The second week of Easter vacation:

Sunday, April 10, 2010; Glacier

Slept soundly and awoke to great views of Hokitika from the balcony. David was kind enough to drive me outside of town. After walking, down that same stretch of road as they day before, I got picked up by Kendra, a loving mother of three teen-aged children. She was heading to work just a lil’ ways down the road and dropped me off there. I wished her luck with her teenagers and resumed walking. Joan picked me up! Joan is cool; this is a fact. She ran a motorbike business and is now retired. She has purple dye in her hair because her daughter works in a salon and Joan cares more about her daughter’s practice than her hair. The purple hair looked good on her as she was wearing a purple shirt and purple shoes and purple earrings. Joan was headed home to celebrate her Mom’s 88th birthday, which sparked a conversation about longevity and death; sounds morbid, but it really wasn’t. She was very easy to talk to. We discussed all sorts of things, such as not wanting to live until one is 88 as well as United States politics. Joan doesn’t understand why humans can’t just get over their differences instead of killing each other because of those differences; neither can I! Her company was wonderful and when she dropped me off in Franz Josef, we shared a good hug. I kind of miss her already...

I walked down from the gas station, where Joan had dropped me, into the Franz Josef glacier trip facility. It was 11:30am and they had a half-day glacial trip at 12:30 for $105 ($5 off for YHA). I walked out to think it over and in the meantime found great blister bandages (4 for $15!!! But perhaps worth it? Yes I think so) as well as antiseptic cream. After my purchase, I felt more prepared and decided to do it! I got a spot and then found some lodging at a backpacker’s as there was no place to camp. The YHA was all booked which was a shame as it would have been only $22 dollars instead of the $27 I shelled out for a different backpacker’s. Pack down, blister bandages on, boots, gaiters, and rain jacket on. I returned as such to the glacier place. There I found my missing water bottle just where I’d left it…on the counter. I went over to the gas station and snagged a sausage roll…greasy and not the best thing I’ve eaten, but not the worst. It was at this time that I read the ticket I’d received and discovered that I should have a pack, food, water, etc. I had everything that I needed, but no pack and it was 12:20 so I decided to chance it.

Fifty or so people were signed up which made it nuts! None of them had their own gear, so it took a while for everyone to get fitted, while I just grabbed crampons. It was a ten-minute bus ride to the glacial car park and a thirty-minute walk to the glacier. From there, we were divided into groups based on fitness level. I choose the fastest group, obviously ☺. Our leader’s name was ______, a nickname (Really need to get better at remembering names fast). He was Maori and as soon as we were on the glacier I spent most of my time chatting with him as everyone else on the trip was not alone. On the walk to the foot of the glacier, I chatted with Ben & Kate(?), two newlyweds from Utah here for part 1 of their honeymoon: Adventure. Part 2 would involve Fiji and relaxation. Ben was a doctor and Kate was a pharmacist. Today marked two weeks of marriage and I made sure they got plenty of pictures. Our guide, took us into a new ice cave and then, noticing the fitness of our group, took us through two more caves! The glacier was a lot of fun as was trying to fit through some of the caves! Worth the $100? Yeah, I think so. Would’ve gone without a guide, but I lack crampons as well as glacier experience. Another couple, from San Diego, and I got talking on the way down. The husband, around my dad’s age, seldom took of from work and he and his wife were on their first vacation in years; though apparently he had to wake up for those early morning (3:00am) conference calls! I applauded his efforts at taking time of and encouraged him to do more of this kind of thing. I helped them with some pictures too. Ben and Kate clearly needed some more pictures and I even convinced the to do the classic newlyweds kissing picture with a beautiful background: the glacier and a waterfall running between them. Wherever they are, I hope that the pictures turn out well at that they’ll always remember how excited they were that day about their new marriage.

Back in town, I bought some mine (less than $4) to use for dinner as well as one banana (Wow…perhaps too much detail? Haha. But that’s what’s in the journal). I browsed some tourist shops before heading back to the hostel. I ran into Becky and Elana (two IFSA-Butler students that I left in Pitcon). After dinner (mince + rice + beans) which was eating while learning about the German school system from a friendly German woman, I met up with Becky, Elana, and their German friend from the bus they were traveling on. I called Tom in Queenstwon to ask about couch surfing his place the next night and he said it would work. We headed to a pub, after I took out money from an ATM with the language set to Maori (my choice). My mission was to find Becky a drink that she might like so I choose a pina colada for her. We didn’t stay too long and spent much of the night chatting. Eventually, I crawled into bed around 1:00…exhausted.

