New Zealand, 2012 - bhkann
Two weeks in the land of Kiwis with Vivi

Kia Ora!
New York, United States
This blog will be made up of posts and ramblings from our trip to New Zealand. I will try to update throughout the next two weeks as time and wi-fi access permits. Will try to add photos too, but will probably be difficult until we return. There won't be much proofreading, so apologies for spelling mistakes or run-on sentences. Now off to the other side...
written by  bhkann on December 2, 2012 from New York, United States
from the travel blog: New Zealand, 2012

Enter Auckland
Auckland, New Zealand
If there's any kind of jetlag that is "good" jetlag, than this is likely it. Traveling to New Zealand, you cross the international date line and are thrust forward 12 hours in the blink of an eye. Add a few more for good measure, and you're looking at an 18 hour positive difference. When trying to think of how you stand relative to your home time, an easier equation to wrap your head around is 6 hours back, one day forward. The point is, it is now 4am (on Monday) - the perfect time for blog rambling, and more importantly, prepping for an early start to our day hikes.
We touched down in Auckland yesterday. From the moment we stepped into the Air New Zealand terminal at LAX, we were reminded that we were heading on a middle-earth adventure. Everyone knows The Lord of the Rings trilogy and upcoming Hobbit movies were filmed here. What people may not know is how intrenched those movies are in the tourism industry here, at least from outside the borders of the country. Stepping up to the ticketing booth, the floor is painted with thick green Shire-grass and Hobbit feet. On the plane, the security announcement is delivered via a video starting a cast of a fake Aragorn, Legolas, orcs, elves, hobbits, and golems, and a very real Peter Jackson (ok, enough geeking out for now). Arriving in Auckland, the walls are lined with gorgeous photo-murals of fairy tale mountains, lakes, and forests - they are all real New Zealand, but the effect is that, with some imagination, you yourself feel like a Hobbit on the cusp of adventure (strong work, New Zealand tourism industry).
The funny thing is, when you step out of the airport and into the Auckland surroundings, it looks more like a quaint American suburb than anything else. Auckland, the largest and most cosmopolitan of the cities in New Zealand is far from the postcard middle-earth-inspiring setting. It is a nice, clean city, with some interesting features. Auckland sits atop a large Volcanic field that is "active", which basically means that in last 1000 years there has been some activity, but you wouldn't know it except for the countless number of hills. Auckland also lies on an isthmus of land that is surrounded by water on most sides. The climate and look of Auckland resemble San Francisco and the Pacific Northwest. It is mild in temperature, and at least on the day we arrived, overcast, rainy, and windy - they don't call it the "City of Sails" for nothing.
We arrived in the morning, having had a few hours of sleep on the plane (Vivi more than me - I was too busy watching the awesome selection of in flight TV/movies). We checked into our motel - it is on the outskirts of Auckland in a nice suburb, right next to the Eden Park Rugby Field (unfortunately no matches were being held). We strapped on our hiking boots and hit the city. We first walked to the top of Mt. Eden, one of the cities many "volcanic" peaks - I use quotes because it's not what you imagine a volcanic peak to look like - it is essentially a hill covered with grass and foliage, with a crater at the top. We stopped to get coffee along the way - coffee culture is apparently huge here and there are tons of these nice coffee shops everywhere. We then walked into the city center and to the wharf, stopping to have "Auckland's Best Fish and Chips" (according to the chalkboard outside the restaurant). We continued walking through the area of Ponsonby, a strip lined with interesting bars, restaurants, and hippie/hipster shops, and finally made it back to our motel, a round trip of around 8 miles for the day. For dinner we had Thai food - another thing we are starting to realize is that there seems to be know distinct New Zealand cuisine - which makes sense, as it is a relatively young island nation of largely European immigrants mixed with the native Maori and others.
This morning we pick up our rental car and ditch the city life for the duration this trip. Auckland seems like a nice, livable city - but that's not what you endure 10,000+ miles and 20+ hours in a plane to experience. Today we hit the road - south to the central volcanic zone of the North Island and the one of the key reasons we even included the North Island in our itinerary: the Tongariro Alpine Crossing.
written by  bhkann on December 2, 2012 from Auckland, New Zealand
from the travel blog: New Zealand, 2012

