A uniquely Texan experience

Killer flights
We finally arrived in Houston at 21:05 on Tuesday night after flying for 24 hours though ironically we left Auckland at 15:40 the same day. A bit of a groundhog day experience... We were very happy to see my sister at the airport, not only because it was very noce to see them but also partly because we knew it signalled the end of 30-odd hours in planes and airports.

Drop dead gorgeous baby
Of course the reason we are in Houston is to meet our newest nephew and my sisters first child, the beautiful Matthew Alexander who was born two weeks ago. So far he has been asleep most of the time that we have seen him as he hasn't quite understood yet that night is for sleeping and not day... Good thing the walls are thick in their apartment, and in some situations jetlag is quite useful! We woke up the next day after an 11-hour sleep during which we had not heard anything of Matthews alleged crying stints throughout the night.

Texas shoot em up!
Maybe it was the jet lag, or maybe we ate a strange mushroom on the plane on the way over but we thought it would be a good idea to have a truly Texan cultural experience while we were here. Going to a shooting alley.

Just to make sure it would be ok, I called them up before we went over and asked if we needed a license. The answer was no, they just needed to know that we had some experience with a handgun and if not they have a short class we could take and then it would be fine.

The place was scary! The sign on the front door let us know that they were a glock dealership and when we walked in, there were small hand guns on display in glass cabinets for you to hire and the bigger guns for purchase where on the back wall in full view. We nearly changed our mind and turned around and left when the guy at the till said (in an American accent) "Hi, can I help you". We signed up for the class, choose our gun (a glock) and waited around for our teacher.'

Shortly afterwards, this big, muscular, military looking guy turned up and led us to a classroom. He asked us some questions like "why were we taking this class?" and "how much experience did we have?" and "had we ever loaded a magazine before?". I honestly don't think that he understood that I had never shot a gun or even touched a bullet before. I tried to explain that it was illegal in the UK and that not even the police carry guns there and he definitely thought I was pulling his leg.

So we went through the basics - this is a gun, here is the safety, this is how you load the bullets (I discovered that there were actually 15 and not 6 bullets in the magazine) and this is how you aim. Then we headed to the range to shoot.

If the entrance was scary this was even more so. We passed normal looking people calmly practicing their shooting and stepped over spent shells on our way to our boothe. Our instructer was very calm and professional though which calmed my nerves a bit and after Johan showed off with his brilliant and accurate shooting, it was my turn to step up and have a go.

I guess that you never really appreciate a situation until afterwards. The first shot was rather scary and then the instructor reminded me of how to stand, aim and press the trigger and that was it. I didn't do nearly as well as Johan but I wasn't too bad either. It wasn't until afterwards when my heart stopped racing that the magnitude of it all hit me. I now know how to shoot a handgun, followed very swiftly by, what a scary place the US is! This act that in many developed countries in the world is extreemly difficult or illegal to do, is commonplace and even normal in some places in the US. Definately a defining cultural experience.

Rotorua stinks

No, seriously, if you're in the wrong area of Rotorua you will be ever accompanied by a distinct odor of sulfur (similar to very rotten eggs), but that is also the main reason why people come here. The odour comes from the sulfur-heavy thermal pools which is a result of the heavy volcanic activity in the region, and these have kept people coming here for centuries for medical purposes.


But it really does stink...

On the upside though there are tons of things to do, and not only soaking in a pool for medicinal purposes. This is a watersport and adventure crazy town, so you are likely to actually need those pools, and on top of that we arrived at one of the most memorable times in this towns history!! Saturday was the day that the entire town went all out with carnivals, air-shows and the works to welcome the inaugural trans-Tasman flight. That's right, the first international flight arrived in Rotorua, and it was to be celebrated with a bang, so of course we braved the slight drizzle to make it down the lakeside to watch the spectacle. Only to find out that the planes had not, a bit of a party dampener.

So instead we retreated inside to take shelter form the rain and watched movies all day since this is very much an outdoors kind of place and when it rains there was not much to do at all.

