Bike Trip – Part 2

Leg 2 – Auckland to Cape Reinga and back to Auckland

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Saturday November 16. Day 1.
Kawakawa to Kaikohe. ~50km.

Today was an adventure. Day 1 of the bike trip, and it was half good half bad. I had a few frustrations with my bike gears not working, and then my bike bags not being as high-quality as I had hoped. Also, I learned that I’m not as in shape as I had thought. BUT, it was still a lot of fun.

Last night we got off the bus in Kawakawa at 10pm. We put our peddles back on and reattached our bike bags in the dark (we had to take it all apart for the bus ride) and then biked around looking for a good spot to freedom camp. In the end I don’t think the spot we picked was exactly “camping allowed,” but nobody could see us so it worked. We slept under the stars because it didn’t look like rain and the weather here is really warm. There was one mosquito that lingered around, but otherwise sleep wasn’t an issue.

Public bathrooms at Kawakawa.

In the morning we biked 5k to the Kawiti Glowworm caves.

Pictures weren’t allowed past this point, so this is all I got

For $15 each we got a short tour of the caves, with lots of information about their history, about stalactites and stalagmites, and of course, glowworms. It was really cool to seeglowworms, especially since they’re native to New Zealand and I wouldn’t be able to see them anywhere else (except maybe some areas in Australia).

Then we biked back to the rail trail that led out of town and followed it, officially starting the bike trip as we headed up to Cape Reinga (the top of NZ). Rail trail = (theoretically) old train tracks that have been converted into cycle trails. They’re made of packed gravel and are pretty flat, so they make for excellent cycling. They’re still in the process of building these cycle trails. They want to make a network throughout all of NZ. Apparently there is some opposition to them being built though, since they’d be going through private land. The result of this conflict is us coming across the occasional message like this at the head of a trail:

The day was full of gravel roads and hills. It took a lot of muscles and a lot of determination for me today… hopefully it gets easier, but I have a feeling the next two days will be even harder. I know it makes for pretty scenery, but God why does NZ have to have so many hills? We had pasta for supper tonight, after setting up camp in a small forest just off the rail trail. Again, I don’t think we’re exactly supposed to be here but since we’re well hidden… We won’t set up the tent tonight either, since the weather is still pretty good. Atm we hear some weird cricket-like noises coming from the trees, and we’re wondering if they could be giant wetas. Who knows.O.o

Sunday November 17. Day 2.
Kaikohe to Rawene. 75km.

40 of those 75km we did today were not planned. We started out just a little before 10am, and although I did not feel sore, my muscles seemed just as tired as they had the night before. We passed through several small towns today, and saw a side of NZ you don’t usually see. Poverty seems like an issue in most of these towns, and most if not all the faces were Maori.

This scene looked a lot cooler in person

Kiwis sure love their wild boar hunting

Despite that, riding here is really cool. Everyone is super friendly. People seem to like bikers especially, and when they see our bags they’ll wave or honk as they go by. If we’re stopped and they’re walking by, they’ll strike up a conversation about where we’re coming from and where we’re going to and offer some advice. While we were taking a break yesterday, two ladies pulled over to make sure we were okay when they saw our bikes on the ground, and then offered us some apples from a bag they had just bought.

Another interesting kiwi development: microwaves for mailboxes

But the reason we did 40 unplanned km today was because we were following the advice of the cycling book we have. It turns out the small town of Horeke doesn’t actually hire out boats to people needing to get across the bay like our book said it does. We got there, rode around and got lost on some gravel roads just to find out that we would have to do a 33km detour to the nearest town with a ferry. Which would’ve been alright if I hadn’t been so tired already and that 33km wasn’t so hilly. Today was probably the hardest thing I’ve done in NZ so far – and even Andi says he came to physical and mental limit today. (if that doesn’t tell you something…)

Arriving in Rawene (all these Maori names are difficult to pronounce. This one’s ‘rah-wee-nee’) and getting to our campsite was the best feeling in the world, especially because this campsite has showers. And of course the view is gorgeous. (same-old, same-old)

At the end of it all, today was a good day. I’ve got a good story to tell, seeing as we got lost in a small town that’s not even on our map. (at least, not on my map)

Tomorrow we take a ferry and then the terrain is apparently even tougher. Excited? Actually, I kind of am.

P.S. As it gets closer to Christmas, I start to get festive songs stuck in my head. I sang this to the tune of John Lennon’s ‘Happy xmas/War is Over’:

And so this is downhill

How fast can you go?

Another hill over,

A new one just begun.

And now this is uphill.

For fast or for slow.

The tall and the small ones.

On paved and gravel roads.

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Monday November 18. Day 3.
Rawene to Ahipara. 65km.

Today was better. The terrain was probably the same, but all the roads were paved (it really makes a difference) and my muscles are starting to get used to the hills. I went harder and got a lot sweatier, and did 65km in 7 hours. Not much else to say, except that tomorrow will be our rest day, and then we make our way up to Cape Reinga!

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Tuesday November 19. Day 4.
Ahipara to somewhere up 90-mile beach.25-30km ish?

Oh boy can I feel those muscles. We started up 90-mile beach today. It’s not actually 90 miles – more like 50 something (80km anyway), but at low tide the sand is hard enough to drive on, and the long straight beach is actually considered a highway – with speed limits and everything. (100kph for the most part) We spent some time in the water, then sitting in the sand before we started to set up camp just behind the hills/sand dunes that led to the beach. The dunes are still quite sandy, so we got some sand in our dinner (pasta as always).

Wednesday November 20. Day 5.
90 mile beach to Waitiki Landing. 65km.

Thursday November 21. Day 6.
Waitiki Landing to Cape Reinga to Waitiki Landing. 46km.

I didn’t expect to see that number. We thought it was Wednesday and day 5 all day. Probably because neither of us journalled last night. But anyways. It’s been almost a week, and you would expect my muscles to be feeling better about all this, but they’re not. It’s probably because we haven’t truly had a day off yet to relax them.

Yesterday we biked all the way up the beach. We passed the occasional jellyfish that had washed up with the tide (it took me a while to figure out what they were) along with several other weird-looking dead creatures. 

Some sort of deep-sea fish…

It was fun at first, but got boring pretty quickly. It was 5 hours of the same thing over and over. The highlight of my day was when a truck driver pulled over to talk to me, and, upon learning that I had a biking partner way ahead of me (Andi had disappeared over the horizon a while ago), offered me a ride to catch up to him. It took us 5 minutes going full highway speed to catch up to Andi, and we had a decent conversation in the meantime. He dropped me off just ahead of Andi, but far enough away that I was just a black dot and so Andi didn’t notice. My intention was to wait for Andi and nonchalantly ask what had taken him so long. It was a laugh when he caught up to me and was very confused. When we finally got to the end of the beach, we had to follow a stream inland for a couple kilometres. This stream passed by several giant sand dunes, which I found super cool, before turning into gravel road, then paved road, and then finally (after a couple last huge hills) our destination, Waitiki Landing. It’s incredible how fast this land can go from flat as a pancake to almost mountainous.  Now, Waitiki Landing is a yellow dot on our map, meaning a town, so I expected a few buildings at the least. What we got instead was only a holiday park (a hostel and campground rolled into one). There was a dairy (convenience store), but all it had that we could use was a couple bags of pasta, some fried beans and some ice cream. We had a quality supper that night.