Monday, April 12, 2010; GERMANS!

I awoke around 7:30 and hopped right up for breakfast (oats + banana + tea). I sat with the German woman, from the night before, and her boyfriend/husband(?). They were headed for Lake Wanaka (on the way to Queenstown) but I didn’t want to ask for a ride as I wanted to hitch with whoever picked me up. I left the hostel and walked out of town and got picked up by…the Germans! Simon (the boyfriend/husband(?)) and S_____ (long German name I had trouble with and forgot). We traveled the 3.5-4 hour drive to Lake Wanaka. As they were tourists, we stopped frequently for some breathtaking views! I got a bit worried that I wouldn’t make it to Queenstown. I was able to relax and go with the flow, which made for a better travel experience. One of the places we stopped had sand flies, my first experience with the little buggers. They really are quite nasty as they’re small and love to swarm and bite. We eventually drove into Wanaka, a beautiful town on the shores of Lake Wanaka. I got some fish and chips for six dollars! Yummy…still tastes like fish, but I’m determined to like fish. I walked out of town and eventually got a ride with Brandon, who told me that there were two roads to Queenstown and I’d chosen the less popular route. He drove me ten minutes down the road before dropping me off. Five minutes later and I was riding in the backseat next to Janeck and his parents Grabriel and Ralph; a friendly German family. They moved to Auckland two years prior and had yet to see much of the South Island and were excited to see the changing colors, but unimpressed by the bareness of the southern hills. They were headed past Cromwell to Queenstown, though they ended up stopping to try to sift for gold, but left me saying they’d pick me up again if I they saw me. I kept walking in probably one of the more dangerous places I’d hitched as it was narrow and the left side of the road where I was walking dropped off into a large river. Eventually, I was picked up by the same family! The gold sifting was too expensive. They took me to Allentown, just a few kilometers outside of Queenstown. There I was picked up two minutes later by a Chilean, Brazilian, and Equadorian. Ellos hablan espanol por mas de la “hitch.” No aprendo los nombres de ellos. Ellos trabajan en la vinedo. Eventually, I got to Queenstown and ran into Norah, an IFSA-Butler student who attends a school up in Palmerston North. Next, Hannah, Anna, Alison, and I have a brief catch up before Thomas, the couch surfing host, picked me up.

Thomas works at the river sledging outlet in Queenstown. My couch for the night is a mattress in the back of a van outside the house. Not bad, though it might get chilly. We’ll see shortly. Thomas cooked me a wonderful veggie stir-fry while Kate, his wife/girlfriend(?) was working. She is hoping to start a horse carriage business and I wished her the best of luck after he discusses it from many angles. I showered and had the rare chance to do laundry and did so as there weren’t many changes of clothes in that big ol’ pack. Now to plan tomorrow!

Tuesday, April 13, 2010 Domino!

