The Crazy Things We Do When We Travel...

Queenstown promised exactly what we had heard about – a lot of adventure!

On Saturday, we visited two places that had been recommended to me by travelers I met in Australia – Furgburger and the World Bar. Furgburger is known for its huge and delicious hamburgers, although I must admit that I’ll take an Erwin burger (or basically any burger over 1/4 inch thick) any day over these! They were delicious, though, and certainly a good break after the long drive in from Milford Sound. After tooling around the town a bit, we headed out – first to a bar with all the trappings of an old Western movie – and then on to World Bar. My travel mates in Australia had told me about the fact that the bar was known for serving cocktails out of tea pots, and of course Christopher and I had to try one. It was a pretty gimmicky trick, but certainly worked – the place was packed late night and full of young backpackers and the occasional bachelor party.

After a fun night out in Queenstown, Christopher mustered quite a bit of energy the next morning for his leap off of an extremely large bungee jump. We started the morning with a good cup of coffee and a rendezvous with our two Aussie friends from Te Anau (Hafey and Spike), after which he signed up for a leap off a 143M (over 400 ft!) bungee endorsed by AJ Hackett, the creator of the bungee insania in NZ. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see him leap from this height and paid the requisite $50 to travel out to the bungee “pod” suspended over a large rocky gorge. Hafey, a veteran bungee jumper, was also joining him on the trip, but Spike agreed with me that such a leap wasn’t a necessity for us. It was such a rush to watch people propel themselves off the side of this tiny wooden platform – I can’t even imagine what it would have been like to actually make the jump myself. Christopher’s promised a guest blogging appearance, so I hope he’ll be able to regale you with thrills of the experience.

To celebrate, we headed back into town to a local pub where Hafey and Christopher toasted their bravery and the fact that, per the bungee certificate, they were “no longer mere mortals.” Spike and Hafey took off to pick back up on their peaceful fishing vacation that afternoon, and Christopher and I stayed on in Queenstown. We had already lapped the town a few times and were starting to get a bit antsy but couldn’t leave quite yet.

On Monday, we had signed up for skydiving (yes, skydiving!), and we were both pretty jazzed to see clear blue skies for our jump. Admittedly, I’ve always wanted to go sky diving – I thought it would be scary but certainly a once-in-a-lifetime adrenaline rush. We headed to the “N Zone” shop after a quick cup of coffee (which proved unnecessary given the state of our nerves) and attempted to pay attention to the briefing and the sales pitch for DVDs and photos. Once we finally jumped on the shuttle out to the airfield, I was convinced that it would be awhile before we jumped – after all, no one had really told us what it would be like, how to land, etc.

I was surprised to see that we were ushered into the hangar fairly quickly and given jump suits. The briefing was literally only a couple of minutes, and both of our tandem jumpers seemed a bit bored by the whole prospect of going up and jumping out of a plane for what would most likely be the 6th or 7th time of the day for them. We were shown a laminated sheet of paper telling us to contort into the shape of a banana after launching out of the plane and then hopped on board a tiny, seatless aircraft. I was seated directly in front of my tandem master, with my photographer next to me and another photographer crammed in front. In all, there were nine of us in the back of a tiny plane – 3 jumpers, 3 tandem jumpers, and 3 photographers. I was trying to take in the scenery and keep my nerves calm when my tandem master announced about a minute before hitting 12,000 ft that I wasn’t going to jump …apparently there were issues with the photographer’s camera, and the company would otherwise refuse to allow me a second jump or a refund for the cost of the pictures. When I was trying to debate if he was being serious (or was this just a cruel joke to distract me from the fact I was going to hurl myself from a plane??), Christopher and the second jumper in our plane had been flung from the hatch on their way down to solid ground. Once I learned that the photographer wasn’t kidding, I relaxed a bit and took in the scenery of the snow capped mountains and crystal blue lake below.

By the time I landed with the plane, Christopher was already on the ground and was searching the sky for my parachute. I hopped out and forced a smile to show the next people that I hadn’t chickened out – it was merely a “malfunction” that kept me from jumping the first time. Within five minutes, I was back up in the air with a fully-functioning camera in place.

The jump was a rush – especially given that my tandem jumper was a bit heavier than me, which resulted in me flipping upside down and staring at blue sky for the first few seconds. All I could think was “what the hell have I decided to do??” Once we righted ourselves, I finally had the chance to take in the scenery and ultimately fully exhaled when the parachute opened. It was a fun ride back down to the ground, and I landed safely in a green pasture only minutes (but what felt much longer) after the jump. It never felt so good to be back on solid ground.

A thumbs-up for a functioning camera!

Preparing to jump from the hatch

Freefalling...

A stunning view of the lake and mountains from the air

Finally able to exhale!

