Over the River and Through the Woods

Wow, it feels like ages since I have been connected online but it's only been a few days. We are now safely in Cambridge/Arapuni back at Paul and Diane's house, my Mom's wonderful friends and now lovingly coined our surrogate grandparents! They are so welcoming and warm; it sure is nice to have family in New Zealand. My left knee is fairly injured from the Queen Charlotte Tramp, unfortunately. I have been limping since the last 6km of the track. Ice and rest is all my sore joint needs really, so a good book and a flat surface is where I have spent my time recently. Being at Paul and Di's has been incredibly therapeutic, enjoying Di's delicious cooking and looking out the window as the soft breeze blows the sheer curtains and rattles the tree branches outside.

Since the tramp we have been relaxing mostly. We checked into a motel with a spa bath and ordered pizza right afterwards. That was close to heaven on Earth at the time! We did a bit of Sauvignon Blanc wine tasting in the popular and world-renown Marlborough Sounds region before we headed back on the ferry to the north island on Friday. We planned to do a bit more but Friday was Anzac Day, a national holiday of remembrance of war veterans so they were closed. Ah well.

The sea was a bit rough across the strait and the Dramamine didn't help too much but we made it safely, albeit green. We headed to Upper Hutt to meet up with Brook and Ant, our WOOFing friends daughter and soon-to-be son-in-law to stay with them for the night. We had spoken the day before about meeting up in Wellington for dinner possibly, but that we would talk the next day and confirm. We left a messages from the boat and heard nothing, so we decided to just drive over to their place 30 minutes north. Heather had drawn us quite a bum map so we headed in circles for a good hour before we finally went to a gas station and found our way with a real map. Finally we were there but crap the house is dark. No one home, so we left a note and drove back into town for some tasty Thai food. We have only been out to eat a few times really so this was a treat. Thankfully when we rang Brook and Ant they were home so we cruised over and enjoyed the warm fire, some delicious Chinese tea and good conversation. They are some of the most down to Earth folks I have met. The next morning we enjoyed playing with their darling 2 year old niece Isis, reading the paper and eating delicious blueberry crepes before we made our way. We stopped at a DOC Bird & Wildlife Refuge and saw our first live Kiwi! Now I know why the fruit is named after the bird - a kiwi butt looks just like the fruit.

Tongariro National Park was the next stop. One of the NZ Great Walks is the 8-hour Tongariro Crossing which we had planned to do, but alas my damn knee. So I sat while Andy went on a quick hike. It's frustrating, but since the pain is still there even today I KNOW I need to rest it, but what a tease with beautiful NZ all around me! At least the car rides still afford lovely views.

So it is time to say goodbye to the Mazda'r. Andy is test driving it with an interested couple at the moment - wish us luck!!! We only have about 10 days or so left in this beautiful country. It is going to be hard to say goodbye, but the warm tropical air and palm trees are calling my name...

Yesterday we booked our flight from Sydney to Bali for May 29, so we are looking forward to learning how to surf and chilling with Andy's cuz Matt Bergdahl for a couple of weeks in paradise after Oz.

Oh - and check out the bungy jumping action photos from our friend Jonah we met who just emailed us!

The Queen Charlotte Track - We Made It!

Our intention was to trek 71 km in four days, but we did it in three! My left knee is quite pissed off at me about it, but it was nice to get back to creature comforts a day early. The trip was incredible.

DAY 1 - April 21 - 26.7 km - 7 hours - sunny with a high of 58 degrees
We left Picton at 9:00am aboard the Endeavor Express and saw a few blue penguins along the way. Finally. I listened to Calvin Harris on my ipod to get me pumped up for the trip as the memories of last night's comfortable bed and heat were taunting me. With just our packs on our backs with everything we thought we needed for four days, we set off on our journey from Ship's Cove at 10:15am uphill into the rainforest. Tree ferns, silver beech trees and green moss greeted us on every turn as we panted our way up to the first saddle. The views along this first part of the track were simply amazing with azure blue sea meandering along the coastline. Not a cloud in the sky and air as fresh as can be, we were smiling joyously as we played the turtle and the hare with day walkers. We chatted from time to time about all sorts of things, including the distinct details of what we want our dream house to look like one day.

We took a break for lunch with lovely views of the water, sweating yet cold from the cool air. Interestingly, at a critical distance from the sea the terrain drastically changes from lush forest to arid bush. In the afternoon, we descended into Furneaux and could hear sounds of life as someone blared Johnny Cash's "Rusty Cage." That was stuck in my head for at least the next hour, as the only sounds were the occasional running stream, the Tui birdsong, buzzing wasps in the distance, the slight breeze in my ear, the crunch of leaves underneath my feet and Andy whistling camp songs.

The beginning of my decline on Day 1 was with about 6km to go. The waist strap on my pack was digging into my hip bones all day and I could feel the tenderness of a bruise arising. After adjusting the pack lower, the weight was now transferred to my knees instead of my waist and the pressure there was mounting. I prayed for an incline as to not put any more pressure on my joints - the downhill was the worst. Camp Bay, our spot to camp for the night HAD to be getting close and delirium was setting in. Of course, around each turn all I saw was more trail. So I sang an "Ode to Camp Bay." I felt like I was in the military with the drill sergeant over my shoulder and I was about to pass out with my face splashing down in the mud. But I persevered despite the aches and pains and finally the camp was before me as a crashed to the ground. It was 5pm and getting dark. We set up the tent, cooked up some dinner and pretty much passed out by 8pm.