Woke up after sleeping quite well in the van. After a few minutes of feeling locked out of the house, I pushed instead of pulled the front door. I made some porridge (oatmeal) and folded my laundry and was in a bit of a funk about what to do. It was pouring and I’d wanted to do the 2-3 day Routeburn Trek, one of New Zealand’s great walks. But with the darn heal wound and rainy weather forecasts for the next few days, I wasn’t feeling it. I decided to leave Tom and Kate a note and headed to the DOC to inquire. After looking at all the tramps, I decided that perhaps I should hitch to Te Anau, and from there head to Milford Sound via bus/hitch. But I was in the heart of Queenstown, so I though I should probably bus out of the city to hitch. While waiting for the bus, I texted Domino, a friend from Vassar who is currently JYA in Auckland. The bus came at the same that I received a text back that indicated she was around the corner! We met up at Starbucks and boy did seeing Domino bring me out of that morning funk! She was traveling via campervan with Tomas and Emielle, two study abroad students up at Auckland. There were two more campervans traveling around with them. She invited me to tag along and explained they were headed to Milford that night! Emielle felt like he had work to do so Tomas, Domino, and I headed out the explore Queenstown. We found an underwater viewing station (free!) and saw and eel and some ducks. We then headed to their campervan, Bonecrusher. After driving around and finding a mechanic we finally got their radio working again, which was wonderful as Domino and the others had made fantastic road trip mixes. We drove up to a bird sanctuary where we walked around with audio from cage to cage. It started pouring rain and we hurried inside the Kiwi house for the kiwi feedings. So…I saw a kiwi! Apparently they’re quite aggressive, attacking people during mating season (winter) as well as each other. So why are there so few? Kiwis don’t raise their young (though the male does sit on the egg for 80 days without food!). Also the egg is huge, like a woman giving birth to a 35 lb child! We saw some other birds including the morepork, funny name, and a kea. We also found the Tuatara; a species of lizard that goes back to dinosaurs. They live to be between 100-200 years old and have a third eye in their youth. Very rare and cool! Next we headed to find food! After much indecisiveness we found free fudge samples and eventually food at Frank ‘n Burger, which had HUGE burgers that were delicious. I had one with pineapple and bacon; good combination. We headed back to the fudge place and I bought some tiramisu, chocolate marshmallow, and coconut. We decided to head back and chill inside Bonecrusher. When Emielle was satisfied with his work, we headed to 4 Square to get some groceries and beer. Then we headed out towards Te Anau. Once there we decided not to go much further.

We parked on a campground and made some dinner consisting of rice, beans (my contribution), and sausages! We met up with one of the other campervans and played cards for the rest of the night. Eventually I realized I had to set up my tent outside, but decided against it and slept in the front seat of the campervan. I immediately hit the horn and was a little worried I’d wake up everyone in the middle of the night.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010
(Note: Didn’t journal last four days, just took small notes so this section will probably be more concise…maybe a good thing!)

I didn’t tap the horn! Great success! We camped out next to a lake though we didn’t know it until the morning; a nice surprise. After a quick breakfast, we headed out from Te Anau towards Milford Sound. The drive was gorgeous. Cascading waterfalls and misty mountains surround us on our drive. It was a rainy day, which means…bigger waterfalls!

When we got to the sound everyone was indecisive about what to do so Domino and I decided to leave the rest of the group and catch a cruise around the sound. It came with complimentary hot tea which made the rainy windy day a lot warmer. The waterfalls were huge and Domino and I even spotted dolphins swimming in the distance. The winds were such that I thought about taking off my beloved beaver hat. Sadly, the wind made that decision for me and I watched as it was blown into the water and sucked down by the engine. However…Milford Sound is probably one of the best hat burial spots in the world. I did love that hat, but it was a reminder that strong attachments to personal belongings are a bit silly. Domino and I had a good laugh about it. We eventually made it out of the sound onto the Tasman Sea which was ridiculously choppy. It was a lot of fun! On our return we went under a waterfall…er…Domino and I went under a waterfall and were completely soaked. The staff of the cruise enjoyed watching our silliness as did we…until we realized we we’re freezing.

Back on shore, Domino and I went inside Bonecrusher, changed, and made some soup and sandwiches. We ate like kings and are warmth returned. Eventually Tomas and Emille came back from the same cruise at a later time. They had been trying to go kayaking. After a bit we pulled out and made our way back into Te Anau.

In Te Anau, I got a text from David, the gentleman who picked me up south of Hokitika. He, Aaron, and Daniel were around the corner so I decided to go with them after saying goodbye to Domino. David sought out a place to stay for the night in Te Anau as he was going to run up Daniel to the Routeburn track near Milford in the morning. We found a place to stay and then went out for some food. After having more than enough alcohol the last time, I declined.

We chatted a bit and watched some television and then all headed to bed.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Woke up to find David missing. He’d taken Daniel and let Aaron and I sleep in a little. He was headed to Invercargill for an appointment with one of his clients, and that’s where I was headed hence why I choose to go with him.