The Volcanic Plateau
Taupo, New Zealand
We set out from Auckland Monday morning and headed south in our rental car. Driving on the left side of the road was a bit harrowing at first, but after a couple high-stress hours of confusion and a close call or two, I got the handle of it. As we headed south the New Zealand countryside changed from average suburban, to gorgeous lush green countryside (think the Shire), to sweeping, barren mountains. The were a lot of "wow" moments and me continually pestering Vivi to take pictures out the car window.
We passed through Hamilton and reached our first destination, Taupo. Taupo rests on a massive inland lake in the Center of the North Island. It is a town that sees a lot adventure-travelers looking to skydive, bungee jump, and water-sport, but, being part of the volcanic plateau, also has its share of geothermal attractions which was our main purpose. We visited a thermal area deep into the outskirts of town called Orakei Koraki. It sits on private Maori Land and is stunning. You take a boat ride across a River to reach an area filled with hot springs, Sulphur pools, mud pits, silica terraces, and one of only two geothermal caves in the world. We felt like we were in the Lost World (minus the dinosaurs). Pictures hopefully to follow...
Orakei Koraki geothermal area
We ate lunch in Taupo and stocked up on protein bars, water, and "scroggin" (what Kiwis call trail-mix) in preparation for next day's main event: the Tongariro Alpine Crossing.
written by  bhkann on December 3, 2012 from Taupo, New Zealand
from the travel blog: New Zealand, 2012

Walking on the Moon
Tongariro National Park, New Zealand
On November 21st, 2012 the Te Maori crater that sits on top of Mount Tongariro erupted with a 10 minute explosion of smoke and ash. This was the second of two eruptions in the past few months, a sign that this volcano may be becoming more active. Mount Tongariro is situated in Tongariro National Park, smack in the middle of New Zealand's North Island and volcanic plateau. This plateau is part of the Pacific's "ring of fire," a highly geothermally active zone that straddles tectonic plates. It is also the site of what many say is one of the greatest single-day treks in the world: the Tongariro Alpine Crossing (TAC). The venting Te Maori crater sits alongside this crossing, and thus the New Zealand DOC shut down the track following the eruption. This almost made us cancel, but we discovered a few days before leaving that much of the track had been reopened and so we decide to keep our plans. The TAC is a 19.4km (12 mile) one-day hike across some of New Zealand's most incredible scenery. It passes along/through three volcanoes - Tongariro, Ngaurohoe (Mt. Doom from LOTR), and Ruapehu.
We stayed in small town called National Park, woke up early and reached the turn-off to the crossing a little before 7am. The morning was filled with dense fog as we slowly crept towards the start of the trail. I certain points it was difficult to see past a few yards in front of the car. It added to the air of mystery and excitement to the adventure - though also a little scary. A few minutes into the drive the fog burned off and we were greeted with incredible views of the three peaks and the volcanic landscape around them. We park and started in the trek.
Words and even photos cannot do justice to the views and natural beauty experienced on the TAC, so I'll (try to) keep it brief - it starts through a mountain valley with streams, waterfalls, and volcanic rocks and tracks uphill to a massive crater with a lake. From there, you can choose to continue or add on a 3hr side trip up to the summit of Mt. Ngaurohoe. We elected for the side trip and started the straight vertical climb up the mountain face to the top. This was the hardest hike I've ever attempted - up a lava flow - think of hiking up a steep mountain of sand and loose rock - and about 2/3 of the way up, with our legs burning and the winds blasting, we decided to return to the crossing so we wouldn't be too tired/miserable to finish. We walked through the crater up to another ridge where we were greeted by a red volcanic cliff.
We kept on and finally reached the end of what was open on the crossing: the emerald lakes. They are bright turquoise lakes that dot the inside of the crater. There is also a massive blue lake in the distance, Mt. Doom behind, and mysterious, primordial-looking volcanic mud fields below. To add to all of this, behind the lakes on the horizon you could see the steam bellowing up from the still-venting Te Maori crater - little bonus for the travelers who did not cancel their trip. It really felt other-worldly, like a distant planet, or the moon, and I've never seen any scenery on earth quite like it.
We completed the round trip exhausted, sore, and hungry after about 7hrs and 30min and returned back to town. I imagine we will be very sore in all types of place tomorrow. Fortunately, tomorrow is a "chill" day. We leave the North Island for good, and fly to the South Island where we will spend the bulk of our trip. We'll start in wine country .
written by  bhkann on December 4, 2012 from Tongariro National Park, New Zealand