With energy gathered for Sunday we set out to see the must see things, even though the weather looked a little worrying - more of the same light drizzle.
First we headed out to see some lovely lakes that are popular with the local population and it seemed they were out in force as the weather was clearing up a bit.
Our main target of the day though was the Wai-o-tapu 'Thermal wonderland', where there is a huge amount of pools of varying color and composition, caves and lakes. The biggest one, the champagne pool - aptly named so because of its bubbles (from boiling not carbonation) is a rainbow of colour if you can see it through the sulfur smoke. They all stink but it was quite amazing to see.

After we'd been breathing sulphur and arsenic fumes for over an hour we decided to retreat to the hot pools spa across the road (well, 6km across the road) where they guaranteed hot mineral rich water without the smells. And they delivered.. Through an impressive set of waterfalls, squirters and pools they cooled the thermal spring waters down from 98 degrees to a mere 42 (-ish) in the hottest pool. It was quite amazing to sit in a pool of quite pleasant temperature, while being next to the boiling hot spring that feeds it with water. Thinking about it, it is quite amazing to see a bubbling, boiling stream in the first place and just thinking how hot it must be just a few feet under our feet, let alone bathe in the water. But it must be good for you though!

Exactly what we needed to prepare us for our mammoth flight to Houston tomorrow, but first we have to figure out what to do today.

Goodbye South Island

We're falling behind with our post writing and once you start, it's hard to catch up so I'll summarise what we've been up to in the week since you last heard from us at Lake Matheson, just along from the Fox Glacier.

Franz Joseph glacier
The next day, Saturday, we woke up to bright sunny skies and anticipation of the day that we had planned ahead of us. We were going to spend the day trekking on the Franz Joseph glacier!Apparently named after the beard of an Austrian emperor some time ago, this is one of only three glaciers in the world which end in a rain forest (one of the others is Fox which we saw yesterday). Our day started at 09:15 when we received our various vouchers for our shoes, jacket, hats and gloves for the day. After getting kitted out we jumped into an old Chinese manufactured bus and headed to the start of our walk to the glacier.

Franz Joseph is a bit more of a distance away to walk than Fox but we trudged on through the rainforest and then through the river bed until we reached the familiar yellow rope fence covered with warnings of a dire fate should we decide to cross. After a little chat, our guide helped us to climb over the fence and rounding a corner we stopped again to put on our crampons. Now crampons are neat spikes which are attached to your boots which make it very difficult to walk on normal terrain but are fantastic when walking on ice. Which was good, because for the next 5-6 hours, the ice became our best friend.

The climb up the many steps cut out of the side of the glacier ("steps are my friend") were sometimes steep, sometimes slippery and sometime treacherous but in the end the sense of achievement when we reached our turning point and the beauty of the age old ice was worth every minute. Our encounters with the local Kea's were just the icing on the cake. Not even the slight rain after our picnic lunch, which was served on the nice cold ice, could dampen our moods.

Pancake rocks
Sunday, after failing to find a church open (the local Anglican services operate bi-weekly, ie. next week) we noted the rubbish weather and decided to press straight on to our next stop in Nelson. The only major stop was made at the notable pancake rocks, an unexplained but beautiful geological phenomenal.

Abel Tasman
Admittedly we could have done our homework a bit better as we discovered once we'd reached that Nelson was still some way from Abel Tasman national park which was the next place that we wanted to spend some time. Still, we had booked a room in a local hostel complete with swimming pool and hot tub which we decided wasn't so bad and exhausted from the full day's driving we collapsed into bed.

The next morning we woke up and slowly made our way to Abel Tasman, stopping to pick up some delicious, locally grown cherries from a stall by the side of the road. We got to Motueka, the entrance to the park, just before noon which was a little late to catch the water taxi to do the half day walk that we'd planned. No problem, we weren't too late to rent a double sea kayak and paddle our way to the famous New Zealand icon, split apple rock.

Unfortunately the sea just wasn't playing ball that day and after half an hour of hard graft in the choppy seas, we managed to make it just a quarter of the way there. Disappointed and tired we pulled into a lovely little beach for a rest and to take stock of what we wanted to achieve. We agreed that though we were both quite tired from the last couple of days and wanted to get a bit of rest, we also wanted to see the NZ iconic rock. The guidebook provided and alternative, land-based, route to the rock so after braving the rough seas again to return the kayak we drove over the hills and took the short 15 min trek down to the bay to finally get a glimpse of the rock.