What better way to celebrate a sky dive than with a wine tasting?? Not what I had planned on when I woke up Monday, but we had heard that there were some outstanding vineyards in the area, and for lack of other options, decided to take off in pursuit on Monday afternoon. We also thought a touch of red wine would help calm the nerves and pacify the adrenaline. It was a pleasant afternoon out in the countryside and certainly an eclectic way to end our stay in Queenstown.

After three days in Queenstown, I was worn out from the amount of food and drinks we had consumed, the adventure sports we had seen, and the quaint town that seemed to get smaller with every lap around the perimeter. We had also heard quite a bit about Dunedin, a university town on the east coast, and knew that we had a bit of a hike ahead of us to make it back to Christchurch for our return flight to Auckland. So, on Tuesday morning, we decided to start heading out of town in the hopes of meeting up with some of my college friends, Steve and Rachel, in route. Unfortunately, our plans didn’t seem to coincide – we were about 5 hours apart – and I was quite sad to miss seeing them on the trip. Dear Kennedys - I am so sorry we couldn’t meet up and hope that I get to see you another time soon!

We arrived in Dunedin early afternoon after a stop for a delicious pie en route…Christopher had a yummy bacon and egg pie, while I tried the chicken and brie. Apparently the owner of the pie shop (“Jimmy”) is one of New Zealand’s pie judges, and I must admit it was delectable!

Christopher enjoying the stop at Jimmy's

The thing we were most shocked by in Dunedin was its size; after traveling through small towns for so long, the sight of an exit ramp and more than one stop light was overwhelming. Christopher accurately remarked about how quickly our perspectives on towns had changed over the past ten days. We checked into our hostel and then decided to head out to the Otago Peninsula, known for its beautiful array of birds (albatross and penguins most notably). The drive was a little hair-raising – windy, two lane roads with no guard rails to protect against the five foot drop into the ocean – but also a very nice look at the coastline under some perfect weather conditions. Due to budget constraints, I refused to pay the $30 EACH to see the birds, and we went in search of the bird colonies on our own. We ended up on three random detours, and although none of them provided any aviary sightings, they were my favorite parts of the day. We discovered private sheep farms (not such a novelty but still lovely), a secluded beach, and a castle, and I enjoyed every second. It was money well worth NOT spending and a good drive around the peninsula.

A snapshot on one of our detours around the Otago Peninsula

Christopher was keen on some fish for dinner that night, and we set off in the direction of the Town Octagon (as opposed to Square). We didn’t quite find anything we wanted there, so we ended up at a restaurant known as The Reef for a tasty seafood platter. We subsequently headed back to the Octagon that evening and enjoyed walking around and taking in the Tuesday nightlife (not much!). On our way home, we came across a young man climbing down a fire escape off a second floor flat above an Octagaon-situated bar and stopped to inquire…turns out he had (for some stupid reason) thrown his cell phone out the window and was coming down to retrieve the parts. Being the helpful Americans we are :), Christopher and I helped him assemble the pieces and were invited inside the flat with his friends for a drink. Turns out that the guys were hosting a wine and cheese party to toast a flatmate’s birthday and were all students at the local university. The group was quite funny and the place was disgusting – exactly on par with what I would expect out of some seniors in college!

Seafood platter at The Reef, Dunedin

We wrapped up our stay in Dunedin the next morning with a brief walk around the university and then started on our drive north to Christchurch. We thought the drive would take around 4 hours, but we ran into traffic (all relative compared to Chicago standards) and quite a bit of construction; by the time we reached Christchurch 5+ hours later, Christopher was ready for a break. En route, we stopped at the Moeraki Boulders, large boulders formed inside the sand dunes that had fallen into the ocean, and also in Timaru in search of penguins (again, no sitings).
We spent just a little over 12 hours in Christchurch and didn’t spend much time exploring, although we did attempt to go into the cathedral in the heart of town (but it was closed). We met my friend David, who had also participated on the Kilimanjaro climb with me and has lived in Christchurch for the past five years, for dinner and then headed back to our hostel to wrap up our last night.

Ben S. picked us up at the airport in Auckland on Thursday, and I stayed there the past few days enjoying time with our friends and the ability to unpack my bag. On Thursday evening, we had a picnic dinner on the waterfront with fish and chips and some of Paula’s family’s wine. We enjoyed the great weather, a beautiful sunset, and warm company as Christopher and I reflected on our past few weeks of travel together.

On Friday, Christopher and I headed downtown to spend more time in the city for the last day of his vacation. Prior to visiting, I had no idea what a huge sailing city Auckland was – it’s known as “The City of Sails” due to its rich racing history and its victory of the America’s Cup a few years ago. Around the Viaduct and Marina area, an annual boat show had started for the weekend, and there were huge yachts and other fancy boats on display. Christopher opted for one last excursion and went on a two hour sailing trip aboard an America’s Cup sailboat. He had blue skies for his sail and an opportunity to help the crew while onboard. Meanwhile, I had a productive couple of hours, during which time I visited the American consulate for extra passport pages, picked up some stamps, fixed my watch, investigated tickets to Asia, and researched bus routes to travel around the north island. We met back up for a lunch right next to the water and then made our way to the Victoria park market. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a very good market – much more established tourist shops than anything – but it was nice to see one of the city parks and venture around a bit more (even past the Deloitte building that had a neon blue sign?).