Marlborough Wine Country
Renwick, New Zealand
A short flight on a small dual-prop plane and we were touching down in Blenheim, a city at the Northeast of the South Island and gateway to the Marlborough wine region. New Zealand has a relatively young wine-making history that really took off in the 1970s. The most famous of their wines is Savignon Blanc, but they also known for Pinot Noir. The countryside in this area is beautiful. We rented a car and drove around the region exploring the sweeping sunny wine fields and lush mountains surrounding them. We checked into our hostel, Watson's Way - a very chill place with friendly owners, hammocks and picnic tables outside. We decided to treat ourselves to dinner at one of the Vineyards - Hans Herzog - we had a delicious meal and great bottle of wine.
The next morning we visited a vineyard, did a wine tasting, and then took off southward down the coastline to the marine wildlife capital of New Zealand - Kaikoura.
written by  bhkann on December 5, 2012 from Renwick, New Zealand

Seals Gone Wild in Kaikoura
Kaikoura, New Zealand
As we drove the 140km or so down the coast, we began to get a taste of the insane, awe-inspiring beauty of the South Island. Lush green countryside, within the backdrop of alpine, snow-capped mountains on our right, with bright Emerald Ocean, beach cliffs to our left. Most of the conversation down to Kaikoura consisted of "wow," "holy-$&@!", and "please watch the road!" -Vivi (when my eyes strayed too far). Along the way, Vivi spotted seals to along the beach, so we pulled off to the side of the road and it turned out we had stumbled upon a seal breeding colony. We snapped a bunch of pictures of the New Zealand Fur Seals, before continuing along our way.
Finally we arrived in Kaikoura and settled into our hostel, the Albatross, which turned out to be quite close to a hippie commune - we walked into a guitar jam session and people twirling bow-staffs on the front lawn. We decided to go out on a highly-recommended walk of Kaikoura's peninsula track. The walk took us past the town Center, fishing villages and a giant Fur Seal colony where you could walk right up to the bathing seals.
The track continued along the peninsula, yielding some of the most unbelievable scenery I've ever seen in my life.
Gorgeous beach cliffs, on top of which were thick, high grass pastures dotted with violet wild flowers and limestone rock structures. All of this again, with the backdrop of snow-capped mountains. It was surreal, out of a movie, or the Garden of Eden, like it had been designed and painted. Around every corner, a Kodak moment.
Needless to say my camera battery died about 3/4ths through the walk. We returned to the town Center, had a meal of fish and chips (the town is big on fish/seafood), and crashed early for our swim with dolphins the next day.
written by  bhkann on December 6, 2012 from Kaikoura, New Zealand