Nelson wasn't all wasted though, we did discover a lovely micro-brewery operating a few minutes walk from our hostel where you could buy some of their beer in unmarked two litre bottles which you can bring back for refills. Visions of bootlegging cross your mind when the bartender quietly hands you the bottle around the side of the bar so you quickly stuff it into your knapsack and walk off at a quick pace, hoping that no-one is following you...

Renwick
Pronounced Renwick by the locals, this lovely little village was only a couple of hours away from Nelson and our only destination the following day. We checked into the loveliest hostel so far where we decided to treat ourselves to an en suite double room and relaxed for the rest of the day in the twin hammock hanging up in the garden.

Renwick is also in the middle of the Marlborough wine country and so the next morning we procured a couple of bicycles, a map of the region and headed out to sample the regions wares. Now I've never been one for white wine but as that was the predominant offering I decided to try to figure out which white wines I actually liked.

My favourite cellar doors were:
Te Whare Ra - great blend called Toru
Villa Maria - best Sauvignon Blanc
River Falls (will need to check the name) - best Pinot Noir

and Johan discovered that he quite liked the wines with the German sounding grape - Gewurztraminer, and also the local micro brewery that tapped various interesting beer on actual glass bottles with a cap. Which means we will not have to explain to customs officials what kind of liquid are in the plastic 2-litre bottles. That is bound to make the entry into the U.S, much less eventful.

For dinner we stopped by a local butcher and picked up some lamb chops and some BBQ sauce and slapped them on the bar-b-que back at the hostel and chatted with the other travellers while drinking some micro brewery beer. A very lovely day.

Goodbye South Island
So now, Thursday, I'm writing this while swaying from side to side on the ferry carrying us and our car and a few hundred other passengers from the South Island at Picton to the warmer North Island at Wellington.

The South Island has been undescribably beautiful at times but to balance that the weather has been really rubbish on some days and the roads a little more windey than my stomach would like. Some of the experiences that we've had like the climb up Franz Joseph and the reflection of Mt Cook in a calm Lake Matheson will stand out for the rest of our lives while some, like the sandflies at Milford Sounds and bedbugs in Nelson, we will be happy to forget as soon as the itching stops.

As for me, I am now looking forward to taking a few days rest in Rotorua before we embark on our epic journey to Houston next week.

Just wanted to share one thing...

How amazing is this view???

This is looking towards Mt Cook and Mt Tasman from Lake Matheson, just outside Fox Glacier township...

Absolutely stunning....

Milford Sound, Wanaka and Fox

"Wireless internet networks are found in this area"... we had one of those moments sat outside a cafe by Lake Matheson in the middle of Middle-Earth and this pops up on the computer as I opened it up to write this latest post. Sometimes New Zealand is so cool... At other times, like over the past couple of days when we've been out of mobile phone coverage (don't even think about internet), it's been a little less connected.

But, back to Milford Sounds and we woke up bright and early the next morning (breakfast was served from 6:50 until 7:30) to cruise down to the mouth of the fjord where it was very easy to realise why Cook missed it on both of his journeys by the sound. The entrance is truly hidden from view with a series of overlapping ranges and the rocky waves dissuaded all but the most dedicated seal-hunter from discovering the Sound. When it was discovered, it was quickly named as the most beautiful that New Zealand had to offer and rubbing the sleep from our eyes at 7:30 in the morning, we could easily see why.

The rest of the journey was the usual beautiful scenery followed by even more. The clouds had cleared and we managed to see the tops of the surrounding snow-covered mountains that we had missed the night before.

The beautiful day continued during our drive back from Milford Sounds to Queensland where we turned north to follow the coast road to Wanaka where we would stay the night before heading onward.

Wanaka
We arrived in Wanaka a little ahead of schedule and managed to check ourselves into the highly rated Wanakabakpaka hostel and went for a wander down to the bay. The weather had been so lovely today that it was very nice to stretch our legs a bit and soak in a little of the local scenery.