Today we went up the rest of the 20km to Cape Reinga. Cape Reinga is the top of NZ (or close enough for my estimates). No food is sold there and eating isn’t allowed, seeing as it’s a sacred place to the Maori, believed to be where the dead souls take their leave of this world.

The sign says, “The Meeting Point. Te Rerenga Wairua (Cape Reinga) marks the separation of the Tasman Sea (to the West) from the Pacific Ocean. For Maori, these turbulent waters are where the male sea Te Moana Tapokopoko a Tawhaki meets the female sea Te Tai o Whitirela. The whirlpools where the currents clash are like those that dance to the wake of a waka (canoe). They represent the coming together of male and female – and the creation of life.”

There was a quite a view, and I’m glad we made it all the way up here. On the way back to our campsite we took a detour so that I could live my dream of climbing up a giant sand dune. IT WAS SO COOL!! It felt like we were in the middle of the desert, even though we were only maybe two km from the ocean. (New Zealand is so strange that way…)

More than 10,000km away from home

Photo by Andreas Blöschl

Me cycling up a terrific hill (although it looks super flat from this angle, doesn’t it…)
Photo by Andreas Blöschl

Me climbing up a giant sand dune.
Photo by Andreas Blöschl

Photo by Andreas Blöschl

 

Friday November 22. Day 7.
Waitiki Landing to Hukatere Campground. 55km. 3 hours of sleep.

I won’t lie, today was hell. I will never again attempt to bike on anything less than 5 hours of sleep. (I have occasional insomnia problems… and so far it hasn’t been a problem for me to do a day of hiking after 3 hours of sleep, but I learnt today that cycling is quite different.) It took us 11 hours to get 50km today. On flat ground. And that’s all I have to say about that. We also ran out of food halfway down the beach, but we knew that was coming. And my bike got two flat tires. We were saved by a man driving up to us on the beach to let us know that he had a campground with hot showers not too far ahead. We decided to make it for there, because the end of the beach was too far away for us to reach before sunset.

The Hukatere Campground is actually a farm, with space for campers. There was no one there but us, and a bunch of WWOOFers. (all German except one) They were having their evening meal, and we mentioned that we were out of food the manager insisted we eat with them. So we had a real meal of salad, ground beef, and kumara (NZ sweet potatoes). We also got a hot shower, some pleasant company and an egg and cereal breakfast the next morning. We were glad for that, because really all we had left for food was a couple tablespoons of peanut butter, a handful of raisins, and enough garlic to keep away an army of vampires. (or get us all the way back to Christchurch anyway) The only bad thing about the place was having to avoid the cow patties when headed back to the tent at night.

Gabi, the manager

 

Saturday November 23. Day 8.
Hukatere to Kaitaia. 50km. Enough sleep.

Eager to never see 90 mile beach again, Andi wanted to ride inland towards highway 1 and make our way South from there. I had misgivings that it would be hillier than the beach, but it turned out to be almost just as flat. We made it to Kaitaia in good time, despite it being our original destination for yesterday. Kaitaia is a small town, but we feel like we’re back in civilization. They have a McDonald’s (free wifi!) and by the same token, a grocery store. We stocked up on fresh fruit and vegetables, super happy to be able to leave our pasta-and-peanut-butter-sandwiches  diet behind us. (at least, for a few days while we can afford it and while we don’t have to carry the weight) We had a delicious veggie & beans supper and then we went to bed. (the good thing about Andi being vegetarian is that he knows how to cook vegetables)

 

Sunday November 24, Day 9.
Kaitaia.

My tire has another flat. It’s always the same tire, and we’re not sure what the problem is. We want to get it checked out by a bike shop so that we don’t get stuck in the middle of nowhere with a flat tire and no spare tubes. Unfortunately, today is Sunday so everything is closed. Looks like we’re stuck in Kaitaia for a day. Yay! A rest day! My leg muscles will be glad.

Our hostel in Kaitaia

We had some interesting conversations today. We were at the Te Ahu centre (library/i-site/museum) using the free internet, and some 11 or 12 year old boys who were playing around the area became interested in us when they learned we were from Austria and Canada. They were intrigued that we were together. They asked us questions like, “Do your countries have facebook? Is your facebook still blue and white? Have you ever smoked? Do you know who Bob Marley is? Have you been to Shipwreck Bay? Have you ever eaten seafood?”Apparently two of them had nowhere to sleep last night, and they’d nearly been caught by the police for being “in the bush” past curfew. An old teacher of theirs was passing by and stopped to ask how they were getting on with school. It was interesting to have such an insight into their world – not just the hard times, but also how small and focused the life of a kid is, and how different it is from mine as a child. Just because of the location (and time) I grew up in.

A picture on the wall. Traditional Maori greeting. It has to do with breathing in the same space, being one with somebody for an instant.

Sliding door

On our way out of the building later, we talked  to another Maori man. He stopped us by asking for our help with a word. “I’m looking for a word. It’s handed down from generation to generation, something that’s passed on unconsciously.” He was writing a protest letter against a new company intending to do off-shore drilling for oil. He told us that a Haka had taken place all along the west coast that weekend as a protest. It’s too bad we didn’t get to see it.

Andy, mesmerized by the paper birds hanging from the ceiling.

As we walked through town some people honked at us. (we don’t even have our bikes or bags with us to mark us as tourists!) Andi figures it’s because he stands out – the percentage of people here with blond hair and blue eyes, who are also tall and skinny, is about 0%. My fair skin and bundles of freckles give me away a little too, but not nearly as much.

 

Wednesday November 27.
Auckland.

We couldn’t find a bike shop in Kaitaia, just a sign in a window with some bikes saying “call the bike guy” at so-and-so number for repairs and such. We phoned him and left a message, but he never got back to us. We weren’t so keen on sticking around in Kaitaia where there was not much to do, and we couldn’t do anymore biking until we fixed my bike, so although it meant I wouldn’t get to see the Waipoua Forest that I had been looking forward to (2000+ year-old kauri trees), we booked our bus ticket back to Auckland. The only bus left bright and early at 8am, so we took it. Back in Auckland, probably for the last time, we did some sightseeing that we hadn’t done last time. We went up the Sky Tower, which has a beautiful 360 view of the city from way up high. We stayed until nightfall to see the city at night, then went back to our hostel.

Photo by Andreas Blöschl

Photo by Andreas Blöschl

Today we went grocery shopping and then brought my bike to the shop to get it fixed. We did a little bit of sightseeing today too, but had to stop when it started pouring buckets outside. Afterwards we just sat in our hostel and took advantage of our free internet to write up our blogs.