We drove through more gorgeous countryside. Somehow it never gets boring. At David’s appointment, he let me use his computer where I checked Vassar classes yet again as well as flights from Dunedin home. They were over 300 NZ, not the news I wanted to hear. But I didn’t plan a way out on purpose. It gave me full flexibility. But right then, I felt not so good about it to say the least. I was headed for Dunedin next to see John, a Vassar grad already working on his PhD in New Zealand! When David came back he asked where I wanted to go and I decided that I wanted to hitch to Dunedin from the unpopular but more scenic route through the Catlins. David dropped me off outside of town. We said our goodbyes and wished Aaron and him a safe trip to Queenstown.

It was quite chilly and I decided to put on some warmer clothes. As I was packing up my bag, a car stopped! Tara and her husband (can’t read my own handwriting…damn!) picked me up. Tara is working towards being a teacher while her husband (or serious boyfriend) works for the city council. They live on Tara’s father’s farm and help him out a lot. Today they were headed there to dredge 2,000 sheep! Dredging involves administering an antibiotic down the sheep’s throats in order to prevent worms. They were also going to administer B-12 to boost immune system for the young lambs. They explained that Tara’s brother was thinking of opening up the farm to Woofing but was not sure if he should or not. I invited myself over to help out and told them they could think of it as a test for Woofing! They agreed and drove me to their farm. Boy was I excited!

We got to their farm and they let me fix some lunch from their fridge. Then they suited me up in waterproof pants, wool, and gumboots. It was raining and miserable weather rise, but I couldn’t help but smile. I strode down to the sheep pens where they had brought in so many sheep! All young lambs, though some had some impressive horns already. Brian, Tara’s father, pulled up in a ATV. To dismount, he picked up his fake leg threw it over the side and then hoped off. I was in awe. Clearly not a man to messed with as he strode toward me. He welcomed by help but it made it clear that I should NOT get in the way. Devon, Tara’s brother, gave me warmer reception. I’m pretty sure they thought I’d want out after an hour or so as I’d mentioned I’d never really been on a proper farm nor worked a day in my life on one. But I was determined. They also were very impressed that my brother is sort of a rocket scientist. They thought I was fibbing, but eventually believed me.

We headed out of the barn where we attached the needles to the B-12 and filled up the dredge container with the antibiotic. My job was simple: move the sheep into a long narrow pen by scaring them with a plastic bag. Turns out…that’s not soo simple. My first attempt had them all running the opposite direction as sheep don’t seem to run the way one would logically run if in fear. Devon helped me out by making some very harsh sounds with his vocals. I followed suit. After an hour of working, I was hollering just like my hosts, moving the sheep a bit better, and my bottoms were covered in a mix of mud and sheep excrement. They kept asking me if I was still enjoying myself and I was and told them so.

There were also three dogs we were working with. They were all very friendly with me and I spent my time in between herding, where Tara, Devon, and Tara’s husband would inject the sheep, playing with the dogs. Eventually I was adept enough at moving sheep to fill some of the larger pens with sheep. It was exhilarating: running around hollering like a mad man while shouting commands to dogs and being pounded by rain. Best fun I’d had so far on my travels.

Two hours in, they asked me if I wanted a lift back to the road. I said I was happy working here for the rest of the day and they caught my subtle hint and invited me to stay the night and feed me some tea (which is dinner, not tea and crumpets). I took a small break to run and get my camera and Tara, who had run back to put on some tea (again dinner), took me back via ATV; another new experience that I thoroughly enjoyed.

After a good five hours of running around and herding I was a bit tired, but the most content I think I’ve ever been. Something about doing work that I enjoy that makes me feel so productive. We changed from the cold, took showers, and were greeted by the best lamb I’ve ever tasted; probably due to its freshness. Served alongside roasted vegetables. It was wonderful. After dinner, I relaxed on the couch. Tara and her significant other(?) went to bed and Devon, who had gone into town for a small errand came back. We chilled for a few more hours before I decided to head off to bed. I had my own private room, bed, and heater. I couldn’t believe I’d have to leave in the morning.

Friday, April 16, 2010

Woke up early as Tara and her s.o. had to get to work. They dropped me off on the main road and it was honestly far too early to hitch. I walked for almost an hour until I got picked up. Kim, a hard working farmer, picked me up. We chatted a bit, but she wasn’t headed very far. She drove me to a nice view and then back to the road. I asked to take her picture, but she objected as she was dirty. So be it.