DAY 2 - April 22 - 23.6 km - 7 hours - cloudy/rainy with a high of 47 degrees
I must say that despite our belief in non-western medicine and self-healing, those Pharmacists got it right with Ambien! Being able to knock out for 8hrs while sleeping on the ground, awkwardly, on over-extended hip and leg bones was critical to our livelihood while making this journey. The last 4 hrs was a bit of a toss and turn, but no complaints here! As the rain started to pitter patter on our tent's rain fly and the morning had dawned, we were feeling refreshed and satisfied with our 11+ hrs of Zs. I was, however, a bit more anxious to 'Up & Out' than the Mrs was. I had visions of wetness...everywhere, soaking us and our gear thru, making a days hike feel like an eternity. I admit, I was ansy to pack up and roll - even as the rain started to subside I was pushing Stace to get going so I could pack up up the tent and get it into my backpack before more drops would find us. Well, funny thing...after we got all bundled in our cold-weather and rain clothes, hat & jacket, covered our packs with our handy REI pack covers (they have everything don't they?!) and started the uphill trek toward Black Rock Camp (6hrs said the sign), the rain stopped and the heat from our pumping hearts and lungs drenched us from within! We hit a winding road (what's a road doing here BTW?) and had to re-evaluate. Hiking is an interesting endeavor, because you really have to anticipate how you will be feeling at full tilt out on the trail, BEFORE you clothe. You may be frikken' freezing at the start, but don't you know that you will be sweating like a Aussie in the Outback in no time. We worked out the kinks, for now and wound our way up to the ridge line that jumped back and forth to where, for 10 minutes we could have incredible, yet clouded views to the north (or the back) and endless paddocks. Then spectacular vistas of the coves and shoreline that made up the Sounds (the front) which we had glimpses of throughout Day 1. The clouds were low, or were we just high? They were whisping by us as we crested a hill and ambled on down. These swales in the path continued for most of the day; steep incline followed by knee-cracking decline. Where was my wheelbarrow when I needed it?

On a trip like this we soon realized that the coveted items became the End & food. We were not yet to the end but when we came upon the Bay of Many Coves shelter, it was definitely time for lunch and a temporary escape from the elements. The peaked roofed structure overlooked the coves from the top of the ridge. We enjoyed a bit of crackers, salami, tomato and cheese with a bit of warmed instant soup. Ahhhh...it almost felt like rolling in a pit of hundred $$$ bills, you know? We moseied along after just short of an hour, both of us in our red wind/rain jackets (matching, how cute). Again, up and then harshly down the hills. Not many hikers to be seen this day. Eventually down a steep stretch of patch on the backside we passed a mtn biker spinning his legs making his way. No thanks - we decided to mtn bike this thing was too gnarly for us.

We were counting down the kms as the occasional sign post gave us an indication of our progress or lackthereof. We must close to the damn camp I was spewing. But, as it was only 3pm and the sun was warming the trail, Stacy could have cared less. She had other ideas, the main one being to continue on, past Black Rock camp and double time it to Portage, a small blip on the map about 4-7 kms past. We talked a bit about it - you know doing math actually passed the time nicely - and if we made it to the camp in Portage we would make our attempt to finish the trail in 3 days, rather than 4 much more realistic (20km to the end from Portage vs maybe 25 km from Black Rock). What it meant though was to struggle onward, sore feet, knees and now shoulders caring us the remaining bit. I was less then excited but the idea to get the trip done early suited me fine and we were quickly off. Our minds agreed we could do 4-6 km before dark, no problem. Our bodies, however, authored a different point of view. It was tough. Up til now, it'd be possibly the more difficult section of downhills we'd faced. We tentatively stepped our way out of the rain forest and onto a sealed (paved) road with signage! For the last several hours the nicely innerspersed signs had dissappeared, leaving us to wonder and hope that the next curve would be our last, or, maybe the next one...Stacy began to sing again, "Oh Portage Bay, oh how I hate you, where are you Portage Bay?". Hope to be there soon :)

The sign at the paved road indicated if we followed it down the road we would arrive in Portage in 10 minutes. Well blymy, that must of been in a car because it was the longest 20 minutes we'd ever experienced. Over the last few hours we had inspected our map/info guide some and knew a nice Resort was in Portage and visions of an icey brewski were vivid. The damn downhill continued on - felt like we were gonna be in Greenland at this rate, but there it was, in all its slendid glory...the bar, and it was open for business!! We ordered 2 tall Montheith's Lagers and took a seat ourside alone facing the water and setting sun. Ahhh. I said earlier that the end and food were our motivation, but this tasted like gold as we took a load off and enjoyed being HERE. I took a quick shower in the lobby sink, changed into a new shirt and felt like a new man. Stacy read some of the paper and soon, we were off to our camp. No, it was not a fantasy ending, no villa for the Bergdahls! The 3 day trek was not going to be tainted by a night in white sheets, hot water and a room card, no sireee.