The Sky Tower from afar.
Photo by Andreas Blöschl

The Sky Tower from up close.
Photo by Andreas Blöschl

Bike Trip – Part 1

So I haven’t had internet much over the past month or so. Seeing as right now I have free time and free internet, I figured I should get caught up with the blogging thing. So, Andi and I have decided to do a bike trip around the North Island. Doing a bike trip has been on my bucket list for a while, so why not try it? Now’s the perfect time, and it’ll be a great way get to know the country a bit more. We saw a lot of the South Island during our studies, and now have a month left for the North Island. We left Christchurch after exams were done, going up via rental car. We’re headed to Auckland with Will and Heiko, and from there we’ll split up, leaving our vehicles behind in favour of bikes. 🙂

So, I haven’t had much access to Internet, but I have been writing in a journal almost every night. If you like binge-reading, then enjoy! (if not, enjoy the photos!)

Leg 1 – Christchurch to Auckland

Sunday November 10.

So here we go. We left Christchurch at 12:30 this afternoon, after having woken up at 9am to bike a half hour to pick up our rental campervan. Relocation deal = 5 days of driving fo’ free! O.o (minus gas costs, which is usually about $80-100 per fillup. Normal sized tank.) After leaving our luggage at Heiko’s old flat for free storage, we headed out. Now here we are on the highway, hoping to make it to Picton in time for the 6 o’clock ferry. We’ll spend the night in Wellington, NZ’s capital, and it’ll be our first night on the North Island.

It’s official! The bike trip is on. I’ve packed all my stuff, said my goodbyes, bought my bike, hit the road. I won’t lie, I’m a little nervous. Not for the travelling itself, but for the first couple weeks, where my muscles remember that they exist and need to grow. a lot. But. I’m looking forward to being in shape and seeing all the great scenery of the North Island. Most of all, it finally feels good to be free. There is nothing that I have to do, I have no plans that I can’t change. At least until January 7th, when I have to be back in Edmonton for uni. But until then, I’m free as a bird. I can’t wait for the next month and a half.

(Also, I’m glad to have met the people I have, who enjoy doing the same sort of stuff I do. This bike trip never would’ve happened otherwise.)

What the back of our rental van looked like as we set off

Wednesday November 13

Well, we made it to Wellington. The public bathrooms in Picton were the most ridiculous washrooms I’ve ever been in. The door to the toilet opened only with the press of a button, and then it slid closed behind you like the door of a space shuttle. Once inside, an automated voice came on welcoming you to the toilet and informing you that the door would automatically open again after the maximum usage time of 10 minutes. The intercom then proceeded to play elevator music. The toilet paper dispenser was also automated, so I had to wait a while as it electronically fed me the allocated amount of paper it thought I would need. And then, while I waited outside afterwards for Andi to take his turn, a young boy asked me for help because his friend was stuck in the next stall and didn’t know  how to get out. It turned out that he just had to press the button for long enough, and then the door slid open… but I don’t blame him for missing it, since the button didn’t really look like a button. Most ridiculous bathrooms ever. Another ridiculous thing I found in Picton was at the grocery store: a punnet of blueberries around the size of a deck of cards for $8. (have I said that everything here in NZ is expensive?)

View from the InterIslander Ferry. Photo by Andreas Blöschl.

From Picton we took the ferry to Wellington, NZ’s capital, and arrived at our hostel near midnight.

Photo by Andreas Blöschl

Wellington seems like it would be a great city to live in. (and apparently they think so too:) It seems like a city that really promotes the arts, which is maybe why I like it so much. We visited the Te Papa museum, the one everyone talks about and asks if you’ve been there or not. It’s free-of-charge to go check it out, which is cool. Christchurch’s museum is like that too. I would assume the museums here subsist from donations and government aid. I think that’s a really good idea and I enjoy that system. (I gave a couple of coins as my donation…)

Playing a game of giant Jenga at our hostel

Public piano

Me crawling through the artery of a blue whale’s heart. At the Te Papa Museum.

We also picked up my bike bags that I had bought off trademe in Wellington. (that’s like kijiji) I got really excited as I packed all my stuff into them… the bike trip is coming so soon!

After seeing a bit of Wellington (I expect we’ll be back to see more of it on our way down after the bike trip), we headed out to Tongariro National Park, an area of volcanic activity located in the centre of the North Island. We did a day hike there known as the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, which is really the only alpine area in the North Island.  The volcanic look is quite different from the rest of New Zealand (seriously, you can never get bored travelling this country) and the views were stunning. (how many times have I used that word to describe New Zealand? But it’s true…)  Also, one of the volcanoes there is called Mt Ngauruhoe, or, in nerdman’s terms, Mount Doom.

That hike was well-worth the almost six hours it took, and the sore muscles the next day. (it seems like I haven’t done that much hiking in a while) Because we have 4 people in two vehicles, and the hike is a one-way hike, we decided to split up and start at either ends, meeting up and exchanging car keys in the middle. One van barely fits 2 bikes and gear, let alone 4.

 

Friday November 15

After Tongariro we made our way up to Taupo Lake. I feel bad for Andy because he’s been driving the whole way, but I still get too stressed out to drive. Especially around corners and when it’s raining. Darn that car crash. Hopefully it doesn’t take too long to get back to normal. We did some freedom camping by the side of Taupo Lake, and enjoyed the nice weather as we watched the black swans paddle around in the evening sun. And then we made a pasta & veggie supper as the sun set and painted the sky and hills in hues of purple and pink.  It was quite wonderful. The town of Taupo itself wasn’t all that exciting – even the museum would’ve cost $5 (I guess I’m getting a bit spoiled with that). In the end we just got groceries and found ourselves a cafe with free internet where we could charge up our devices.

The next stop after that was Rotorua. Rotorua is… a mixed blessing. There are geothermal vents everywhere – just around. It’s so cool. In the park, in the lake, poking up through the cobblestone road… It was so strange – and so awesome – to be just riding around on the bike, to hear this gurgling, look down and see a brick wobbling as some mud and steam push their way through the cracks and up. It also means the town’s citizens can dip their feet in some hot springs whenever they want. The downside of Rotorua and all the vents is that they stink. The whole town smells of sulphur. If I worked there I’d have to be a florist or a baker or something. Something smelly. But all that steam does make for some beautiful photography around sunset.

For our night in Rotorua we found a hostel that allowed us to sleep in our van but still use all their facilities, like shower, swimming pool, kitchen. It only cost $9 as opposed to20-something, and honestly I kind of preferred it.

The next day Andi and I woke up early and drove to Matamata. Here is the culmination of all my nerdy excitement in coming to New Zealand: the day I got to see Hobbiton! Nobody else in our little group was quite willing to pay the money to see Hobbiton as I was, so I went alone. I’m glad I went, even just for the cool little facts they told us as we went along. (Like, did you know the tree above Bag End had all it’s branches replaced with other branches imported from Taiwan? For a more ‘Old English’ feel)

Me in front of a Hobbit Hole

Two awesome people who decided to come on the tour dressed as hobbits

I even got a free cider at the Green Dragon Inn

I  bought some postcards and afterwards we made haste on our way up to Auckland. At least, as much haste as our poor old rental van would let us. That thing had trouble doing 60kph up some hills. In Auckland we found a hostel, dropped our bags off, drove to the airport, gave back our rental van, and then had to bike back into town. It took us about two hours to bike back, because it was a far distance but also because our map was not very detailed and we didn’t remember exactly where our hostel was. In the end we made it, and got to see a bit of Auckland along the way. I also got to practice some uphill biking. (Woohoo! Sore muscles ftw!)