Dusky Dolphins in Kaikoura
Kaikoura, New Zealand
Kaikoura lies on a peninsula that juts out into the Pacific Ocean. It's waters and geological nature have a few characteristics that make it New Zealand's Premier marine wildlife destination. Its Shoreline runs very close to a vast and extremely deep underwater canyon. It is also the hub of intersecting Ocean currents. Cold, nutrient-rich water from the deep levels of the canyon encounter warm currents from the North and are propelled toward the surface quite close to land. These unique nutrient-laden shallow waters initiate the marine food-chain in a place where it usually does not exist. This means there is a surplus of large marine sea creatures - seals, whales, and dolphins - just off the shore. It also means that we get to swim with them.
We signed up for a swim with the wild dusky dolphins, of which there are around 2,000 in local waters. A short boat ride took us out around the or peninsula until a pod of dolphins was spotted. At this point we got on our snorkel gear and jumped in. Within minutes there were dozens of curious dolphins swimming around us, checking us out, and following our movements. It was incredible - amazing how, without any enticing, training, or persuasion (expect for us making lots of noise and movement to pique their interest), the dolphins would approach us. Using Vivi's parents spiffy waterproof GoPro video camera (thanks guys!), we were able to get some great HD footage of all this happening. After the swim, up on the boat, we followed around a pod of what appeared to be hundreds of dolphins who would race around the boat, sometimes performing impromptu jumps and tricks. Very cool.
We returned to town and grabbed lunch before heading further south and west, leaving the coast and heading inland to the South alpine Mountain region.
written by  bhkann on December 8, 2012 from Kaikoura, New Zealand

Arthur's Pass - From East to West
Craigieburn, New Zealand
We left Kaikoura and drove down the East coast towards Christ Church, taking a hard right into Arthur's Pass, an alpine crossing that connects the Islands East and West coasts. You may have noticed that many of the cities/routes/regions in New Zealand have two different titles: English and Maori. The Maori people make up close to 10% of the population of the country and were the first Settlers - arriving around 1200 AD from various areas of Polynesia. Their cultural influence is seen throughout. A common name used for the country is the Maori name, Aotearoa, which translates to "Land of the Long White Cloud." Prior to 1200AD, New Zealand lived in virtual isolation, encountering no humans or even land mammals, since it Split from the giant land mass Gondwanaland millions of years ago. Its evolutionary isolation, along with its position in the Pacific's Ring of Fire and its unique weather patterns, gives New Zealand many of its fascinating displays of nature at its finest.
The drive from coastal Kaikoura through Arthur's Pass is a prime example of this. The drive was stunning and we transitioned from Crystal blue beaches and rainforest to grassland, to otherworldly, vast alpine Highlands in matter of hours. By evening we had reached the Arthur Pass township at the Center of the Island, a single strip of houses with a few hostels and a cafe or two nestled in the mountains. We spent a night here and did a nice day hike the following day called Temple Basin. Gorgeous alpine scenery.
We continued through the pass and saw an even quicker change back to lush rainforest as we approached the west coast highway. Here, were absent the cliffs of the east coast - this was flat, desolate beach land. We stopped for lunch in a small town called Hokitika and then on through the rainforest to our next main attraction, Fox Glacier.
written by  bhkann on December 9, 2012 from Craigieburn, New Zealand

Glacier Climbing
Fox Glacier, New Zealand
The Westland of New Zealand's South Island is filled with lush rainforest, and glacial-carved valleys.
Two easily accessible glaciers remain in this area Fox and Franz Josef - and they form a hub for tourists and adventure activities. We did a short walk to view Franz Josef and then continued on to Fox for one of these activities - ice climbing.
We stayed in a cabin and made some store bought ravioli in the communal kitchen for dinner. The next day we met our guide and began our preparation for the day of climbing. They suited us up with harness, climbing gloves, crampons, and, of course, badass ice axes, and we trekked up the face of the glacier, past gorgeous ice falls and ravines to a suitable spot to set up a climb.
The Fox glacier, like the Franz Josef and the U.S. economy is currently in a recession-period that began around 2009. Geologists think it is in part due to global warming, but also specific New Zealand weather patterns like increased rainfall. They aren't sure how long it will continue but the glacier has been receding in the 100s of meters per year. This makes hiking it a dynamic challenge where the guides have change trail design and devise new ways to explore the glacier. It also makes the glaciers themselves look less impressive. However, not all hope is lost - there have been recession periods in the past even more drastic than currently, that have rebounded with periods of great growth - as recently as in the early 2000s - so who knows what the future holds. For our purposes, there was plenty of ice to go around. Our guide set up pulley mechanisms right into the ice and we began to practice our newly-learned skills. It was a lot of fun and a bit challenging. We got to do 5-6 climbs of varying difficulty before the evening rolled through, including a climb out of a glacial hole that we first were instructed to climb into. Elliot, you would be proud. Very cool! Needless to say, we were sore in strange places the next day.
We woke up the next morning and had breakfast at a cafe by the nearby Lake Matheson - a lake famous for its picturesque reflecting of Mount Cook (New Zealand's highest peak) in its still waters. We did a short walk around the lake and took in the view before jumping back in the car for one of our mega-drive days down the west coast and back inland to Queenstown.
written by  bhkann on December 10, 2012 from Fox Glacier, New Zealand

