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Leaving New Zealand Hello all, I am now in Auckland, and leaving New Zealand tomorrow. I am both sad and excited about this. New Zealand has been an excellent playground: I have had a wonderful time here exploring nature, jumping off high platforms, and meeting interesting people. This has also been a great introduction to independent travel - hostels have provided an optimal environment for meeting other travellers, almost everyone speaks English (many with a funny Kiwi accent, and most British speak English quite well for Europeans :), transportation networks are extensive (and hitchhiking is actually safe), accommodation is easy to find, and just about any travel mistake one could make will be fixed easily by tourism professionals. Asia will not provide the same travel luxuries as New Zealand, but promises to deliver beautiful landscapes and good social interactions as well. Particularly exciting to me is the opportunity to experience exotic cultures unlike that of the western world. As I understand, this may require traveling well off the tourist path, as McDonalds and Starbucks seem to have spread their tentacles everywhere these days. All that said, I am very excited (and a bit nervous) to reach Southeast Asia, and if nothing else, I will eat some damn good Thai food in the coming days. Now, on to the stories... I made it to Abel Tasman after 6 short rides, with relatively little wait in between. One highlight was catching a ride in a van where the entire back was a double bed. After taking my shoes off and avoiding the fishing rods, it was quite a comfortable ride. In atypical fashion, I didn't book ahead, and had to sleep in a 18 bed room in a hostel in Marahau where the bathroom was constantly flooded due to poor shower facilities. The next morning, I was outfitted with sea kayaking gear, took a water taxi to the northern parts of Abel Tasman National Park, and kayaked back halfway to Marahau. On our guided tour, we paddled by the Tonga Island Seal Colony and stopped on several beaches. The highlight was seeing two large male seals facing off about 15 meters apart and trying to scare each other off their territory. We also learned firsthand that it is possible to turn four kayaks into a rudimentary sailboat, and that doing so thoroughly douses the front paddlers. That night was spent on a nice hotelboat in Anchorage Bay, on a rainy night with semi-cramped quarters and an excellent barbeque. Nicole Kidman's yacht was also in the bay, and I felt quite self-conscious as she spent all night staring at me through her binoculars. Much of the next day was rainy, yet the hike was still beautiful. The brief sunny periods were amazing, as the golden sand and clear water really sparkled. See the photos. http://www.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=67b0de21b340cc88251c I next made my way to Picton to take the ferry to Wellington. After oversleeping and not catching a ride as quickly as expected, I called the ferry line and was able to change my departure time with only 2 hours before my confirmed ferry. Not only that, I received a five dollar refund for missing my ferry. Travelling in New Zealand really is easy. Seeing the Marlborough Sounds on the ferry ride out of Picton was enjoyable, but I made the mistake of telling a story about catching a ride with a Jehovah's witness minister to some Wellington locals, and happened to be overheard by another Jehovah's Witness, who thought that I needed to learn more about the religion. Wellington was windy. The museum contained all sorts of intellectual exhibits but the real highlight was the model of the black tower from the Lord of the Rings. Also interesting was seeing that while Maori culture has really been embraced in New Zealand (certainly more than any other Western society has embraced indigenous culture), the Maori were not actually the first to live in New Zealand. Originally, the Moriori lived here, but the Maori came in their war canoes and killed most of the Moriori. There were also conflicting exhibits about how the Maori lived close to the Earth, and about how they were very warlike and destroyed land for farming just like Europeans. Also saw a beach volleyball tournament, but there was no chance for any amateurs to play. Saw Return of the King in the Embassy Cinema, and sat in the fancy padded leather seats that the stars sat in during the premier. Had my timing been better, I might have sat next to Liv Tyler. Nevertheless, the movie was fantastic. New Zealand in general, and Wellington especially, has gone completely crazy with Lord of the Rings mania. Almost every ad is LOTR-related, including Cadbury chocolate, several banks, and Mastercard, and it seems that all postage stamps now show LOTR characters. I think the Aragorn stamp is worth the most. At least that's what I would have done if I was in charge. I hitchhiked to Taupo, and it was the longest hitching day I've had. After taking a bus to "the edge" of town, I walked for about one and a half hours to get to an onramp to the motorway - that may have been due to my sense of direction though. Three hours and two rides later, I was finally 20 km out of Wellington. After another long wait, I got a ride in a campervan with a man travelling all the way from Christchurch to Auckland in one day. He had started driving at 4am, so I felt better about my travel day in comparison. He also eclipsed me in travel stories, as he had traveled to Africa with only 200 dollars in cash, all of which had to be given to the authorities for entry, and stories included 3 days in an African jail before being told the reason for captivity. Taupo was one of the highlights of my time in New Zealand. The Tongariro crossing was amazing in the varied scenery on the climb, and definitely the most difficult hike I've ever done. In the spirit of New Zealand superlative marketing, it is considered "the finest one day walk in the world". Mount Ngaurohoe (Mount Doom) was especially difficult, as the loose scree is not ideal for uphill climbing. The weather was favorable during the day, and the cold cloud cover cleared on the way down Mount Ngaurohoe, after the hardest climbing was over and in time to catch amazing views. It was clear why Tongariro National Park was chosen as Mordor, and we considered ourselves quite fortunate to not encounter roving bands of orcs during the hike. The most exciting activity I did in New Zealand was Rock'n Ropes in Taupo. With a rope attached, I and nine other brave souls climbed wooden towers, walked across thin cables and logs, made it to the other side, were astonished we were then supposed to go backwards, succeeded mostly, fell a couple times, and jumped off various high platforms. The trapeze was the scariest, and the hard part was actually standing up on the wobbly pole; after that, jumping was relatively easy. The most enjoyable activity was the giant swing, although while freefalling, I screamed like a girl. Twice. Rock'n Ropes gave me the second best adrenaline rush I've ever had. While not quite achieving the level of skydiving, it significantly surpassed that of bungy jumping. The adrenaline rush lasted about 4 days. Anyone going through Taupo must do this activity. Other activities since then included hiking to Huka Falls, caving in Waitomo, seeing a Maori traditional concert (very cool when they roll their eyes back during the war dance), bathing in hot springs, and walking in volcanic valleys. All were enjoyable, but this email is too long already and I'm getting tired of writing. New Zealand has been wonderful; thank you everyone who has been a part of the experience. Tomorrow I fly to Singapore for 3 days, then I arrive in Bangkok, and a new chapter begins. As always, it's great to hear from so many of you, and I will try (but likely fail) to respond to you individually. I hope you all have happy travels and wish you well wherever you are and whatever you're doing. For those of you who've expressed interest in meeting me in Thailand, the time has come...buy that ticket, and I'll see you soon. As for the rest of you, you should now realize you are part of a psychology experiment to see how much stimulation is required to entice someone to quit a job. The dark side calls to you. Finally, for those new to my email list, rough plans for the next 2-3 months include Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos, and the following 2-3 months hopefully include China, Nepal, and most of Europe. New Zealand highlight photo albums follow. If you want any high-resolution photos, please email me with album name and photo number(s). I will also resend shutterfly albums upon request. Milford Track: http://www.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=67b0de21b35fe665c407
Cheers, |