We were super tired that night, so we just organized our stuff into our bike bags, checked our emails, ate supper, booked our bus tickets for the morrow, and fell into bed.

And now it is currently the morrow. I am sitting on a bus headed up to Kawakawa, the location of some glowworm caves. As I sit staring out the window at the sun setting over rolling green hills, filling the air with golden dust, I can’t help but feel perfectly happy. This is an adventure. This is peaceful. This is travel at its finest. A little bit planning, a little bit not knowing, a little bit ired after a long day and sore muscles. A little bit not knowing where you’re going to sleep tonight (we’re hoping we can find somewhere half-hidden along the side of the road), a little bit content to just sit and see where the wind takes you. (or where the bus takes you, in my case) A little bit beautiful scenery.

This afternoon we met up with Will, Heiko, Carmen and Cami one last time. We sat around Aotea Square and talked — where only a few hours before Andi and I had attended a free concert from a NZ “uprising star” and seen some people belly dancing on the grass. Everybody tells us that Auckland is horrible. Talk to any Kiwi southerner and tell them your plans of going North and the first thing they’ll say is, “Don’ go to Auckland.” Try as we might, we can’t find much wrong with it, apart from the fact that it’s a big city (over 1 million) and maybe Kiwis just aren’t used to that. Either way, I enjoyed seeing the city and I’m looking forward to climbing the sky tower when we get back from biking the North.

Town Centre from above. Photo by Andreas Blöschl.

After saying goodbye to the gang (Carmen and Cami for the last time) we sent back to the hostel, attached our bags to our bikes for the first time, and rode down to the bus station to wait for our ride.

Angelus Hut

So… I’ve gotten a little behind on the whole blogging thing. But I can be excused: I was on a road trip for two and a half weeks, most of the time in places that don’t have cell phone service and you have to pay cash for the hostel you stay in. Now I’m back in Christchurch, though, so it’s time for some catching up. Prepare yourself, because some seriously cool stuff (and some scary stuff) happened while I was gone. Let’s start with almost a month ago, way back while I was still in school.

It was the last weekend before I would be completely done. One more weekend before freedom set in – after that I would have three whole months before I would be back studying in Edmonton once again.

So on Friday afternoon, five of us drove to Nelson Lakes National Park and did some freedom camping beside lake Rotoiti. (freedom camping = camping wherever, and not paying for it!)

Us freedom camping, in kiwi country

It happened to be Andy’s birthday that day, so Heiko and Will had secretly bought him a cake and brought it along. We sat on the dock at the edge of the lake in the dark, in the candlelight with a bottle of wine and enjoyed a couscous & beans supper, followed by birthday cake. It turned out though that Eesh had also secretly bought him a cake, and so we had two chocolate cakes between the five of us.

Long exposure picture of us preparing supper, with our headlights on. I was just staring into the lake. (thanks to Will Rynearson for the photo)

In this picture I’m looking into the water at the eels that were at least a metre long. In the dark you couldn’t tell where the water ended and the air began, so it looked like the eels were gliding through the air and that they might just fly right at you and eat your finger. It was pretty cool.

 

The next day we began our hike, and I was reminded just how out of shape I had gotten in the past two weeks. (Cramming all of your semester-long project into just two weeks is not a good idea for more reasons than just academics.) I was also reminded, however, of how beautiful New Zealand can be.

Seriously, how can New Zealand be so beautiful, everywhere? What a country.

For the better part of that day, we followed the trail along the ridge of a mountain towards our destination. We came across snow and mud and scree slopes.

I hate scree slopes. So much. Looks cool though.
(thanks to Will Rynearson for the photo)

Having a friendly snowball fight on the top of the mountain. Seriously, too friendly. It was like the cold war. Neither would throw the first snowball.

(thanks to Andreas Blöschl for the photo)

This ^ picture has a kea in the forefront. The kea is the only mountain parrot in the world, and they’re endangered. I think I’ve talked about them before, but you can go here for more info about them if you’re curious:

Click on me!

This kea kept following us. They’re naturally very curious creatures, keas, and this one seemed very interested in us for about an hour or so. We got to calling him Kevin for some reason, and he then became known as Kevin the Kea.

Kevin flying – what beautiful colours
(thanks to Will Rynearson for the photo)

Eesh with Kevin

Kevin sitting there, looking pretty

Kevin the superstar

We got to our destination 6 hours later. Here’s a picture of the final stretch, with the hut in the background.

Although you might not be able to tell it, there is a frozen lake there. I’m sure in the summertime this would be a crystal clear blue/green lake, and stunningly beautiful. (actually, let’s just google it) It’s beautiful now too though. (it’s early spring here)

The hut from the inside. Basically a mansion, for us trampers. I think this trail gets pretty busy in the summer though: there are X bunks in this hut and you actually have to book one or else you won’t get a spot.

That tramp was a little hard for me, mostly because I’d been sitting doing nothing for the past couple of weeks. I was so focused on getting there that, although I saw it and was taking pictures of it, it didn’t hit me just how beautiful the scenery was. It wasn’t until the next day as we descended that I had the jaw-dropping experience that brings me back to the mountains every time.

Also, this side of the ridge looked a lot less like the rocky mountains I’m used to – so it was more shocking.

Breathtaking is what I would call it.

That day was also a long one. I decided to bring out my ipod and listen to music on the trail.

On the drive home we told riddles, which I decidedly suck at solving. But it was fun.

 

Then I had a week to finish my last two papers, and we were off again – this time for two and a half weeks.

New Zealand Place Names

are weird.

For example.

First of all, I gotta say I love the range of websites that are available to Kiwis in terms of tramping. The MetService, the Avalanche Centre, NZ Walks, DOC Maps, and the Topomap are all fantastic examples.

Maybe it’s just because I don’t do as much tramping in Canada, but I haven’t seen any sites that had so much information so easily accessible. I wish we had that though. It’s very helpful.

But anyway.

In tramping around the country you tend to start to notice things like names of mountains, lakes, campsites, etc. I’ve noticed a few strange ones, either by looking at the map or by walking/driving past a sign. I’d like to share; some people have said New Zealand has the worst names, but I think it’s great. So here’s the list.

(I’ll add names as I find new ones, but this is as good a start as any.)

Mountain names
Sugarloaf Mountain
Mount Misery
Mount Horrible
Thesis Peak (spurring many jokes from master’s and doctorate students who enjoy tramping)
Mount Hopeless
Purple Hill

Looking out at Purple Hill

Mount Awful
Mount Alarm
Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu
–    Yes that’s a name. Although it’s more of a hill than a mountain. (It’s the longest place name in English speaking country, 2nd longest in the world apparently. But shortened to “Taumata” for ease of pronunciation. It translates roughly from the Maori language as “The summit where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, the climber of mountains, the land-swallower who travelled about, played his nose flute to his loved one”)

Not mountains
Cape Foulwind
Mosquito Bay
Starvation Point
Nuns Veil
Faerie Queen
Stinking Stream
Death’s Corner

Buildings
Cannibal Gorge Hut

Why Not Café
Elsewhere Pub

The End of Classes

So, the school term is drawing to a close. My last class in New Zealand happened today, and my second last semester in undergraduate studies will be done on Friday when I hand in my last essay. I couldn’t be happier that school is almost over, because this means I get to travel. But I was thinking today, and I realized.