Cowshed Bay camp was empty and we found a spot quickly, one with a picnic table too! I set the tent as was our routine and the Mrs got the cooker going and the feast boiling, sitting all the while for sure! Noodle packets, broccoli & corn made up our dinner in a bowl. We threw in some protein in the form of kidney beans the size of kidneys! They were huge! - glad to have those out of my pack I tell you. We nailed some buttered bread which I must say was the highlight for me. Butter never mmmmm'ed so good. The weka birds were around, interested in our scraps and making themselves unwelcome. Unbeknownst to them, they would be having a plethora of kidney beans soon enough!

We got cozy in the tent, graciously gave each other a shoulder rub (massage might be overstating it) and popped another of those little white treasures known as Ambien. We had sacked out, UNTIL, in the middle of the night god-awful screams robbed us of our pharmaseudical rest! We imagined it must be possums on the prowl doing their nightly thing. We heard their calls followed by shrieks of death, maybe birds they were ravaging, who knows, but it was brutal! Ear plugs por favor? The rest of the night we tossed and turned, anxious to move along the track and soak in another days work! 2 down, hopefully only one more to go!

DAY3 - April 23 - 20km (6 hours max!) - Sunny & warm (55+ degrees)

We awoke today, sore and a bit lethargic. We actually set the damn alarm last night and rose at 6AM! We knew the boat would be picking us up in Anakiwa (THE END!) at 4:30pm and sure as hell did not want to miss that. The sign read 8 hours to make the remaining 20km, but we were quite confident we could do it 5-6 based on our previous days' success (BERGDAHLS RULE!).

To expedite the packing up process, we decided to grab our daily coffee back at my shower, the Portage Bay Resort Hotel and keep the gas cooker in the pack. Sure enough those giant kidney beans had been swallowed up. I wonder after last night's blood bath if the weka AND the possum got to taste them...if you know what I mean. Based on our finish yesterday, we knew a steep paved hill was our first challenge. Boy, those trail makers loved making those morning hikes dreadfully uphill!! We hunched over with our cappuchinos and trudged up and homeward bound. We were alive and by now somewhat kink free. Up we go. The pavement arrived at the trail head and another steep hill through a canopy of native trees.

I learned on Day 2 that my best strategy for overtaking these inclines was to keep my head down keeping an eye on my steps and not looking up. This kept me focused and didn't allow me to get frustrated, looking up and seeing how far I still had to go. Again, the sweat came early and got us down to our bare clothing essentials. It looked like an amazing day today with clear skies and a warm sun. There was definitely still a chill in the air, however, which was perfect tramping weather as far as we were concerned. Our packs were considerably lighter now as well which did not hurt the cause. The roller coaster track climbed and fell, past wild goats and through private land. At one point we headed down a grassy path with quite a steep hill further up ahead. Something caught our eye to the right at about the same time we noticed someone on the hill, driving an ATV with his dog frollicking about. Upon closer inspection the specter in the tree was in fact a possum in a steel trap! Immediately, the vermin from our past looked to us like a poor innocent creature. Funny how that works, eh?! We continued up the hill as the man drove by with a toothless smile. As Stacy let him know the creature was waiting down below, I saw 2 items in his box on the back of the ATV: a hammer and a dead possum! Apparently he was working, and well aware of what was waiting down below. We're not in the OC anymore Stoto!

We continued on through a rather flat section of the trail and spotted km marker 16 sooner than we thought!! So close we could taste it! Shortly thereafter we reached our halfway point, at Mistletoe Bay. We rested a moment before trudging along. I could hear myself thinking 'We're on the home stretch!' We found a sunny spot on the side of hte trail with a view of the Bay and stopped for lunch and a rest for our knees. We were both stepping ever-so-tentatively down the hills now and quite satisfied with a momentary stop & stretch. At this point, we finally passed our first trail walkers - seemingly day hikers dressed in jeans and later, one woman smelling like she was heading out to the Ritz for a dinner date. The intrigue of this track continued as we dipped into a dense & wet Fern forest, shortly after a dry sun dried patch. I watched, or should I say waited, as Stacy stopped to touch and pick each and every species of fern she found. Walk 10 seconds, stop and gather. I was not sure if these were destined to be wallpapered in a future bathroom in a future house or what, but she was enjoying herself. By now, the knee problems were acting up, however and each stop to smell the ferms was actually a much needed therapuedic rest for hte left knee. We passed the 6km marker and from here on out our pace slowed; Stacy limped straight-legged and I shuffled down the path, both of enjoying the beautiful rain forest all around and the lapping water of the Sounds on the coastline. Stacy was hurting now and luckily enough for us the trail had flattened out down the finish and we walked along the curving coastline now, ever so close to Anakiwa, our destination. Passing the 1km marker we began to see families and happy-go-lucky day walkers enjoying the hidden beaches, smiling with a certain hop to their step. JERKS! We were down to a pace Mr. Snail would be laughing at. I was telling Stace that "There better be a Welcome Party at the end, clapping and singing to us. Maybe a lei?" I laughed at my thoughts, but as we got closer, we heard off to the left, coming somewhere over the water of hte Sound, singing. Chanting more like. We saw the boat teh sounds were originating from and sure enough, soon could make out the Welcoming music. No ukeleles or flower-laden necklaces, instead we were amused by an ancient-looking boat filled with men, chanting as they rowed in unison in the direction we were heading.

