Waitomo Caves and Auckland (Nov 14 - 19)

For our next adventure, we decided on exploring the Waitomo Caves. We showed up early for our tour, and shortly thereafter found ourselves putting on very stinky wetsuits, pants and helmets. After a little introduction to the basics of abseiling, I was the first of our group to descend into the cave. It was almost a 100 foot drop, but a very beautiful place to enter with a small stream running through it. Tracy fearless of heights by this time also enjoyed her descent.

Once the entire group made it to the bottom, we walked with our guide upstream in the cave and shut off lights to see awesome glow worm display. These little guys make small glowing blue dots on the cave ceiling. Actually, they are maggots, and it is their excrement that glows, but "Hey! Come check out the amazing glowing maggot poo!" just doesn't bring in the tourists. We then tubed back down through cave with lights off and bumping off walls (lots of fun). Once we had gone as far as we could on the tubes, we hiked a little further in the cave and squeezed and out of narrow passages while our guide, a young Scot, took pictures. Finally, we each in turn climbed back up out of the 100 foot cave while roped in for safety. All in all it was very fun experience!

We made our way to Auckland later in day, and while eating lunch at stop on the side of the road made friends with this rooster that was hanging around begging for food. We had a very interesting conversation with this man about roosters and how to eat them. A little weirded out, we continued to Auckland where we checked into a holiday park for the last time and gave all remaining goods away. I cooked soup for the last time, and while it was very good, we found ourselves looking forward to Thai cuisine.

The next morning we said goodbye to our camper and checked into our hotel. Much to our delight, the hotel had very nice fitness and spa facilities, which we took full advantage of over the next few days. Over the next few days, we explored Auckland as we also prepared to head to Thailand. Auckland is a beautiful city with many nice restaurants. We would write more about the tourist attractions, but ended up spending most of our time outside of our hotel either shopping or having slow meals in the restaurants and coffee houses around the city. Oh well, Thailand here we come!

Wine, Naked men and flies ...The North Island. (Nov 10 - 13)

We totally lucked out on the ferry ride over to Wellington and were able to jump on an earlier one even though we paid for the cheap night fare. After picking up pies from the local bakery, we queued up to board the ferry. There were several queues based on vehicle size, and a kind eyed gentleman came around questioning us on where we had been and where we were going to see if we might be transporting a nasty, invasive alga, DIDYMO (also known as "rock snot"), that lives in the water ways. Since we had played in some estuaries and bays, we gave up our shoes for a cleansing as we did not want to be responsible for spreading the little bug...even though we didn't know what he was going on about. Tyler's need to be on time and my somewhat slower nature resulted in a funny moment waiting for the kettle to boil. I just managed to make tea just before we had to close the gas tank and set off to board the ship for our three hour journey to Wellington, and a much needed cuppa it was.

Once on the ship, we had to leave our camper and walk up several flights of stairs to the passenger decks filled with multitudes of cafes and bars. We sat down and enjoyed our tea with a carrot cake. Yum! Free is our favourite word at the moment, and we are trying to bring this word into everything we do! To that end, we enjoyed looking out at Marlborough Sounds (usually only available by tour boat) on the deck of the ship while listening to our iPods.

Upon arriving in Wellington (Capital of New Zealand) late the afternoon, we managed to swing by the Museum Te Papa Tongarewa, which was also free of charge. We stayed until it closed and enjoyed several interactive exhibits along with 'Blood, Earth and Fire', which told of the story about how 80% of the land has been deforested (burned or chopped down) in less that 100 years to make way for livestock. Pretty ugly stuff. A majority of the birds also became extinct (Ever heard of a Moa?) and with each new arriving group, new things were introduced to remind the settlers of home (i.e, plants, bugs, and mammals). New Zealand is inundated with so many foreign invaders that every Kiwi we met seemed to have concern for native species on the tips of their tongues. My personsal opinion after seeing this exhibit is that land loss is the main problem and that the 60 million sheep and half as many cows that now call New Zealand home are just as much to blame as the invasive species. I digress. We headed north at sunset for Napier, which sits in a well known Hawkes Bay wine region.

After a few frustrating hours searching for what seemed like a non existant shop to rent bikes from, we found a tin home where at the very back a lady runs a business renting bikes and helmets out to unsuspecting tourist. She handed us a map, patted us on the back and said, "it is pretty much all flat expect for this one road which has a little incline".