South to Queenstown
Queenstown, New Zealand
We continued down the increasingly scenic West Coast highway which winds along the shoreline with desolate, rocky beach to the right, hilly rainforest to the left, and occasional dives into pristine farmland valleys and sheep-and-cow meadows (man, are there a lot of sheep here).
One of the greatest things about New Zealand driving (aside from the astounding scenery) is you are often the only car within eye-shot on the road. It definitely gives an end-of-the-world type feeling, especially when you look out into the ocean and realize that if you could see far enough, Antarctica would be visible over the horizon.
We stopped in the tiny town of Haast for a quick pit-stop and sampled the local favorite white-bait pattie on bread with butter for lunch. The pattie is essentially a slew of minnows squashed together and fried - slimy yet satisfying?
From there the road leads inland, back through the Southern Alps. It gets windier, and the road passes around gorgeous, massive, deep blue mountain lakes. The camera was constantly firing. The road to Queenstown twists downhill through switch-backs with stunning green mountain valley below.
Queenstown itself is enveloped in cinematic beauty - sitting snugly by the massive lake Wakatipu, it is pushed up to the shore by green mountain peaks behind it, only outmatched by the view across the lake if "The Remarkables" a barren, indigo, rocky, snow-capped mountain range. This begged the question, "Where are we?" (A repeating theme throughout our trip).
We checked into our hostel (with private bathrooms and a lakeside view!!), strolled around town, had dinner, and took in some of the active Queenstown nightlife - even a cover band that I swear stole my old band's setlist. The town dwarfs all others in terms of its international tourist cachet, which we found a little off-putting after spending so much time in the quiet serenity of the rest of New Zealand. There are hordes of 18-22 Brits and Aussies and East Asians prowling the streets, drunk, immature, inconsiderate, and energized post-skydive, bungee jump, or whatever other high-adrenaline activity they dared (man, I sound old now...). Bottom line is, being centrally located in town, we got very poor sleep the next two nights. On the other hand, the food was great and we had some great meals including sushi, fish, and middle eastern.
The next morning we took the skyline gondola to the top of the nearby peak and did a few "luge" runs (an alpine slide), while trying to decide if we would try something more extreme (to be continued...).
We also walked around the garden park. We left Queenstown after two days, thankful for the city-comforts but ready to jump back into the less-disturbed wilderness of New Zealand.
written by  bhkann on December 11, 2012 from Queenstown, New Zealand