"Everywhere we go,

People wanna know,

Who we are,

Who we are,

Where we come from,

Where we come from..."

A fitting tribute we felt for the Bergdahls and our 71km adventure. With less than 100M to the end we relished out feat and marveled at what we had physically accomplished - oh, and also looked for the first place to sit our butts DOWN!

We ran into a fellow trekker who had just finished the trail herself, in 4 days! She called us crazy for doing it in 3. Nothing like a little more boost to our egos after all was said and done ;) We rested on some grass, swatted at sand flies that came to congratulate and waited peacefully for our 4:30 boat to take us to Picton and to our car. It felt great to have done it and to now be finished - I know Stacy would be happy if she never had t walk again! But, somewhere inside me, I felt a touch of melancholy with it being over. During, I wanted nothing more than to get to teh END and now a part of me wanted to tackle the next Trail. Funny how the mind and body fight sometimes.

We drove into Blenheim, the marlborough Wine Region home base and searched for nice accomodation (with TV!) so we could veg a few days. Turned out the horse races were going on in town and we struggled through 3 places before I said, lets just find a nice motel, babe. Stacy stared at me in disbelief!?! Luxury? She was in. We ended up at a motel in town and found ourselves booked into a 2 room suite, complete w/TV, spa bath, king bed, kitchenette, patio, BBQ, couch & dining room. I could hear the relaxation overtaking Stacy's body as I drew a bath for her and the sun set somewhere in the distance.

Aghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...it was over!

Snow!

Well, the plan was to travel during "The Perpetual Summer" but it seems we weren't quite on the money. After a very rainy and windy night in Kaikoura, we woke up to the surrounding 10,000 foot mountains doused in white down to about 1,000 feet. Kaikoura is a beach side town so it was quite an amazing sight to see the contrast between the turquoise roaring Pacific Ocean and the snow-capped mountain tops just with a turn of the head.

The rest our our time in Christchurch was enjoyable. We wouldn't have stayed as long as we had (5 days) but Dood needed the help and offered to pay us some. Plus, Heather and Dood's sister Alyce were coming into town and we wanted to catch up with them for a bit as well. We worked hard, laughed and ate wonderful meals as the place started to come together more and more each day.

From there, we headed north to Hanmer Springs, a lovely little alpine town with thermal pools. That's right where we went first - an outdoor facility with a dozen or more pools that has varying temperatures and elements in each. Ahh, just what the doctor ordered after all that hard work and no shower for a couple of days! Unfortunately it was out of commission at the Christchurch place down the stretch. Anyway, we read our books for a couple hours in the 37 degree (celcius, that is) pool which was the perfect sitting temperature. We found a cabin for the night since it was freezing (literally) but this one had no electricity which was kinda crazy but cozy nonetheless. I had a nice jump on the trampoline with a giant smile on my face - I forgot how much fun that is, even as an adult! (Remember the movie BIG?) The next morning we headed into the exotic alpine forests and enjoyed a nice walk and a good hike up a hill that afforded a 360 degree view of the valley and surrounding mountains. I am telling you, this country is unbelievably picturesque at every single turn and most times we just stumble upon these vistas. There aren't too many alpine forests in New Zealand so this was enjoyable to come across especially when I spotted some redwoods, my favorite tree.

After a nice picnic lunch (refer to Andy's meals blog entry:) in a park in town we headed north to Kaikoura. Since it was getting dark and cooler by the minute, we took a quick hike along the coastal cliff for views of what marine mammal? Yes, the fur seal. I have seen hundreds of these but no damn penguins! Ah well I will get over it. The views of the rocky coastline with bright blue turquoise ocean was a beautiful contrast against the grey clouds. Private land owners often allow tracks to traverse their property with a stairstep up an over the fence. This being the case here, rolling green hills out as far as the eye can see flanked us on the opposite side. Such Mary Poppins beauty! Our holiday park for the night had a couple hot tubs, so we enjoyed the tub warmth for the second day in a row before dinner.

Personally speaking, things are going really, really well all things considered. It feels as though a positive energy is flowing to us and from us. The clean air has done wonders for my sinuses and our health overall has been perfect really (with the exception of sandfly bites!). Andy and I are enjoying each other's company as husband and wife as well as friends and companions. We celebrate our 2-year anniversary on May 6 and are continuing to discover more about each other daily even after 7 years together. Of course it can be trying at times being together 24/7, but I always remember what my Grandma and Granddad always say - the key is communication! How cliche but so true. It's certainly been a journey of self-discovery as well but my gosh, from what had happened so far I couldn't have scripted a better experience.

Now we are in Blenheim in Marlborough Sounds - Sauvignon Blanc region. We are a bit late to taste today, so that is on the docket for tomorrow via bike if the weather holds. Now some research on the Queen Charlotte Track before we depart for the 4-day backpacking trip on Monday morning. I am both nervous and excited, as I haven't done a multi-day trip like this covering such a distance. And with the recent inclement weather...there is no doubt this will push our comfort zone but what the hell. This entire trip is pushing our comfort zone. Wish us luck!