I really like the University of Canterbury.

We had a get-together today, for the linguistic students in my Ling310 class and for the ling honour students. Instead of going to class, we handed in our assignments and then there was free pizza and pepsi. They congratulated us on having finished another year, as they went around and read the posters we had created for our project, and congratulated us on our work.

I feel strangely proud of my poster, I gotta say

To tell the truth, I wasn’t very enthused at first about the classes I had to take here. To me, they just sounded like stuff that I had to get out of the way so I could travel.

But I found myself thinking today, as I sat there eating pizza, that I’m not really looking forward to going back to the classes at the UofA. Really, I’ve had good quality courses here (alright, even though I’m only taking two of them), and I’ve really enjoyed actually going to school here. My classes are fun. Interactive. Laid back.

And there’s pizza. (jk, that’s not actually a reason. The linguistics department at UAlberta often does free pizza too, so I can’t say I’m missing out on anything.)

But really. When I go back home I will just sit in a class where I am just another face, and do boring readings and write boring assignments and be super busy and still not really learn very much.

While I’ve been here, I’ve learned so much.

In Ling310: (New Zealand English) I’ve learned that I love doing data-based research projects. I like having a project that is my own, that evolved from an idea that I created, that pushes against the boundary of human knowledge and adds something to it.  It’s something like this (Except that I’m not quite doing a doctorate. But that’s a little bit of how I feel.). It’s the first time I’ve written 17 pages and liked it all, it’s the first time I’ve gotten a feel for what graduate studies are like.

In TEPE112: (Land Journey and Ethics) I’ve learned navigation skills and survival skills. I’ve learned a little bit more about camping and nature and the outdoors – but not in a classroom. We had four field trips: 2 just using class time and 2 overnight on the weekends. I learned because it was hands-on, I learned because I could practice what was preached at the time, I learned because we had fun.

Oral presentation being given about the explorer who charted the area we’re in (Torlesse)

And that’s the thing, I think.

Why does normal school have to be so boring?

School should be fun. The only interactive class I’ve had at the UofA was CMPUT 250, where we made a 30-minute video game from nothing but our skills, our ideas, and enthusiasm. (and a little help from the Neverwinter Nights Engine I guess.) That was fun. Actually it’s probably the best class I’ve ever taken. But it now officially has two contestants for the position.

https://sites.google.com/a/ualberta.ca/cmput250award2013/nominees/emerge

http://blog.bioware.com/2012/11/19/cmput-250-winter-2013-admissions/

(I even went back to be part of the volunteer team in the following term: http://500px.com/photo/30965799?from=set/740097)

But that class was one of a kind at the University of Alberta.
Why can’t usual classes be more like that?
You learn so much stuff, real-life skills, and you remember it all when it’s more interactive.

 

Not only that, but the pace of life here.

I may have mentioned this before, but it bears repeating. I haven’t seen many students working through the night to complete assignments here. The one time that I stayed at the computer lab until 10pm to do work, there was no one else there with me. It seemed so strange, because I’m sure at the UofA I wouldn’t’ve been alone.

Main library entrance.
4pm on a Monday and this school’s not very happening.

I thought to myself, where are all the people? The hard working students? Doesn’t anyone have a paper to finish? Supper to miss, sleep to skip out on?

But then I realized that no, actually the pace of life here is such that they don’t.

Here, an undergraduate degree is only 3 years long. You only have to take 4 classes per term. You get 2 weeks for term break. The classes aren’t that hard, and they’re fun. Compare that to the UofA, where a degree is 4 years long, you have to take 5 classes per term and you only get 1 week for term break. (and not even that, in the first term)

AND the classes are boring at the UofA. I mean, the content may be interesting, but the manner in which the classes are taught is boring. I wish more courses were like the ones I’ve taken here. Granted, not all UC classes are so interactive. But, I did sit in on a few other classes to see what they were like: the Maori class I sat in on had a weekend field trip coming up, and the astronomy class had us do group work to figure out a problem. I heard of another linguistics course where you learn how to do data collection. (in your second year!) And it was a group of engineers from the UC out on a weekend field trip that picked us up when we went hitchhiking in Arthur’s Pass.

Overall, there is much more interactivity at the University of Canterbury than at the UofA. And I like it. It might also have something to do with smaller class sizes.

I heard that the University of Canterbury was well recognized across the world for its quality as a university, but I didn’t understand why at first. The classes seemed too easy and too slow. Now I understand. It’s cause you actually learn, and you actually put things into practice.

At least, that’s my experience.

Yay for unrelated picture content!

Tramping for University Credit

I’m currently taking a class called Land Journey and Ethics, in which we are required to think about the way we treat the environment, and how we interact with nature. Although this class has nothing to do with my Linguistics degree, I thought it was quite appropriate considering the amount of tramping I intended to do in New Zealand. The main reason I took it was for the two field trips that would take place during the second term.

This blogpost is all about those two field trips – camping for class credit.

 

Port Hills Expedition

On the 14^th and 15^th, our first field trip took place. For me, a 30 minute bus ride away from uni doesn’t really seem much like ‘wilderness,’ and so I wasn’t particularly looking forward to this trip. But the weekend actually ended up being quite fun.

First of all, the Port Hills are just south of Christchurch. It’s nice because if you get on top of the hills you can see the whole city stretched out below you….

…and if you turn around and look the other way, you can see all of Lyttleton Harbour and the rest of the Banks Peninsula in all its glory.

INFO ALERT! The area was formed by volcanic activity several bajilion years ago, (that’s precise scientific dating), which is why the harbour has the basin shape that it does. I learned that from a fellow student’s presentation.

Several presentations took place on this trip, including mine. We each spent 10 minutes talking about a separate area/person/subject that had to do with our trip. I learned a lot, but that best part was that most of the time, we had this sort of view as we listened to the presentations.

Most of the time. Sometimes we just took the sunshine when we could get it.

It was fun learning this way – it was relevant to what we were doing and where we were. Plus I didn’t have to pay attention for long: usually we’d be hiking, then stop for a 10-minute presentation, then keep on going again to do another one later. (rather than fitting 30 presentations on after the other back in the classroom, where you just start to zone out…)

I learnt how to navigate using a compass and a map, and I learnt from the presentations about the Maori in the Banks Peninsula area, the geology, its European history, and some plants and animals of the area.

It was quite interesting also because it makes you realize how little you actually know about the places you visit. Even back at home in Alberta, I don’t really take the time to stop and wonder how this flower got its name, or how the land was formed, or what the history of the native people in that area. (Like, who would’ve known that beautiful, innocuous little Quail Island would’ve had such a dark and depressing history?)

Quail Island is in the top right corner of this photo.

I’d been to the Port Hills before, but this was revisiting it again in a way that I definitely enjoyed. Despite having to prepare for the oral presentation.

We also played a game of Mafia in the evening, (aka Werewolf) which gave us a good amount of laughter, making us forget we were here for school.

Couscous supper

Christchurch from above at night

 

Craigieburn Wilderness Expedition

Two weeks later it was time to head out once more. (September 27/28/29^th)

Again, I wasn’t very excited for this one, but again my expectations were matched and exceeded.