On Friday evening, we went with Ben and Paula to a free outdoor festival called Pasifika. The festival is held once a year and showcases the culture and performances of the people of the various Pacific Islands. On Friday evening, we saw about 6-7 acts, some of which included dancing performances by groups from some of the islands, including Fiji. The festival was to continue through the next day and was sure to attract quite a crowd. We celebrated Christopher’s last evening of his vacation with a Thai dinner after the festival. He left early the next morning, and I was really sad to see him leave. I’ve had such a great time traveling with him over the past three weeks, and I’m so appreciative that he took such a long break off of work to come and meet me in Australia and New Zealand. Christopher, thanks for being such a great brother and for making our time together so much fun! I will certainly miss traveling with you and can't wait to exhange pictures and stories when I get home.

Saturday was a much-needed low key day. I enjoyed a leisurely morning run, followed by coffee with Ben and Paula and a relaxing, long walk with Paula late afternoon to her sister’s home. Her sister hosted us for dinner on Saturday evening, and I had the chance to meet Paula’s niece, brother-in-law, and two other friends. We sat outside on a patio enjoying a barbequed meal, good wine, and another nice New Zealand sunset. It reminded me of summer dinners on the Pfeffer’s deck at home and of the fact that I get to return to summer in Chicago.

Paula and I took at trip a couple of hours north of the city on Sunday to Mangawhai, where we enjoyed a long hike along the cliff bluffs that overlooked the ocean. The drive was an enjoyable respite from the busyness of the city, and we were out in sheep fields and rolling hills before I knew it. After our two hour hike along the bluffs, we finished the afternoon with a dip in the ocean and my first swim in the waters off of New Zealand. The water was so clear and refreshing – much appreciated after our warm hike!

On the cliff walk in Mangawhai

I had designated Monday as my “work day” to catch up on various miscellaneous personal items that needed to be attended to – bills, emails, plans for the next few weeks. But before hunkering down into an internet café, I took another nice run along the ocean (only 10+ minutes from where Ben and Paula are living) and enjoyed a coffee in a quaint coffee shop lining the ocean front road. It was a productive afternoon – certainly not the ideal way to spend a day on the road, but necessary! Paula’s younger brother and his wife invited us over for dinner Monday night, and it was great to meet the rest of Paula’s family. All of the Sawards have been so generous and welcoming and are the most lovely family. A huge thank you to all of you for welcoming me into your homes and for hosting me throughout the past few weeks!

I left Auckland yesterday morning to spend the rest of this week making my way to Wellington. I’m going to visit Lauren and Libby, two of my new friends from the Kilimanjaro hike that work in the city with the Global Volunteer Network. Ben and Paula helped to plan my itinerary, and I found some great bus deals to help on my southbound trip. I spent last night in Rotorua, a town known for its strong presence of Maori culture and its geothermic activity. I arrived here around 5:00 p.m. yesterday afternoon and spent a couple of hours walking around the town center and the lake. Because of the geothermic activity, there are several bathhouses and water spas that are big attractions – but I can’t get over the sulfur smell enough to come within a few hundred meters of the buildings! I was more interested in learning about the Maori culture, but the prices I had heard quoted for a show were exorbitant on my backpacker budget. I did some sleuthing around town and ultimately found a show for only $30 (down from the $90+ that had been quoted elsewhere).

Although I saved quite a bit of money on the show, I was definitely the youngest person in attendance. Almost everyone else in the audience could be divided into two groups – older Germans sporting some sweet fanny packs, or herds of Japanese tourists. Oh well – I figured it was certainly a discerning crowd and the show must be good! It was an enjoyable performance, showcasing some of the traditional dances and songs of the Maori people, and I was interested to observe some of the similarities to the Hawaiian luau that Ben and I had attended in Maui. I was glad I had done some investigating and am appreciative of observing a small bit of the indigenous culture here in Rotorua.

This morning I spent a couple more hours walking around town and visited Ohinemutu, a gatherine of a few Maori buildings and supposedly once of the first settlements in Rotorua. I then jumped on a bus to Turangi, a tiny town know for great trout fishing and its proximity to a popular trailhead. I leave here in the morning around 7:00 a.m. to do the Tongariro Crossing, reputably one of the best one day hikes in New Zealand. I'll be sure to take a lot more pictures than I have over the last few days and will hopefully have some good ones to share! I'll stay here in Turangi tomorrow night and then catch one more bus on Friday to Wellington, where I’ll spend the weekend.