Working in the City, Christchurch that is

The beautiful spectrum of fall colors is here and the tourists are thinning out. We made our way up to Christchurch a few days ago, driving away from a quick overnight jaunt at Mount Cook. It is stunning from afar and up close with the glaciers nearby.

We had been keeping in touch with our WWOOFing friends from the KB Brown Trout in Motueka area. Heather said Dood would be at their rental place in Christchurch fixing it up to sell and could use some help so just swing by if we were up for it. It was quite strange for us to show up unannounced at a random address, but Dood greeted us with a warm smile and happily showed us around. We had a place to stay (private accommodation even) and meals if we wanted to help out for a few days, so that's just what we've been up to.

It's not exactly organic farming as WWOOFing should be, but we are happy to help our friends in need scrape, sand, paint, clean, etc. to get their rental house in selling condition. It felt like the 914 all over again! It's been nice and rewarding to work for a while and enjoy Dood's company along with a couple other hired helpers. Christchurch is quite an English town and we have made our way around on foot checking out the historic Arts Centre and even happened upon a Sunday night church choir service in the gargantuan Gothic cathedral in the main church square. This is another city like Dunedin that feels very European with the 18th and 19th century architecture.

Dood cooked us Bonnie for dinner a couple of nights, and boy, was she delicious! We even met Bonnie the cow while we were WWOOFing at their place a month ago (already, wow). Beef does have a deliciously different flavor here since the cows are grass, not grain, fed. It fresher, leaner and I even venture to say grassier in flavor. I discovered a yoga studio and we went to a wonderful Hatha class last night. Little did we know that the class comes with a free vegetarian dinner (sorry Bonnie) at a place down the street. We were bummed to have missed it, but we already had dinner waiting on the table for us. In fact, we are attending again tonight I am writing to you from an Internet cafe just down the street as classtime nears.

Yesterday we worked a full day and made some serious headway; however, the only bathroom was covered in a wet oil base paint and we were covered from head to toe in griminess. So, Dood set up a night in a motel for Andy and me and I was up until the wee hours watching the movie "The King of Scotland" on Sky TV. Yes, a satellite network that has a whopping 12 channels up from the regular three. By the way, that's a very well done movie so check it out if you haven't. Quite an upgrade to have an en suite, let me tell you!

Today we ventured out to Akaroa on the Banks Peninsula, a wee town that reminds me of Avalon, Catalina. We strolled the streets and enjoyed a warm day before the clouds rolled in like giant blankets shrowding the mountainsides. The cities on the east coast are interesting, but clearly our heart and passion lies within the mountains and the forests. Next we'll be heading up the east coast to Kaikora, Blenheim and finally back to Picton where we will venture on a multiple-day backpacking trip on the Great Charlotte Track, one of New Zealand's Great Walks covering 72km.

We extended our time here in NZ so now we depart for Cairns, Australia on May 9. Yeah!

Latest Adventures

We were in the Catlins for a few days and while it boasts lovely natural beauty like McLean Falls, Porpoise Bay and lots of wildlife, it does not have any services like a supermarket or phone. We were in the Waiwaka Museum (which was more like a grandparent's attic) and asked about a phone or Internet. It was my Grandma Jane's 90th birthday celebration back home and I wanted to call in and give my best. Oh my how the older ladies there got excited and asked me a dozen questions about her! Meanwhile, Jim, an older man who lives across the street, said he had Internet with a mic/webcam. Wow, I thought, impressive in this town! He invited us over to try it out (because we HAVE to call Grandma on her special day). Pretty funny, here we were in this old man's house, but unfortunately it didn't work and we left him a few bucks anyway. Luckily, Andy and I made a short video for Grandma wishing Happy 90 and I understand from my brother Brian while the technology confused her, it quickly subsided as she began to get teary.

The best part about our experience in the Catlins was the wildlife. We camped right on the beach and woke up to the sounds of the ocean. In Porpoise Bay we saw Hector's Dolphin's, the rarest and smallest dolphins in the world. There are only ~4,000 left and they all hover around NZ's coastlines. The pod was jumping and playing in the gentle waves as we watched through binoculars. On the same coastline there is one of the world's oldest fossilized forests at 180 million years during the Jurassic Age. This is one of the places that shows proof that NZ used to be part of Gondwanaland - the ancient supercontinent made up of NZ, Australia, South America and India (if not more). As we walked along we saw another creature that turned out to be a giant Hooker's Sea Lion (another rare breed) sunning on the beach. He was rolling around in some seaweed apparently trying to get comfortable. We could get up pretty close to him, thankfully he wasn't hungry. It is so neat how uncrowded these places are - we had the whole bay to ourselves!

We continued on to a few waterfalls, the most impressive called McLean Falls. After our experience in Milford, waterfalls seem like an every day common occurance! The surrounding podocarp forest was very different than the beech forest in Fiordland but just as lovely. Another fun fact - 28 species of fern live in the Catlins area alone - amazing amounts of flora and that's just the ferns! We just kept driving along, looking at the guidebook and stop and check something out as it came along, a very leisurely and comfortable way to travel. We never know what will be around the next turn. Like when we were headed down a dirt/gravel road to see Nugget Point and suddenly a giant flock of sheep was rumbling towards us! We were dying laughing as Andy carefully maneuvered around them. I never knew that sheep actually have different looking faces.