I got out and walked for an hour or so until I was picked up by Colleen, an elderly woman. She was sweet and was only headed a little ways down the road. I was thankful anyway and she let me snap a photo of her before I got out of her car. We were at a small town (three buildings…maybe) and I refilled my water bottle.

The hitching was horrible. Okay, the hitching was good, but the waiting periods between cars kept increasing. In a span of two hours, I only saw five cars…though the fifth one did pick me up. Matthias and Leonard, from the Netherlands, rearranged their entire back seat so that I had some space to sit. They were very nice, but could only take me about thirty more minutes down the road. I got a nice picture of both of them before walking away.

After another long waiting period, Chris picked me up. He was traveling for a year and was soon headed to some Asian countries before heading all the way home to Germany. He said he might be going all the way to Dunedin, which was good enough for me after three rides that got me less than hour down the road. Chris had an amazing guidebook that listed every single good view, waterfall, and animal life between Invercargill and Dunedin. We frequently stopped to explore waterfalls. His plan was to stop at all of them but eventually decided he’d seen enough. There are a lot of waterfalls. We also stopped at a beach. The beach was beautiful, but better yet there were sea lions present. Apparently they can be quite dangerous. But they looked harmless sleeping so I got quite close to snap some photos. The male noticed and showed me his teeth but remained mostly motionless. We walked down the beach further and found more. There’s sometime amazing about seeing wildlife that’s actually wild, as opposed to like a zoo. After we’d have our fill we headed towards Nugget Point, where a lighthouse stands. Great views and sometimes penguins, but we were too early in the day to see any. We kept driving. I called Flight Center just to see again about flights as I’d seen sometime about one being only 120, but they told me the only ones were 330, so no go. Still no way home and a very large paper due Tuesday that needs serious attention.

We arrived to Dunedin; I thanked him and gave him my fb info as he was a very cool guy. We’ve chatted a bit since, but he’s off traveling with no Internet. In Dunedin I met John by the Otago library, the university there. After seeing some of the university I ran into Keri, a girl from Vassar that I didn’t know to well and had no idea that she was even in New Zealand! After talking with her for a bit we parted ways. We chatted as we headed towards Hell, a pizza place. We got a large Mordor: delicious! Then we headed to a recital as one of John’s friends had his piano recital. I felt a bit out of place wearing tramping gear in a recital hall. His friend was very talented and invited all of us to an after party. After the recital John and I went to computer labs in a chem building and I found a flight from Air New Zealand for only 160 for the next day at 11:00; I couldn’t believe my luck! John and I headed for a store and bought a bottle of Scrumpy to share: cheap cider. We went to the after party and made some small talk with a couple kiwis there before we headed down to the main strip to meet up with Domino, who was also in Dunedin. John and I called it an early night and headed up a steep hill to his flat.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

I awoke and called an airport shuttle. John and I chatted a bit and eventually it was time for me to leave. I arrived at the airport to find no security. Like none. At all! I walked in the airport up an elevator and right to the gate, which has four seats for two gates. Smallest airport I’ve ever seen. When it was time to board we walked outside the gate and up stairs into the tiny plane. It was Air New Zealand so I had some biscuits and tea, naturally.

At the tip of the South Island, I got an incredible view of the mountains. The tip of the South Island looks mystical: misty mountains, sparkling water. Looks like a painting, but it’s real. It was here that I said my goodbyes to the South Island as we crossed the strait back to Wellington.

I landed in Wellington to get the text that Hazel, Briar’s sister, would be able to pick me up. Sweet as! I also arrived to not find my bag. Not so sweet as. I asked some people in the bag office and they were trying to repair my bag, which was never even tagged. They tried to give me crap for not having a tag, but I just took the bag, thanked them and walked away. All of the straps were messed up and I was a bit sad, but I decided I’d pop into Kathmandu later to fix it as well as my boots.

Hazel came and took me back to Welly, where I consumed a large amount of food and lazed around trying to wrap my head around all that I’d done in just two weeks! I was very proud of myself.

My flatmates were nowhere to be found as they were working no a 48 hour film for New Zealand’s big 48 film competition. They’re genre was musical and they did an excellent job. You can see it at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbk3_jd6sdw if you’re keen. I myself don’t even know all the rules, but every film had to have a couple things.

I feel asleep early as I was exhausted. Such a good break.