Fiordland
Milford Sound, New Zealand
We set out for another 5ish hour drive to one of the prime destinations on our list, Milford Sound. The southwest if New Zealand's South Island is known as Fiordland, as it is filled with numerous glacial valleys that extend to the sea. Perhaps the most impressive is Milford (also the most accessible). From Queenstown we headed south along more mountain lakes until reaching the sleepy lakeside town of Te Anau. We ate lunch there, and then continued down what is regarded as one of the most spectacular drives in the world, the Te Anau-Milford Highway.
At first winding through mountain farmland and plains, the road enters the Fiord and you are surrounded by progressively more dramatic and deep cliff faces. Through the center of the magnificent Fiord runs a river, laced with mountain wildflowers of purples, pinks, and white. As you venture deeper into the gorge waterfalls begin to appear all around the cliff walls - spilling from glacial beds atop the cliff peaks.
The road then literal goes into a mountain - a one way alpine tunnel controlled by a set of traffic lights complete with cave walls and water streams around you - - spits you out into one of the most staggering scenes I've ever seen. The hundreds of waterfalls dotting the huge cliff faces with lush forest in the middle only split by the river and the road alongside it. I was waiting for the teradactyls to start flying above or some other prehistoric creature to appear. Breathtaking stuff...
We stopped midway to hike part of the Routeburn Track, one of New Zealand's "Great Walks" to Key Summit.
Atop Key Summit from Routeburn Track
We continued along until we hit the "town" of Milford at the point where the sound opens up to a one mile wide deep blue water channel that leads to the Tasman Sea. We stayed in a lodge here for the night in what seemed like paradise - except for the unyielding swarms of sand flies that pounce the second you step outside. These pesky sand flies may actually be the saving grace of Milford, as the locals believe they keep the hordes of day-tourists from setting-up shop for too long, and maintain the unspoiled ecosystem of the Fiord.
The next morning we joined up with a guide for a sea kayaking trip of the sound. It was great! Being in the midst of the staggering cliffs was very cool, and our trip involved kayaking into a waterfall, Stirling Falls.
Milford Sound from the shore
We also spotted some seals on the shore and some interesting bird species (but no dolphins this time). The wind picked up in the afternoon and the sea got very choppy - on of the pairs we were with capsized (they were fine). By the end we were riding the waves back into the port. We did a short nature walk around the sound and then started tye drive back across the stunning Te Anau-Milford highway in reverse.
written by  bhkann on December 16, 2012 from Milford Sound, New Zealand

The End
Queenstown, New Zealand
During a period of reflection in between in-flight movies on our 24+ hour trip back to New York, one word that came to mind when I thought of New Zealand was staggering - staggering in landscape, natural beauty, and scope and range of activities to experience there. It is a place best experienced a little outside of your Comfort zone and through challenging yourself both physically and mentally - whether it be hiking too high, driving too far, jumping out of a plane, freefalling from a bridge, settling into a cabin in the woods, pitching a tent in the Wilderness, swimming in ice cold water with wild dolphins, climbing a wall of ice (don't worry, Mom and Dad, we didn't do all of these things). New Zealand offers an endless range of opportunities to push yourself. At the same time, however, it is a country that gives you the choice to stop pushing yourself at any moment and simply sit back, relax, and Admire the spectacle. If you were simply going to drive around in your car, only stopping to get out for the panoramic views and breath in the fresh air, it would still be worth the price of a plane ticket. Also, despite the opportunities for hardship, New Zealand, in many ways is an incredibly easy country to travel through. Clean drinking water and food throughout the country, friendly and helpful (English-speaking) people, very little crime, excellent plumbing, well maintained roads and trails, cosmopolitan cities, and amazingly reliable guide/tour companies and service. It has the efficiency and convenience of a 1st world country while maintaining the undisturbed, isolated and vast nature of what often feels like an undiscovered, uninhabited, almost mythical continent.
Total Trip Driving Distance: ~1,700 Miles
Overall, we had an incredible trip and are looking forward to hopefully returning someday for more.
[Also - was able to upload some more photos. Some might appear within the blog entries, while others are in the "photos" section.]
written by  bhkann on December 17, 2012 from Queenstown, New Zealand

Oh yea...
Queenstown, New Zealand
We went skydiving!
Post-dive
Me and my instructor / dude who had my life in his hands
written by  bhkann on December 15, 2012 from Queenstown, New Zealand

Orakei Koraki geothermal area

Steam from the Te Maori crater

Morning mist on the drive up to the base of Tongariro

Mist clears

Atop Key Summit from Routeburn Track

Milford Sound from the shore

Post-dive

Me and my instructor / dude who had my life in his hands

Car #2, Start Mileage

Car #2, End mileage