I napped while Andy drove us up to the next big city - Dunedin. We are here now and have been already for a couple of days. It was an old European settlement with mostly Scottish influence so architectually it reminds me of a European city. We are in a cabin and enjoying the nightly warmth and the small pleasure of a TV! It's got an interesting city center that is in the shape of an octogon. There is an arts and music festival in town called "Dunedin Fringe" that is hosted by the university (the oldest in NZ). We saw a university theatre performance last night called FOLD, which blew our minds in a what the eff? kind of way. A 60 minute interpretation of the white, middle-class demographic and its values, or lack thereof. It defintely left us all in the crowd (maybe 50 of us?) smiling wryly and wondering to ourselves as we left the old French building. Fun to get out into the town scene a bit though. Our Dunedin Holiday Park is just on the edge of town, so we are close to the city life and the peninsula which is cool. I have definitely enjoyed the days we spend in the countryside more than those in the city, but a day without sheep ain't so baaaaaa-d after all. :) They are truly everywhere as you hear about.

Eating with Stacy and Andy, next on TODAY

Well, as we start rolling into Days 50, 51, 52,... I thought it prudent to keep a count of how we choose to eat and make it through our days here in the southern hemisphere.

Have we been killing our own sheep for protein? Picking the forbidden fruit off the trees for sweetness? Have we had to boil our own pee to survive?? Interesting you should ask...but back on topic, here is a quick rundown of the meals we eat on a typical day:

Brekky (breakfast):

*1 bowl Muesli (rolled oats of various varietals)
-mixed with slices of bananas, apples or pears & some honey

*Coffee prepared via a plunger pitcher. (Here's the 'scoop': put the desired amount of coffee in first, then add boiling water to 2cm from top. Place the top of the pitcher which has the pulled up plunger w/screen in in on top and let the coffee/water stand for 4-5 minutes. Then slowly push down the plunger down (this gets all the grounds isolated on the bottom so you can drink pure coffee from the top) and drink. We like our with some 1/2 & 1/2 but they don't have that in NZ, so we do milk. Works nicely :)

*Juice (on occasion) - Orange, or more recently Blackcurrant & Apple - mmmmmm!

**This brekky hits the spot over and over and over! It is funny how much each morning we wake up anxious to get it going.

Lunch:

*Sammiches!!! Typical stuff as in the States, at least typical for us Birddogs:
-Whole Grain Bread slices, deli sliced turkey ($$$), ham (very prevalent here) and/or pastrami, cheese ('Tasty'(like mild cheddar) or 'Colby' typically), tomato, lettuce or avocado, mustard (they only have English mustard which is like wasabi mustard - yeowz!)

*Chips - we love us some Kettle Chips! We nail a full bag each lunch typically. (Sea Salt, or BBQ or maybe Lime & Cracked Pepper). You know how they tend to half fill those damn bags nowadays! So lame!

*Apple or pear or carrot w/hummus (we now eat the carrots like Bugs does - none of those baby carot things)

*Granola Bar (called scroggin here)

*Water from our constantly re-filled Nalgene bottles. (Rarely do we drink much else after brekky, except for a Coke w/Whisky, a local wine or cerveza...or 2!)

Dindin:

(Most of our variety comes with this meal)
*Typically a 5-7 day cycle, old days-Conlon style (inside joke) - Pasta w/venison sausages or some other meat. Lamb w/broccoli, kumera (tatoes) etc. Mac N' Cheese - the real stuff, not no packaged Kraft stuff, Andy's famous UCSD Taco Salad, maybe a burger night here or there, stir fry....whatever it is it has to be cooked in a pan or open flame!

*Cocktail Hour offers a Whiskey & Coke (Whiskey?!? Yup, whiskey!) or a brewski (Monteith's, Mac's (thanks Judy for the hint!) or maybe a Stella Artois).

*We kill a bottle of red or white wine a night as we enjoy, as often as we can a candle-lit romantic dinner.

Our sweet tooths have definitely come in since we began our travels and a shortbread cookie or two seems to finish off the palette quite well :)

Stacy has picked up where she left off in SoCal and has put together some amazing dishes. Whether she's cooked in the kitchens that are provided at most of the camps, on our little port-o-cooker burner in our camp site or on the ground on a towel (early on in the trip :) she knows what's UP! I dabble a bit and am always there to do the dishes - also like back home!!!

We have our dirty dish bucket, soap & green scrub brush for the after-dinner duties and try to brush teeth every night.

We have been enjoying the being-at-home-like routine of going grocery shopping twice a week at places like 'New World', '4 Square', 'Woolworths' and 'Fresh Choice'. We try to keep our green soft cooler stocked daily with $4.00 bags of ice to maintain freshness (a few litres of milk have had to go prematurely unfortunately). We truly are in camping mode!

Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares is our new favorite TV show on Thursday nights if we are near a TV (more often lately with the cold weather and Stacy's shivers). The show is a British show - very entertaining and its on tonight!!!!!!