We sorted ourselves into groups of 3-6 people, and organized our tents and food that way. When we got to Craigieburn on Friday at 7pm, it was dark outside. Overcast and rainy too, so really. Dark.

The instructors dropped us off in our groups in several different spots along the road. They left us with our gear, our maps, compasses, the coordinates to our campsite, and the navigating knowledge from the previous trip. Then they left us, and we had to find our way to our unmarked campsite by ourselves.

The first thing we came across was forest, with a thick wall of underbrush. Even if it had been daylight we wouldn’t’ve been able to tell where we were supposed to go.

So we just pushed through the bush. Two people in our group led the way with maps and compasses, while Emmy and I kept count of how many steps we’d taken. That would tell us how many metres we’d gone and had left to go.

It took us an hour and a half to go 500m, because we took a sort of roundabout way by accident, but we made it. We found the clearing where we were supposed to be, and we set up our tents in the dark.

We arrived shortly after most other groups did, but one team took an extra two hours to get there. They had started from the farthest drop point though, so that’s understandable. They had almost been about to give up for the night, set up camp and find us in the morning, but our instructor found them. Another group, however, didn’t make it at all.

The next morning we woke up and split into three groups and, based on the knowledge we had, went out to find them. We found them within half an hour, and brought them back to camp to debrief.

The first lesson we learnt was: trust the compass. It turns out this group of three decided to follow the land, and what they thought the map said, and not the compass. They told us about crossing the stream (something we all did), and then walking until they found another stream (something no one else did) – that was running the wrong way. Turns out they had walked full circle and come across the same stream.

But in the end everything worked out – it wasn’t a huge area to begin with anyway.

The rest of the day was spent doing more navigation legs, learning how to triangulate, and listening to oral presentations from the people who hadn’t gone last weekend.

Presentations

Triangulation

Me navigating

We also learned how to build emergency shelters/lean-to’s/bivouacs. We built them in pairs, then went around on a “home and garden show,” as our instructor called it, to take a look at them all. We then had a competition to see whose was the best.

The sales pitch for finalist #1

The sales pitch for finalist #2

#2 won, because it had a candle. (“Ambiance” they called it.)

That night it wasn’t raining, so we were able to eat supper in relative comfort. Some people played games and some went straight to bed.

The next morning, though, we woke up to snow.

I’m pretty sure this is the wettest trip I’ve been on in New Zealand so far. Every morning, Chris our instructor would show us a new game to get the blood flowing so that we would stay warm. (We played elves, trolls and wizards one day, choo-choo-train the next, and head shoulder knees and toes the last morning. Brings out the 5 year old in all of us.)

Then we did some more navigation, learning, and tramping.

We were headed for those cliffs to the right of Garrett

Some sort of spider that’s related to the tarantula

More triangulation

And finally, we learned how to build a fire when everything around you is wet, and how to disperse the ashes afterwards so as to leave no trace that you were ever there.

Thanks to Ellen White for these next 5 photos

All in all, I was the wettest I’ve ever been, and the most tired and uncomfortable I’ve been on a tramp. (due to not feeling well and not sleeping, on top of the wet.) I’d never wanted to just get home more than I did that weekend.

But, I’m not lying to you when I say it really was a good two days. I learned so much, and I had quite a lot of fun. My instructor’s enthusiasm definitely helped all of us stay in a good mood, as did several pairs of dry socks. I would definitely do it again.

Mount Isobel (& food)

Today’s entry will be a relatively shortish one, because I have much homework to do and I shouldn’t even be procrastinating like this. But you know.
I like procrastinating.

So anyway, this weekend our group decided to do a day hike rather than an overnight trip, for reasons that I have mentioned above. We decided to go to Hanmer Springs on Sunday. But not for the hot springs; for the tramping. 😉

The mountain we climbed was called Mount Isobel, and it was almost a kilometre in elevation gain. We did it in under two and a half hours, with a return trip of maybe 45 minutes. It was a great day hike, with amazing views. Once again. (it never gets old)

There were patches of snow here and there… so I did what any Canadian would do. I made snowmen!

One for each of the people behind me.

At the top we had lunch and took in the view for a short period before climbing back down. And I say ‘for a short period’ because we left almost as soon as we got there and finished eating; the wind was very, very strong at the top, and therefore cold.

Probably the strongest winds I’ve ever seen. … minus the ones in Christchurch that were 133km/h the other day, which blew roofs off of sheds and caused power outages to almost 20,000 houses.

That was my excitement for the week.

And now for the best part: let’s talk about food!! (Now’s the time to stop reading this blogpost, if you are uninterested in these sort of ramblings.)
I’ve sort of been keeping a list of things I do and don’t like about NZ food. I might as well share it here. Warning: a lot of it is complaining because these are things I’ve written to myself when I was hungry, or craving something NZ doesn’t have. Sorry about that. 😉

Notable things about Food in NZ
(and stuff that I miss from Canada)

1. One of these days, I just want to eat some real bacon. None of this “bacon and ham are the same thing” stuff. (You can just say “chicken and ham pizza,” it’s okay, there’s nothing wrong with that. Just don’t fool me into thinking you’re actually giving me bacon.)

2. Likewise, I would like to stress that syrup and maple syrup are the NOT same thing. If you say you’re gonna bring me maple syrup with my pancakes, then you’d better feel real guilty when you bring me normal syrup and you see the disappointment written all over my face. I got really excited just now…
(apparently this is a frequent phenomenon worldwide? O.o )

3. Fish n chips. Fish n chips are actually really good. I’d never had them before I came here. (fishsticks aren’t quite the same thing) And they’re good enough that I can forgive another linguistic transgression: the fact that kiwis confuse the words chips and fries. 😉

4. I’m really going to miss the peanut butter here. I mean, yeah we have it at home, but not like this… Not like Pic’s does it… (‘Peanut Butter of the Gods’ is what I would’ve called it, if I owned the company)

5. I made a Canadian classic for my international friends the other day: butter tarts. They were so easy (minus the pastry shells – I bought those) that I will definitely be making them again. Although not having corn syrup here in NZ makes it a bit tricky…

See? Proof! They tasted really good.

6. Stop putting mayonnaise on my pizza. There is no need for that.

7. Man the kiwis love their little mince meat pies. Not that there’s anything wrong with them, they’re really good. Splendid in fact. And they make for super easy instant/frozen suppers. But where are all the dessert pies? I’d love some good apple pie right now. (they’d probably love tourtière here)

8. Not that I eat it that often, but I miss poutine. And booster juice. And timbits. Especially timbits roasted over the campfire. Mmmmm… I also miss Macintosh apples, original-flavour nacho chips, and Greek yogurt the way it tastes in Canada. And I miss strong cheddar cheese. Actually, I also really miss cheddar cheese being orange and therefore easy to tell apart from mozzarella. (1st world problems, yes.)

9. Kiwifruit tastes unusually good here.

10. Carrots are ginormous.

11. Kumaras are a small sort of yam that taste really good. And they have temporarily taken the place of potatoes while I’m here.

