Happy Holidays from New Zealand.
For those who did not know, I have been In New Zealand since October 14th. This is such a wonderful country, pleasant people and stunning landscapes. I recently had my e-mail hacked and you may have received a non-desirable advertisement. I'm sorry, I have change my password and this should not happen again. New Zealand has been a great experience. Once I arrived in Auckland, I stayed with Jordan, a friend from my time in Florida. She lives in “The Big House” a communal house where 20 people share everything. The house is a great way to meet people and network, the only down side is that every dinner shared by the flatmates is vegetarian. As my diet adjusted, I spent my first weekend playing soccer at Karekare beach, injuring my left big toe in the process. The next day I went to a 18' skiff race that Erwan, one of the big house flatmates was participating in. A 18' skiff is a mono-hull that sails like a windsurfer, except 3 people are hanging on for dear life. I spent the next 2 weeks couchsurfing in west Auckland and volunteering on a boat in Bayswater. The boat I was living on was a 60' steel sailboat that had a steel pipe mast that looked like a oil derrick. We went to Waiheke island for a weekend trip. On board was 17 people, I think that we only had 13 life jackets. Waiheke is a scenic island with many wineries. On the way back to Auckland, the gearbox failed and the boat started going backwards. The captain, Phil tried to set the jib out but the sheets were all tangled up and we were not able to use the sail. We were on our way to crashing into the Auckland Harbour bridge. Phil called Coast Guard NZ, who came to the rescue and towed the boat into the slip at Bayswater Marina. After that I decided to leave the boat.
Marine, a French girl who was on the boat, and I decided to leave and hitchhike south to see the country. We took the train to Popukura, a suburb of Auckland, had Indian food for lunch and walked 2 km to the motorway. We waited for 45 minutes before we had out first ride, a couple of kids on their way to a party. They only took us to the next exit. Our first hour of hitching was not inspiring. In a couple of hours before we knew it, we were in Rotorua, the hot pool capitol of NZ. We spent 2 days in town, I went wall climbing and we went to a natural hot pool outside of town at night. Rotorua is build on top of many natural hot springs, like Yellostone in Wyoming. We hitched to Taupo, the next town south and spent most of the afternoon hiking to the Huka waterfall. There is one hot pool there that goes right into the river, so you can sit in hot water, move to the cold river, and do it over again. Many kids were there doing just that. The next day Marine and I hitched to the east coast city of Napier on Hawkes Bay, a beautiful city. We had Chinese for lunch and decided to continue to Gisborne where my friend Shawn had been working. We had a grueling 5 km walk to get out of the city centre to a good hitching spot. Out first ride was with a hunting guide, then we were dropped in the middle if nowhere, worried, we waited 2 minutes and we had a ride with a agricultural pharmaceutical salesman who was a big rugby fan. Once in Gisborne we waited for Shawn to finish his work so we could travel in his van, in the mean time Marine and I took surfing lessons, she succeeded, but I was a epic failure, much harder than it looks. Mila, another French girl had meet with us and the 4 of us were ready to start a road trip south. We drove back to Napier the first night, bought a $40 tent from The Warehouse department store, and camped together for the first time. We drove to Wellington the next day, Mila decided to leave us, making space for another person. We stayed in Wellington 2 days, going to Te Papa museum, the best museum I have ever been to. And its free! I can only compare it to the Smithsonian. The museum has 6 levels, covers the entire history of New Zealand, agriculture, geology and the national art gallery. Shawn baked pizzas for us the last day in Wellington, he used to own a pizza restaurant in Utah.
Picton on the south island was the next stop. We took the Bluebridge ferry across the Cook Straight. The cost was quite high with the van and 3 people, coming to NZ$75 a piece. We camped near Queen Charlotte Sound one night, Mount Richardson Forest Park for 2 days before meeting our newest rider, Dani in Nelson. Dani is German, but has been living in Austurlia for the past year. The 4 of us tackled the Abel Tasman Track next. We spent 3 days/2 night on the trail. The trail was flat with 2 large tidal crossings, we had to time ourselves to hit the crossings during a 3 hour window during low tide so we could cross. The last day, I hiked to Totaranui to catch a water taxi to Marahau where we had left the van. 2.5 hours of driving through mountains, I reached the camp again. The next 2 days we spend driving south and freedom camping. We arrived in Greymouth on Thanksgiving Day, exactly one week after the mining disaster that killed 29 workers. The town was as dreary as the name suggests. The town streets were deserted and empty. The girls stayed in a hostel and Shawn and I slept in the van. The girls cooked curry for Thanksgiving dinner, not exactly American, but they are from France and Germany and Shawn is vegetarian, so I commiserated by myself. Next we drove along the west coast of the south island, one of the most amazing roads I have ever been on. We camped near Fox Glacier that night. The girls decided to take a tour or Frantz Josef Glacier, while Shawn and I did the 2 day Copeland Treck. The Copeland Treck was much more grueling than Abel Tasman, but after 7 hours of hiking over boulders and tree roots we were rewarded by jumping into natural hot pools while watching the sunset over glaciers. The day after we finished out hike we camped near Haast. At this point were were having many problems with sandflys, especially when cooking dinner on a camp stove. Swarms of them forced us to retreat into the van or the tent. The next day we were in Queenstown, the touristy trap of New Zealand. Everywhere you looked there was a place to bunjy-jump or skydive. The town was crowded