peaceful. It was actually warm and sunny that day, so I took a nap by the lake, listening to the calm waves come to shore.





Along the lake in Wanaka is a sidewalk with hundreds of tiles, each tile representing some historical events from each year over the past hundreds of years. So you'll see from the pictures below that in 1756, mayonnaise was invented in France. And in 1956, Elvis Presley sang "Hound Dog," and the Hawea e Wanaka Pony Club was formed. Ha ha!




And lastly, below is a picture I took on the road from Wanaka to Mount Aspiring National Park. I thought it was a nice picture.