12. Spicy isn’t actually that spicy.

… That’s it for now, although I will probably add to this list as time goes on.
Cheers!

Lake Tekapo and Mount Cook

Again we spent one night in Christchurch before setting out. If I remember right, we got fish and chips for supper, as is usual after a hiking trip. (I’ve been told that if there’s a typical NZ food, it’s fish n chips.) I can’t say that it’s healthy, but it tastes pretty good.

Monday morning we repacked our bags and headed out for Lake Tekapo. On the way out of town we stopped at the Cookie Factory, where you can get misfit cookies (broken or misformed, but otherwise fine) for cheap.

I’ve heard Tekapo is a very touristy place, because it’s beautiful and because the weather is almost always nice. It took us 3 to 4 hours to get there, and when we got out of the car I realized that yup, it’s pretty much exactly as described. It actually put me in mind of Lake Louise in Banff.

We saw a tourist who had an iphone, an ipad, a camcorder and a DSLR. Because just one scenery-capturing device isn’t enough, obviously.
(credit to Will Rynearson for the photo)

Just a short drive up a small mountain took us to the Mount John Observatory. This is owned by the University of Canterbury, but tourists can buy a short time of nightsky observing if they so wish. We did not wish, so we just went up there for the view. (at least not for that amount of money)

Credit to Will Rynearson for the photo
(Look! I’m the shortest person in the group! When&how did that happen?)

We stayed at Lake Tekapo for the sunset and until the stars came out, seeing as we had two photographers in the group. While we waited I gave a mini course on how to build an inukshuk. Everyone got an A+.

Credit to Andreas Blöschl for the photo (and the inukshuk!)

SHEEP!
These are some lucky sheep…

Credit to Will Rynearson for the photo

We cooked supper in the parking lot that night, watching people come and go for a few hours. We got a little bit of attention for sitting on the ground in the middle of the parking lot, but that’s what you get for being too cheap to go find a restaurant.

At one point a lady drove up and helped us find Scorpio in the sky, as well as Venus and Saturn. Later we drove on towards Mount Cook village. We turned off the main road somewhere right before the airport to do some freedom camping once again.

Thanks to Will Rynearson and his wonderful camera for these two photos

There were sheep turds everywhere, so choosing a spot wasn’t that difficult.

The next day, (Tuesday) we went to explore Mount Cook National Park. Mount Cook is the tallest mountain in New Zealand, which makes it quite an attraction. We didn’t get right up close, we weren’t able to from this side of the mountains. We took a hike up to Hooker Lake in the hopes that we’d be able to see a bit more, but unfortunately it was raining sideways at us and the clouds made it hard to see the tops of the mountains. But we did get to see some icebergs and glaciers.

Then we had lunch, with another special guest wanting our food.

Tasman Valley was a 5 minute drive away, so we headed there next. Surprisingly, there were no clouds at all and the weather was beautiful. Here again we got to see some icebergs, and the tip of Mount Cook was also visible.

The two photographers

The tip of Mount Cook can be seen to the right, with the wind blowing snow off the top

View of Tasman Lake with Mount Cook to the left.

That night we did some more stargazing and freedom camping, although someone had to sleep in the car because our second tent turned out to not be as good as we’d thought. I hear it was quite comfy though, and warm too. (the wind was quite strong that night)

Wednesday we drove home, stopping in Twizel along the way to say hi to Gabe on his fishing adventure. Our map also informed us that the area used to film the Plains of Rohan in the Lord of the Rings was nearby, so we took a detour to take a peek at that as well.

The Plains of Rohan

It wasn’t the most exciting place in the world… but there you have it. Those are the plains of Rohan.

We got back to Christchurch in the early evening after a long but scenic drive. The rest of the week was for laundry and schoolwork. And that was our term break.

We’re halfway through the school semester!

Nelson, Nelson Lakes and Punakaiki

After finishing the Abel Tasman track we drove down to Nelson (one of the most scenic drives I’ve ever taken) and got a motel for the night. The place we stayed at had a winter special going on, so we got a good room (it was more like a suite, with a kitchen, living room and everything) for a good price. Once we’d split the cost, it was maybe the same as a hostel would have charged. ($30/night)

There we all showered and enjoyed sleeping in beds once again.

The after photo

Well I mean, the couch was comfy too.

Not only did the motel have good prices, they also had a continental breakfast. The next morning we were brought crepes with bananas, whipped cream and syrup. Unfortunately I learnt that people here like to say “maple syrup” when they simply mean “syrup.” (I got all excited when I heard him say he’d bring us maple syrup with our crepes, before one of my American friends told me that it was probably going to be just normal syrup. Even in the States apparently people don’t care to distinguish the two. And sure enough, the next morning they definitely brought us just plain old syrup. (I know, it’s disappointing. The world needs to get their food labels straight.))

Friday

Friday was spent exploring the city. Nelson is quite a nice little town. The area is comparable to Victoria BC, with wineries close by and beautiful flowering trees all over the place. The town even has a cathedral.

Photo credit: Will Rynearson

We went on a 15 minute tramp that day as well, which we decided to count as being our 7^th day in a row of hiking. Because why not. (If I work up a sweat, it counts, right?) The destination was the Centre of New Zealand.

The centre of New Zealand is conveniently located on the top of a hill with a beautiful view of Nelson down below. (While not actually being the exact physical centre of New Zealand, this point has been used by surveyors for quite some time as being near enough.)

Photo credit: Andreas Blöschl

Later on we went shopping for groceries for the next few days. I bought myself some manuka honey. It’s pretty expensive stuff, but apparently it has some really good health benefits. It tastes a little different than regular honey, and is unique to New Zealand. (made from Manuka trees, which are only found in NZ)
I had to buy some. YOLINZO (you only live in New Zealand once)

$13 for a small container like this

After that we went to enjoy the sunset at the beach before heading back to our motel and cooking ourselves some pizza.

Photo credit: Andreas Blöschl

We spent another night in the motel before heading down the West Coast and back to Christchurch.

Saturday

Saturday was mostly spent driving. Gabe took the bus back to Christchurch from Nelson so that he could spend the rest of the school break fishing, which made our drive a little more comfortable with only 4 people instead of 5. As we passed through Nelson Lakes National Park we stopped at Lake Rotoiti for a 4 hour tramp up a mountain. (for those of you who like maps, http://www.topomap.co.nz/NZTopoMap/nz38460/Parachute%20Rocks/Tasman)

Once again, the view was beautiful. New Zealand never fails to amaze.

Photo credit: Will Rynearson

Photo credit: Will Rynearson

That night we drove until it got dark. We were aiming for a campground that was listed on our map, but when we got there it was closed. Instead we decided to do some freedom camping. Freedom camping = you can camp for free wherever you want, so long as it’s not on private property or in a national park, and it’s 200m away from the road or anything man-made.

We ended up camping in punakaiki national park, but it wasn’t the main entrance to the park – we hoped that no one would come and check that we were there. There were signs on the ground that others had done the same before us. The only thing I really remember from this night was laying outside on our mats, in our sleeping bags, looking up at the stars as we waited for the pasta to cook. I’m still awed by the night sky here in New Zealand. And Will also taught us once again how to find South by using the southern cross.