with tourist bars. We meet Robin from Vermont ,the newest addition to the van in Queenstown. Out next mission was to tackle the Greenstone Trek. Shawn, Robin and I did the 2 day trek while the girls went back to Queenstown to hang out. The Greenstone Trek was easier than Copeland,but had stunning views. Most of the trail was in a wide grassy valley going up to Key Summit. This is the picture of the lake on top of the mountain. The girls meet us near Milford Sound, but they had forgot to fill up with petrol, and the road to Milford was 100km one way in and one way out with no gas stations. Shawn drove back to Te Anau to fill up, and put an extra 150 km on the van just to get gas. Milford Sound was amazing, mountains that went straight into the water. The village was just a cafe and ferry terminal, somewhat disappointing. Actually Milford is not a sound but a fjord. We drove back to Queenstown, and said goodby to Dani, who had to catch a flight back to Australia to see her boyfriend. The next few days we drove around the countryside, and stoped at the coolest place in NZ, near Arthur’s Pass. Shawn, Robin, and I walked 580 meters through a underground creek. It was pitch black and we were wading up to our waists, but very cool. At one of our last campsites, a English couple invited the 4 of us for pancake breakfast in the camper-van. Apparently we looked tired and helpless, and they felt sorry for us. The hospitality of everyone I have meet here has been incredible. Robin caught a ride with the English couple and Shawn, Marine and I drove to Christchurch. The city of Christchurch had a devastating earthquake in September, but it was hard to notice much damage. Christchurch is a very British looking city, with a cathedral square in the middle and many old school buildings and churches in the city. Once in Christchurch, Marine flew to Auckland to start a new job, and Shawn and I spent 2 more days in the city before I flew to Wellington. I spent another 4 days in the capitol before returning to Auckland.
Picton on the south island was the next stop. We took the Bluebridge ferry across the Cook Straight. The cost was quite high with the van and 3 people, coming to NZ$75 a piece. We camped near Queen Charlotte Sound one night, Mount Richardson Forest Park for 2 days before meeting our newest rider, Dani in Nelson. Dani is German, but has been living in Austurlia for the past year. The 4 of us tackled the Abel Tasman Track next. We spent 3 days/2 night on the trail. The trail was flat with 2 large tidal crossings, we had to time ourselves to hit the crossings during a 3 hour window during low tide so we could cross. The last day, I hiked to Totaranui to catch a water taxi to Marahau where we had left the van. 2.5 hours of driving through mountains, I reached the camp again. The next 2 days we spend driving south and freedom camping. We arrived in Greymouth on Thanksgiving Day, exactly one week after the mining disaster that killed 29 workers. The town was as dreary as the name suggests. The town streets were deserted and empty. The girls stayed in a hostel and Shawn and I slept in the van. The girls cooked curry for Thanksgiving dinner, not exactly American, but they are from France and Germany and Shawn is vegetarian, so I commiserated by myself. Next we drove along the west coast of the south island, one of the most amazing roads I have ever been on. We camped near Fox Glacier that night. The girls decided to take a tour or Frantz Josef Glacier, while Shawn and I did the 2 day Copeland Treck. The Copeland Treck was much more grueling than Abel Tasman, but after 7 hours of hiking over boulders and tree roots we were rewarded by jumping into natural hot pools while watching the sunset over glaciers. The day after we finished out hike we camped near Haast. At this point were were having many problems with sandflys, especially when cooking dinner on a camp stove. Swarms of them forced us to retreat into the van or the tent. The next day we were in Queenstown, the touristy trap of New Zealand. Everywhere you looked there was a place to bunjy-jump or skydive. The town was crowded with tourist bars. We meet Robin from Vermont ,the newest addition to the van in Queenstown. Out next mission was to tackle the Greenstone Trek. Shawn, Robin and I did the 2 day trek while the girls went back to Queenstown to hang out. The Greenstone Trek was easier than Copeland,but had stunning views. Most of the trail was in a wide grassy valley going up to Key Summit. This is the picture of the lake on top of the mountain. The girls meet us near Milford Sound, but they had forgot to fill up with petrol, and the road to Milford was 100km one way in and one way out with no gas stations. Shawn drove back to Te Anau to fill up, and put an extra 150 km on the van just to get gas. Milford Sound was amazing, mountains that went straight into the water. The village was just a cafe and ferry terminal, somewhat disappointing. Actually Milford is not a sound but a fjord. We drove back to Queenstown, and said goodby to Dani, who had to catch a flight back to Australia to see her boyfriend. The next few days we drove around the countryside, and stoped at the coolest place in NZ, near Arthur’s Pass. Shawn, Robin, and I walked 580 meters through a underground creek. It was pitch black and we were wading up to our waists, but very cool. At one of our last campsites, a English couple invited the 4 of us for pancake breakfast in the camper-van. Apparently we looked tired and helpless, and they felt sorry for us. The hospitality of everyone I have meet here has been incredible. Robin caught a ride with the English couple and Shawn, Marine and I drove to Christchurch. The city of Christchurch had a devastating earthquake in September, but it was hard to notice much damage. Christchurch is a very British looking city, with a cathedral square in the middle and many old school buildings and churches in the city. Once in Christchurch, Marine flew to Auckland to start a new job, and Shawn and I spent 2 more days in the city before I flew to Wellington. I spent another 4 days in the capitol before returning to Auckland. 
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