Hope you've enjoyed this week's episode of Those Traveling Fools. Tune in next week for Isn't it interesting how the meat we are cooking also smells like grass?

Top 11 Reasons We Know We're Not in the US Anymore

11. The most common vehicle on the road is some sort of campervan.

10. We drink whiskey cokes for our cocktail of choice.

9. Alpine logging areas are replanted with tree seedlings.

8. Bad teeth are common and obesity is uncommon.

7. We use the bushes regularly.

6. "Star Trek Bathrooms" as I like to call them...now this needs a bit of explanation. To enter these public bathrooms, you press a silver button with a blinking green light on the outside. The silver door slides open with that Star Trek-door-sliding-open sound (you know what I'm talking about?) as a computerized voice says, "Door op-en-ing. Please en-ter. Please press the close but-ton." The door slides shut with the Star Trek sound and the light blinks red. The monotone voice continues, "You have ten min-utes be-fore the door o-pens." Then elevator music begins to play! A press of yet another button gets the TP to unroll. Then, you go through a 3-step process of yet more automation - hand soap, wash and dry. Only then will the toilet flush after you wash your hands! Door opens, music stops. Definitely more interesting than the bushes.

5. Sheep. Everywhere.

4. The toilet really does flush the other way.

3. Lichens grow on the street which signifies clean air.

2. "Save the Yellow-Eyed Penguin" campaign to raise $10,000 listed inside the wrapper of the cheddar cheese block.

And the #1 reason we know we're not in the US anymore...

1. There are more signs for hiking tracks than fast food restaurants.

Stop and Smell the Roses

I never thought I would say this, but I believe we just saw the most beautiful part of New Zealand: Milford Sound in Fiordland. Every turn is a postcard image so maybe there is even more beauty ahead. But there is absolutely no question that my eyes have now witnessed such awe-inspiring natural beauty that I never could conceive possible.

It poured rain on the two hour drive to Milford Sound from Te Anau on Friday. Assumingly not the ideal weather for an overnight sailboat cruise, but we were sorely mistaken. Forceful waterfalls cascaded down the mile-high vertical glacial rock shelves on our drive through the Divide, the lowest elevation east-west highway at ~550 meters. We passed through the Homer Tunnel that barrels through the rock mountain. Mist and fog filled the air but the beauty of these sudden rain-created waterfalls remained in our sight as we imagined their complete length. Oh, how we longed to see the amazing beauty that surrounded us!

We boarded "The Wanderer" and set sail into Milford Sound at 4:30pm. The boat holds 61 passengers, but there were only 26 of us on board. This means that Andy and I got our own room - thank God - as the room was no bigger than 7' x 7' with two bunk beds sleeping four! As we set sail, the clouds began to break for the first time in three days. Mitre Peak towered above us at 1695 meters ( 5561 feet), the highest sea cliff in the world! Our eyes played tricks on us as it's difficult to conceptualize the astounding height of these cliffs with no graduation of the sides. We gazed at the powerful Stirling Falls, three times the height of Niagara and much wider than usual because of the recent rain. I struggle to find the words to describe this sublime experience. "Am I in Disneyland???" I kept asking, as it seemed unreal how perfect it was. Just go there one day, it will absolutely leave you breathless.

Kayaks were going out as an evening activity, but we elected to take a trip out on the speedboat instead. After all we just went for four hours the day before. We got up close and personal with the roaring waterfalls and learned more about the flora and fauna from Mike, one of our guides. Gulls hung out around the vertical shoreline as dusk and low tide set in, waiting for a few of the millions of tiny mussels to forget to close up for the night and have a meal. We met a couple of Germans, Ann-Marie and Pascal, and had dinner together aboard the ship. We played Jenga and Yatzee before we wound down for bed - yikes! Narrower than a twin for sure!

The starry morning was beautiful as the faint outline of the rocks and trees came into view. Fingers of fog curled over the mountainsides while we sailed out towards the Tasman Sea. The power of the waterfalls waned overnight with some ceasing completely. How blessed we were to receive such rain yesterday! As we looked back towards the fiord we could fathom how Captain James Cook, an explorer who discovered many other fiords in NZ, naturally missed it as he passed by on the sea in 1770. It looks like just a cove. It wasn't discovered until 50 years later by the notorious sealer Captain Groden who, by the way, killed over 14,000 seals for their fur and oil in the early 1800s.

A sunny day was ahead of us on Saturday as we deboarded the ship at 9:30am. There are dozens of hikes on Milford Road back to Te Anau and since the weather was fine we checked out a couple. The first was "The Chasm," an incredible sight below us of a river crashing through rocks over thousands of years to create a deep gorge. Next, we hiked the beginning of one of the NZ "great walks" called the Roteburn Track. It crept up along the rocky hillside among silver beech forest and branched off even higher to Key Summit. I thought the switchbacks would never end! As we crept higher, 360 views of the mountains and valley surrounded us. WOW. Please check out the photos - I felt like we were in a painting! We had lunch at the apex with views of Marian Lake, a glacial tarn. Being up here with only the sounds of the birds and river roaring way below, I felt at such peace inside. The warm sun was beating down on us and it was nice to be rid of our multiple layers for a short while. Nothing like trekking straight up a mountainside for an hour and a half to get the sweat going.