Off we went, water bottles in hand and safety helmets on as we peddled to our first winery, Brooksfield, a lovely family owned business which is apparently rare as most of the vineyards have been bought by large corporations. A lovely conversation with a equally lovely lady named Sharon warmed our hearts and our taste buds. We promised to come back, and then we set off for a second and larger winery. We even enjoyed a chocolate factory and some wooden sculptures cut from tree stumps. We headed along a very, very long road, pretty tired at this point to find our next destination was closed. Without further ado, we set off up the small incline... she lied. We/I died, my legs burned and my heart nearly popped out my chest from beating so hard. We made it and the descent down was a very long one. Happy that we did not go up that way we eventually made our way back to our car as everything had shut for the day.

On our way to Rotarua, we stopped at a place known to the locals as "Secret Cove" or "Hot and Cold". We had a lovely time soaking in this natural hot spring where a cool stream met a warm stream at the entrance of the Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland. What was especially nice was the fact that it was free. Free of charge and free spirited as Tyler and I found enjoyable conversation with the locals and other tourist, one or two of whom were completely nude! We were a little on edge due to the really large sign stating "Danger! Do not put head in water - amoebic meningitis is fatal and caused by water entering the nasal passages". Not knowing what the hell the sign was going on about, we looked at the people already enjoying the waters and gingerly stepped in wondering what amoebic meningitis was or indeed how would one know if you had contracted it. Panic over took me as I watched the older naked man splash water all over his face and continue to do so. Well I just couldn't keep my mouth shut, so I asked why he wasn't concerned about what the sign said. Everyone in the pool went quiet and discreetly listened, without actually looking at the naked man. He replied"nar nobody's got it, been coming ere since '74, just remember to blow out your nose if you do. The sign's only ter cause of OSHA." Sighs of relief were heard all around over the rushing water, but I'm made a mental note to look up what hell amoebic meningitis was...just in case.

We made it to Rotaru later that day, and went for a run along the lake front as suggested by the host at our holiday park. We quickly realized that woman had no business giving advice out on where to run as we found ourselves sprinting through massive swarms of sandflies over and over again. After a good night's sleep, it was time to move on with our journey, but not before stopping to check out the local redwood forest. That's right actual redwoods imported from northern california.

A side note on these wonderful characters we've met: The French Canadian man Lucas seem very adapted to a life on foot with a very organised and large backpack. Whereas the lady from Alaska had nothing but the smallest of backpacks (almost a daypack really) and seemed most a home WWOOFing. Richard, a fellow traveling Brit, on the other hand, carried the largest of bags filled with just a few clothes and a bunch rock climbing gear! It was the size of a kiddies car! He also carrying his treasured mandolin separately, which he even broke out and played a few tunes for me with. Very Good! Richard's passion was for folk music, which is something I have not explored myself personally, but it seems very familiar to me...even the young Alaskan lady had a hing for folk and bluegrass music. All under 25! Certainly a change.

More of the Southern Island (Nov 2 - 10)

After our thrilling morning plunging 12,000 feet through the air, we chilled out in Queenstown and enjoyed lunch with some of the people we met skydiving. An American girl from Texas and two Brits from Essex. There seem to be a trend as we were still not meeting the locals. I suppose they keep away from tourist traps though. Once the pictures of our jump were ready though, we set off for Wanaka, a small lake side town an hour from Queens town, but as it was already dark when we arrived, we headed straight to the holiday park. The nights are light until around 9pm with lovely sunsets starting about a half hour or so before. With these light nights, we seem to fit an abundance of travel and stuff all in one day though still, not enough for our liking.

Up early the next morning, we started the long drive up the west coast. Once we made it to the coastline, we were treated to some fantastic views as the road wound along the cliffs high above beaches where fur seals lay basking in the sun. We stopped along the way and enjoyed a picnic lunch whilst watching sea diving birds looking awkward sunning themselves on the shoreline. Shortly thereafter, rain set in for the day, and we heard over the radio that the area we had just left was getting a lot of snowfall. Feeling fortunate that we left when we did we continued on.

Our next stop was Fox Glacier. This is a massive glacier, and the ice that isn't covered in dirt is a beautiful blue color. This also could be seen in the rushing river, which was as you can guess...ice cold. Even though we weren't allowed too close to the glacier face because of recent rock slides, we spent quite a bit of time there enjoying the sights the fresh crisp air and searching for Tracy's lost glove :-( . The glove, like Tracy, was so in tune with nature that it blended in so well that we never did find it. We continued on stopping in the small town of Franz Joseph for fish n' chips...mmm yummy. Finally, we pulled into Greymouth, which seemed aptly named because of the heavy cloud cover and constant drizzle.