Sunday

Sunday we packed up quickly because of all the sand flies. (I still don’t think they’re as bad here as the mosquitoes in rural Alberta, but they are bad.)

We drove down the West Coast, stopped at the Pancake Rocks, and then continued our journey on to Christchurch.

Scientists are not sure how exactly the pancake rocks formed – but it has something to do with thousands of years, and ocean.

The West Coast is beautiful

We went through Arthur’s pass to get back home. Arthur’s Pass is a drive which is becoming quite familiar.

We stopped in Arthur’s pass to eat lunch, and were bombarded by keas. A kea is an alpine parrot, the only mountain parrot in the world, and they’re endangered. They’re hard to find anywhere else, but I’ve never failed to see one going through Arthur’s Pass. Being very curious birds, they’ll always come out and say hi, and they’re very smart – especially when it comes to getting food. They’re also kind of annoying. If you let them, they’ll peck at the rubber parts on your car, or drink the rest of your coffee, or steal small items of clothing. We brought out our lunch and immediately attracted the attention of several keas.

Photo credit: Andreas Blöschl

This kea was just testing the waters – he didn’t actually hop up on my arm.

Abel Tasman Coast Track

Monday

The next day we left for Abel Tasman. New Zealand has 9 Great Walks (world-renowned tramps that are several days long, through beautiful scenery), and Abel Tasman is one of them.

The track is 54km long and takes 3-5 days to complete. We decided it would be a great backpacking trip for our term break. So the 5 of us that bought a car (Will, Gabe, Kristina, Andi and I) squished ourselves and our backpacks into the red Honda Integra and set off in the early morning.

Credit to Gabe Park for the photo

After 7 hours, we got to our destination. We paid our camping fees at the information centre ($15/person/night), along with a ticket for a watertaxi. (Since the whole thing is a one-way track, you need to take a watertaxi back to your car at the starting point. We decided that one person would take the watertaxi and then come pick the rest of us up, in order to save $45 each.)

The before picture

It was around 3pm when we started hiking. We went 12km and ended up getting to our first campsite just after dark. We set up our tents, cooked ourselves some pasta and then sat around the fire talking until it was time for bed. It was the first time I’d ever fallen asleep to the sound of waves crashing against the shore.

Tuesday

Tuesday was rainy. That’s about all you need to know about Tuesday. It wasn’t particularly fun; it turns out my raincoat wasn’t quite as waterproof as I thought it was, after hours of the rain working down the waterproof covering. We walked for 15km before finally getting to our campsite, where we were glad to see a cooking shelter waiting for us.

For the most part the rain had stopped by the time we had set up our tents. I don’t know what possessed me at that particular moment, but I felt the need to go for a run at that point. We were situated right next to a beautiful beach, and so I went for a short jog alongside the waves.

That night we made macaroni and cheese. (Real macaroni and cheese – with melted cheese, onions, garlic, peas, and sausage.) I ate ‘til I was stuffed, and then I remember commenting that I’m pretty sure I eat better on tramps than I do at home.

We sat around talking again that night, inside the cooking shelter, while drinking tea and sharing chocolate. Seeing as we’ve made friends with quite a few Germans and Austrians, Will and I are determined to learn a bit of German while we’re here. (a true Kiwi experience, I know) So we learned a few words from Andi and Kristina after supper, as well as a few sentences. I can now officially speak a little bit of German. (Ich war ein kleiner grüner Frosch)

Later that night we had a visitor; a possum came by to see if we would share any food. We didn’t of course, but he came by several times just in case. Gabe caught of a photo of him from behind as he was running away:

We left our backpacks in the shelter that night, so they wouldn’t get more soaked than they already were. We made sure to store all our food safely deep inside our backpacks where the possum wouldn’t be able to get at it.

Wednesday

We woke up to a mess in the cooking shelter. It turns out Kristina had forgotten some of her food in the “brain” of her backpack (the top part that can flip open). So the possum had opened the zipper, eaten all the granola bars and apples that had been there, and left wrappers and turds everywhere. It was quite a mess.

And now I understand why no one likes possums very much. 😉

(In fact, the government of New Zealand has this to say about it: )

Click on photo to enlarge

That day we had two tidal crossings along our route. The Abel Tasman Coastal Track follows the shoreline quite closely for it’s full 54km, so there are a few occasions when the trail crosses an estuary. A tidal crossing is where you have to wait for low tide to be able to continue across the estuary. Even at low tide the water can come pretty high, so crossing at high tide would be impossible. But we’d learnt the tidal times at the info centre and we’d planned for it. Like any other tramp so far, we knew we weren’t getting out of this with dry ankles.

The water came up to the middle of my thighs at this crossing.
(Credit to Andreas Blöschl for the photo)

Credit to Andreas Blöschl for the photograph 🙂

That night we played cards (and drank tea and ate chocolate as usual of course) underneath the roof of another shelter, as it rained outside. We had another visitor that night: a Weka bird came by several times to check for any food. We weren’t too worried, because all the food was stowed away, until at one point when the bird stole Gabe’s socks that he had left out to dry. Gabe chased him down and got his socks back, but after that we had to keep an eye out for the rest of our stuff.

Thursday

At this point, we were another 17km from the end of the track. Originally we had thought that we’d planned to finish the whole thing, but upon reaching our campsite on Wednesday, and seeing the name of the campsite, we realized that the lady who had booked our watertaxi had booked it for this campsite. So we had inadvertently arranged to be picked up at the second last stop. This turned out to be a good thing, as we were all really glad to not have an extra 17km to do that day; it was our 5^th day in a row of tramping and we were getting pretty tired.

But I felt rather disappointed when I found out I wouldn’t be actually hiking the whole thing, and Andi felt the same. So we worked out a plan: the next day, Will would take the watertaxi back to get our car while Gabe and Kristina waited. Meanwhile Andi and I, leaving most of our gear behind with those two, would head out to finish the rest of the track. Will would pick up Gabe and Kristina there, and then continue on to pick up Andi and I at the finish line.

Credit to Will Rynearson for the photo

We all enjoyed our own little adventures that day. The weather had turned nice, the first sunny day since we got there, and it was a blessing. For me, it was a great way to end the trip. Since we didn’t have our heavy packs and the trail was well groomed, Andi and I decided to do a little bit of running. (Well, he had a backpack – we fit both of our day stuff into one pack. It still wasn’t as heavy, but water, cameras, and food still weigh a lot. Props to him for being able to run with a backpack on, and letting me go without.) We ended up running every time the trail went downhill, and walking all the uphill bits. I would say we ran at least a third of our journey that day, and it ended up being about 20km total. (I said it was 17 earlier, but we got lost somewhere along the way and took a 3km loop track by accident, before getting back on track.)

That’s probably the most fun I’ve had on a trail so far. It was just the right amount of work for my fitness level so it was a good workout, and trail running is surprisingly fun. The sights were gorgeous too. We passed golden beaches and walked beside the waves as they crashed onto the sand, saw some seals and endangered birds, and got to see the rainforest in the beautiful sunlight. It was a great day.

Doing a little photography while we waited for the others

All the little holes in the sand where the crabs hide

Our car coming to pick us up.
Credit to Andreas Blöschl for the photo again.