As the trip to our next stop (Haas) was only 3 hours long, we decided to spend the morning in Wanaka and rent a couple of bikes and see a bit of the scenery. Or so I thought. Apparently Johan's idea differed a little from mine which I should have picked up when we hired a couple of mountain bikes. It seems that Wanaka is the mountain biking capital of NZ and no trip is complete if you haven't careened down the tracks and attempted death- and gravity-defying feats. Once he realised that that wasn't going to happen with me behind the wheel, we headed for the more gentle path around Lake Wanaka and up one of the rivers flowing out of it. A very lovely trip.

After the bike ride we jumped into the car and headed out of town. It was impossible not to stop at Puzzleworld which, as it turned out, had one of the best mazes that I've been to for a while. The beautiful weather also helped.

Haas
We followed the road, stopping from time to time to do a walk or two on our way to Haas. We are both puzzled about why this town exists as it seems to have nothing more than an industry in whitebait and its convenient stop off point on your way to one of the glaciers going for itself. There is nothing else that we could find there. Puzzling...

The next morning we pushed on to the second big pull of this part of the country... the glaciers.

Fox Glacier
Not to be confused with the well known sweets... I had never (knowingly) seen a glacier before - apparently I may have skied on one in the Alps but it's hard to tell with all the snow and ice there - but that experience is completely different from when you encounter one in a forest setting in the early New Zealand summer. The pictures struggle to fully capture the colour and magnitude of this glacier and as we watched with jealously, the hikers on the top of the glacier, we looked forward to our turn tomorrow as we too ascend the Franz Joseph glacier and uncover some of the secrets of this ancient block of ice.

Milford Sound

We had great hope for today's cruise when we woke up. The cloud cover had lifted and we could see the full glory of the mountains around the place, and we immediately understood why these were used for the Lord Of The Rings movies. Though we could not really be sure if we were in Mordor (some of the peaks do look evil) or in Gondor/Rohan (the mountain range that housed the beacons), the answer is possibly both.




The drive to Milford Sounds sported some really stunning views of sheep farms, creeks and alps ...






Though very picturesque, the arrival at Milford was a bit disappointing since there was a very dense cloud cover present, but as it rains 6m/year hear and 2 days out of 3, the odds were not really on our side. And besides, it is still amazing to see even with the clouds even though a few warming rays of sunshine would have been nice. We are about 45 degrees south, so this is comparable to spring in the very north of Sweden (which means not that warm, 15 degrees!)

We managed to get on the ship that was going to be home for the night and started our
cruise out wrapped in our warmest clothes and everyone, including us were soon oooh-ing and aaaah-ing at the cliffs, waterfalls and the peaks breaking through the clouds. The biggest aaah was when we went under one of the waterfalls and we all got soaked (it might have been an aaaarrrggghhh but I cant be too sure, I was running at the time). Once we'd gotten into our dry clothes it was time for the water sports activities, the tally was Speedboat-18, kayaking 6, swimming-0 (12 degrees in the water). We went for the speedboat which was also a little nature and wildlife talk and spotting, so Vaniah finally managed to see some penguins and, most importantly, we kept dry.

Back on the boat it was time for dinner and of course attending the bar for a little while, before getting ready for the adventures of tomorrow (which we'll of course tell you about as soon as we recover from them).

Alpine Drive

We set out early in the morning with a loose schedule ahead of us, the plan was to drive via lake Tekapo and towards Queenstown. We had a few places in mind to spend the night depending on how many stops we made along the way. The scenery is spectacular as soon as you leave the city you are greeted by views like these (I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.)





Driving through a landscape like that with great views, lots of farms and interesting places to stop for a cup of coffee and a rummage through the obligatory kitch-shop attached is a really good way to do it!
But as you can see, it was not that nice a day so we didn't get to do any mountain hikes, kayaking or other exciting things and thus ended up driving all the way to Queenstown (500km on surprisingly straight alpine roads), where we decided that we'd might as well hit Milford sound the next day and promptly booked an overnight cruise for the next day.

Hopefully the weather is better then...