We planned to head back to Invercargill last night, but we were beat by the time we got back to Te Anau so we pitched our tent at a holiday park on the lakefront to enjoy the warm and sunny afternoon. I read the paper, Andy napped...ahh, a brief respit to fill up our fuel tanks.

Now we are in Invercargill. Not much here really, but we did discover Queen's Park this afternoon and ate our picnic lunch. We checked out the rose gardens, aviary and yes, even played in the playground! I suddenly wished I was small again but in my mind I was. We stopped to smell the roses. I smiled as I realized we have nothing we have to do, no where we have to go and finally I am living in the present moment, all the time.

Tonight we are headed along the south coast towards the Catlins to explore for a couple of days.

Damn Alarm Clock!

Do you know what kind of turmoil the alarm clock has caused us, recently?!! Unbelievable! Just yesterday, we had an early wake up for our kayak trip on the Doubtful Sound. We had to be there at 7:30am. AM?! Can you believe that?

Ok, fine, so I got my trusty watch out to set the nasty beeping machine and finally, after 3 or 4 trial efforts to understand the thing, I got it set, I think. The last thing I was thinking about as I drifted off the sleep was, "I hope that thing works!?" Consequentially, I was up at 2am, then 4am, then again at 6. Damn! My mind was caught up in making our trip, ya know!? And, so it went, at 6:29am, the beeps flowed out and we were up - it DID work after all! And we made it no sweat. That thing had my mind blown all night!

Can you believe those things? I have to use it one more day I don't know what I'll do?! 1 day out of 43 is enough for me!

Good tidings ;)

Kayaking on the Remote Doubtful Sound

Fiordland is quite an amazing place. Almost 3 million acres of remote, mostly undiscovered National Park which is the largest remaining wilderness area of NZ. This vast area is home to glaciated mountains, fiords, lakes, glaciers, beech forest and tussock grassland and the Crested Penguin, NZ Fur Seal, Takahe and Kea (the latter two are beautiful birds).

Yesterday we had the great privilege to kayak in this picturesque place. We awoke early in the dark and drove to Manapouri to jump on a boat across the lake. Along the calm 45 minute cruise we saw the most beautiful sunrise I think I have ever seen. We changed into wet suits and got onto a bus that took us another 45 minutes across gravel road to the entrance of Doubtful Sound. After a briefing session by our trusty tour guide Michelle, we got into our double kayaks. It was lightly sprinking and cold, but luckily the gear they provided for us was nice and cozy. The very first thing we saw was a NZ Fur Seal playing in the water just a couple of meters from us! The top layer of the water in the fiord is 15% seawater and gives the water an oily-like appearance which seemed to match the oily fur of the seal. He was tumbling, playing and clapping - what a gift! Fur Seals can dive up to 400 meters below the surface, pretty amazing creatures. Deep sea life flourishes in the top 40 meters of the fiord because of the dark quality of the water. These fiords were created some 12,000 years ago during the ice age by massive glaciers which makes the rocks plunge 90 degrees into the water - it is quite an incredible sight. Make sure to check out the photos that go along with this...

We had lunch on the boat then went back out for another 2 1/2 hours. The forecast called for afternoon rain and wind up to 40 knots! The worst we saw was a sprinkle and 6-7 knots. Needless to say we were pleasantly surprised. We were mesmerized by the towering rock cliffs, moss, fern and the dense rain forest of beech trees growing out of the rock sides. How is this possible? Well, the moss grows first out of cracks in the rock. Fern grows on top of the moss and trees root on this makeshift ground cover across the rock. This top heavy set up on the rock side creates massive "tree avalanches" that tumble down into the fiord every now and then. It takes 100 years to recover the empty space that the avalanche created.

We were beat by the end of the day but it was worth every moment to explore this remote area. In over 4 hours on the fiord, we only saw ONE other boat and no other kayakers. It was as if the beauty in Fiordland was created just for us.

I also wanted to share that while in Queenstown on Monday I went to a local yoga class called "Power Flow." I realize how much I missed practicing in a class environment! The instructor was very knowledgeable and gave me information about other classes and instructors to visit while in Dunedin and Christchurch. The way he was speaking he has been trained by some of the best yoga masters in Thailand and India. I am looking forward to learning and practicing more as our trip continues, as yoga is calling my name.

Te Anau Hiking & Biking

We are beat! Yesterday we drove from Queenstown to Te Anau, the gateway to Fiordland National Park, the largest and most remote/undiscovered part of New Zealand. After finding a place to call home for the next couple of days (a "deluxe cabin" might I add with TV?!), we hiked 12 km of the Kepler Track along Lake Te Anau. The birch trees and moss were everywhere as we breathed in the deep the fresh air. We made dinner and watched TV of all things in our warm cabin - I swear it's below 0 at night!

Today we rented a couple of bikes and trekked down to Marapouni, 20km both ways. This is where we will take off early tomorrow morning for a boat ride across the lake, then a bus going further west to the remote and beautiful Doubtful Sound in Fiordand for 4+ hours of kayaking. Then on Friday we will head out of Milford Sound for an overnight boat cruise. We can't wait! Until then...