The following morning, we started the day with a little exercise by jogging along the beach next to our holiday park. While we almost always enjoy running by the ocean, this was no sand beach, and the small stones we trod over made for sore ankles the following day. Back on the road, we headed for Abel Tasman National Park. Tracy even spent a little time behind the wheel steering our camper along the winding mountain roads. After a few stops, including a small picnic spot where two rivers (one black, one blue) merge, we eventually arrived in Pohara Beach which we would use as a base for exploring Abel Tasman the next few days.

Our adventures in Abel Tasman included a great, but very, very windy hike out to Separation Point. (Red - it was about 10 miles roundtrip and you would have truly enjoyed it). Along the way, we stopped an overnight hut on the track and talked to some fellow hikers. As we approached Separation Point itself, we had to make our way down a steep rock face as massive winds blew all around us. At the very edge of the rocky point, where we could see all the way across both Golden Bay and Tasman Bay, we had to brace ourselves so we weren't swept into the cold sea by the strong winds. At that point, a very large fur seal also decided to say hello. Actually, he barely moved as he was enjoying a nap in the sun.

A couple of days later, we drove out to Awaroa Bay. The hosts at our holiday park had told us it wouldn't be a problem getting out there in our camper, but we found the road a little daunting as we twice had to drive across small streams that caused water to splash up on the windshield. Once we made it to the bay though, we had a great time exploring. Awaroa Bay is a very large sand bottom bay that drains and fills with the tides. As it can only be crossed within a few hours of low tide and it is part of the coastal hiking track, we say many backpackers making their way across the inlet while we took our time playing in the sand. We made a large loop through the bay checking out the little crabs and crossing through shallow streams of water. The last stretch of our little hike was the most muddy though and we slogged our way through mud up to our ankles. Fortunately, we were wearing our Tevas and we quickly rinsed off in a stream as the rains set in again.

During our time in Abel Tasman, we also popped in and out of the town of Takaka for supplies as there wasn't a grocer in Pohara Beach. We quickly grew to like this little town, which seem very relaxed and a little hippie in nature. We also spent an afternoon at a local salmon farm where we caught our very own salmon and had them smoked with a variety of spices. It made for a fantastic dinner, but witnessing me finish off the salmon so to speak, left Tracy feeling a little scared. Her mood brighten a bit as we ate the tasty salmon, and even more so, as we watched a herd of various farm animals, including a furry Scotish highland cow parade by as we were preparing to leave.

After Abel Tasman, we decided to head out to Farewell Spit, a long sandspit on the northern end of the island that is home to a nature reserve as it is a wetland of internal importance. On the way out, we stopped at a place called the Mussel Inn, which was recommended to us by a local in Pohara Beach. The Mussel Inn was probably the coolest little tavern we visited in New Zealand so far. All of the beers and ciders are made on site, everyone of them excellent, and the homey little place is populated by lively assortment of locals. We decided to explore the spit itself by going for a short jog the next morning. We intended to only be out for an hour or so, but it turned out that the person who suggested our route thought we would be driving, not running, so we ended up being out for over three hours. That said, it was an incredible three hours. We started out by running west up this gravel road next to a field of cattle, which damn near started a stampede as we went by. Next, we spent a good amount of time climbing up to the top of the hills overlooking the ocean until we made it to the "hilltop track". There we ran back east all the while enjoying the magnificent views of the ocean below and Golden Bay far below and in the distance. Eventually, we made it to hilly sheep fields, which we made our through carefully watching were we stepped. Finally, we made it out to the northern side of the spit, where we ran along the ocean then crossed back to the south side before heading back to our camper. The woman at the holiday park was a little shocked when returned and told her that we enjoyed the run.

Finally, it was time to head over to Picton where we would catch our ferry to the North island the next day. As we made our way to Picton though, we took time to stop off at a few wineries in the Renwich and Blenheim area.

The next day we would board our ferry and say goodbye to the south island.

Queenstown Craziness (Oct 30 - Nov 2)

Queenstown is a beautiful town known for craziness, and we could write a ton about everything there is to do. But heck life is too short, so in this instance, we've decided to let the photos speak for themselves. We had a fun, highly charged and very emotional experience that we shall always remember - peace, love and happiness all the way baby!