So Long, New Zealand!

...we'll miss you.

Castle Rock

For our last hike in New Zealand, we hiked to the top of Castle Rock along the 309 Road on the Coromandel Peninsula. It had amazing views and was a good way to finish our long journey across an astonishingly beautiful country. While at the top of the mountain we caught a glimpse of the huge buildings in Auckland. It was at that moment we knew our NZ adventure was coming to an end.

I am currently writing this post in the United States. We arrived safely yesterday and are staying at Sarah's parents in Hawaii for a couple of weeks.

I Hate Jellyfish

I went swimming at Hot Water Beach on the Coromandel Peninsula in NZ. I was enjoying body surfing as the waves broke while the tide went out, when suddenly I had severe pain in my left eye. A jellyfish stung me right in the eye! It also got me on the chest, on my back, and another place I won't mention... Thank goodness the pain went away after about an hour...but I still hate jellyfish.

Tongariro National Park

So now my friend Brian can finally stop asking me, "So, have you seen Mt. Doom?" Yes Brian, we did. It is the big mountain in the third picture. The actual name of the mountain is Mt. Ngauruhoe. Mt. Ruapehu is seen in the fourth picture and was also used for scenes around Mt. Doom in the Lord of the Rings. Here is a link to what Mt. Doom looked like in the movie so you can compare: CLICK ME!!!

Wellington

Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand, was a very nice city. The surrounding hills and harbour make for a beautiful setting. Pictured are the Wellington Cable Car and the New Zealand Paliament Building. The building to the left is called the "Beehive." It is a structure that exhibits signs of suffering from severe 70's architecture...

Leaving the South

On December 30, 2008, we drove to the small town of Picton which is located at the base of the Marlborough Sounds. Picton was a tiny town with a big port. The ferries dominated the scene. We took the Bluebridge Ferry across the Cook Straight to Wellington.

Abel Tasman National Park

Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park

Panoramic Views

The Remarkables

Pictured here are The Remarkables, which are near Queenstown, NZ.

Fun on the Farm!

For a week and a half, we worked on a farm in Central Otago. We worked pretty hard and both had sore muscles at night, but it was a great experience and a lot of fun at times. We planted potatoes, weeded fields of garlic, drove posts into the ground, cracked walnuts, hunted, cooked, and did a whole lot more.

We hunted hares, which are non-native and considered pests in the area. None of the hare was wasted, with all of the meat going to feed the five cats on the farm. Sarah is feeding one of the more athletic cats in the third picture.

One day, a swarm of honey bees descended on the farm. It was enormous and the buzzing was impressively loud. They ended up settling down in the bee hive box that the farmer had set up. He seemed pretty happy that he had new neighbors. I was able to crawl my way under the swarm with the camera to get the fourth picture in this set.

Central Otago

We spent a long time in Central Otago. It turned out to be one of our favorite regions in New Zealand. The region is very dry, although it did rain a few times while we were there. The rain never lasted long, but produced beautiful rainbows as seen in the first picture. The second picture is Blue Lake which is a result of significant gold mining in the region. People flooded into the region during the 1860's to dig for gold. Old stone houses are some of the few remnants of the gold rush, as seen in the last picture.

Dunedin

Dunedin is probably our favorite city in New Zealand. It is small with a population of only about 123,000, but does contain the sizable University of Otago. The architecture in the city is brilliant. There are many classic examples of Edwardian and Victorian architecture throughout the city, and there are several large Gothic Churches as well. It is even fun to walk in the residential areas and appreciate the smaller homes' architecture. Sarah also liked the fact that every other house seemed to have a rose garden.

When I stopped for petrol, I told the clerk how much more I liked the city's design than Auckland. He said, "Yeah, just don't tell anyone from up there about us. We don't want 'em down here." So, shhhhhhh...

Otago Peninsula

While we were in Dunedin, we took a short drive to the Otago Peninsula. It is a mostly pastoral landscape with bits of tussock grass scattered about. At the very tip of the peninsula is the Royal Albatross Colony. It is a rare location for Albatross because most breed on very small, remote islands and spend 90% of their lives out at sea. Their wing spans stretch to 3 meters! We were lucky enough to see a few flying around, but it was too difficult to get a clear picture of one.

Purakaunui Falls

Pictured is Purakaunui Falls not far from the Catlins Forest Park.

Our Humble Home

Sooooo...this is what we have been living in since we have been touring the South Island. It is a Micro Campervan from the Rental Car Village Group. It is actually quite cozy, gets great gas-mileage, and is fun to drive. It is way better than sleeping in a tent, especially with all the rain we've been getting. It makes me want to buy a little station wagon back in the US that we can convert into our own Micro Campervan. This picture was taken at the Purakaunui Bay campsite in Southeast Otago at about 9:30pm after a long day of driving. It doesn't get truly dark here until about 10pm! We are really far south.

It should be noted that my top shirt button was buttoned and my collar was popped because I was desperately trying to avoid being eaten by sandflies... I am not trying to start any stupid new fashion trends.

Lake Marian

We have not done any of the Great Walks such as the Milford Track since we have been in New Zealand. (Sarah's professor from New Zealand said they were just for silly tourists anyway...) However, we have done some pretty good hikes since we have been here. Lake Marian is a lake just below the tree line in Fiordland National Park. We hiked about an hour and a half up rugged terrain to the get there and the view was spectacular. Plus, we were the only ones up there which made it extra nice.

Kea

These are very smart birds. Their intelligence is supposed to rival that of the smartest primate. It is one of the few alpine parrots in the world. They can also be quite a nuisance. They strategically place themselves where humans gather. For instance, I took the picture of this one at the queue for the Homer Tunnel in Fiordland National Park. (A vehicle has to wait 15 minutes for the traffic light to turn green to proceed through the Homer Tunnel.) Kea especially like shiny objects. There have been instances where the Kea have swooped down and stolen people's car keys, leaving the dazed tourists locked out of their cars in alpine conditions. ...but they are quite fun to watch.

New Zealand Fur Seals

We saw some seals while on the Milford Sound boat cruise! Most of them were asleep.

Milford Sound

It rains a lot at Milford Sound. On average, it rains 200 days out of the year with spring being the wettest season. The sound can receive up to 8000mm of rain in a year. ...so it was no big surprise that it was raining when we got there. We still decided to take the Milford Sound boat cruise which was definitely worth the price. The sound is astonishing, even in the rain, and the boat ride was a blast. It did prove to be a very challenging place to take pictures...