New Zealand is COMPLETE

The grand finale!

Our final destination in New Zealand was the financial capital of the country, also called Auckland. Every country has a city like this. Over populated compared to the rest of the country, arrogant, and mindless of fellow country men. To put it into perspective, the population of NZ is 4 million. Auckland has more than a quarter of this population.

People often compare this city to Vancouver, BC and in some ways it does have similar characteristics but in other ways it is VERY different. We found it to be the most cosmopolitan city in the country and a change from the many sheep, deer and cows we've been seeing for a while.

Though our time was limited in this city, we made the most of it by checking out the local surf and my personal favorite: taking the ferry across to get a glimpe of downtown Auckland as well as the famous volcanoe that is now dormant.

A VERY SPECIAL thanks to Xavier and family for putting us up and driving us to the airport in the wee hours of the morning.

- the loneasian

To the End of the World or is it the Beginning?

This may look like just another ordinary lighthouse, but wait, there's more than meets the eye. This is Cape Reinga. The MOST NORTHERN TIP of New Zealand!

We started in the Southern island 25 days ago and now we feel the journey is practically complete. The drive seems like you are heading to the end of the world because of 2 reasons.

To get up there we need to first make our way down 90 mile beach either by sand or road depending on how crazy you feel. Now I do need to mention that rental cars WILL NOT cover you if you do enter the sand terrain no matter what excuse you can provide.

Once you make your way past the beach, you are then left with another hour trek on unpaved road driving up and down cliffs that have no railings on either side. Once you get to this area, it is worth the wait.

This was the first time I have ever seen 2 oceans meet each other in full stride. The Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean. There is a significant distinction between the two as the Pacific tends to be darker blue while the Tasman has a lighter shade of blue/green.

Not only was this a special place for us to visit, it was also a sacred place for the Maori people. This would be where they would bring their dead and have them sent to the next world where the ocean lay.

We truly felt lucky to be there to witness such a historical and breathtaking view.

- the lone asian

Bay of Islands

As we now make our way up north, we drive right through Auckland and head to a place called the Bay of Islands.

You don't need to be a rocket scientist to realize why this is called that. Surrounded by several islands, it makes for a very picturesque place to visit. We unfortunately finally ran into some weather problems. Rain, ocean swells, clouds and a bit of wind didn't make for the best of conditions. I did however decide to take a cruise out to the famous landmark called the "hole in the rock". If you ever hear about the Bay of Islands, this is the one thing associated with this area therefore I decided to go for a visit and take this picture. Enjoy!



- the lone asian

Surfing in NZ

Though our new passion this past year has been surfing, we were not crazy enough to enter into the frigid waters of New Zealand during their winter months. Plus we didn't have RAW with us.

Nonetheless, we felt it was our duty to at least go and visit as many surf sites as possible. The best one and most famous being Raglan on the North Island. This black sand beach boasts one of the worlds best left hand turn waves for any surfer wanting to try.

Sledging

Yes folks, this is what its all about!

Hopping on a specialized boogie board and floating down the white water rapids with nothing but a set of fins and a helmet. Some people may think that it is insane and dangerous, but I reply "danger is my middle name".

Still in the town of Rotorua, I now find myself on the Kaituna river which possesses the highest commercialized waterfall in the world (standing at 7m). Because I was doing a combo package, I begin the morning going on a grade 5 waterwater rafting trip. The highlight being the waterfall and let me tell you, it did not dissappoint. As we all hang on to dear life, the boat begins to descend into the unknown abyss. We soon find ourselves submerged for a couple of seconds before regaining our orientation and continuing along as if nothing just happened.

Next was to do the same river on a sledge. Unfortnately (or perhaps fortunately), the guides would not allow us to go down the 7m waterfall as there has been too many accidents that have happened on it. We start at the base of the falls and make our way down the river. The initial feeling of fear due to the little protection we had was soon overcome by excitement building up as we went down each rapid.


We even took it a step further and jumped back on the rapid going the other way and maintaining an equilibrium on the standing wave. It felt like a defining moment for me as I was able to surf this wave for a significant amount of time considering this was my first attempt.

In the end, I now understand why the "Amazing Race" deemed this the best activity in all the places they went to...

- the lone asian

Maori Culture

Just to add a bit of culture to our travels, we thought it would be important to learn as much as we could about the local customs. What better way to do it then to participate in a traditional Maori feast...

Before I explain our story, I need to provide you with a bit more background of the Maori people as they were the first people to come to New Zealand and settle. They traveled from the polynesian islands. The Maori people are often known as Great Warriors who protected what was theirs and have maintained their history and beliefs to this day. They are also the ones who came up with the Hakka. An ancient chant that called on the gods to give them strength in their time of battle. It would often be performed prior to any fight as it is used to intimidate their opponents. Today, however, it is used only in New Zealand rugby matches as well as a form of entertainment.

Our story will begin and end with the "Hongi feast".

The food is prepared by the natural steam coming from the earth and will be buried there for at least 3 hours. While we wait for the feast, we are welcomed by the tribes to watch performances by their fellow tribesmen. Before they begin the performance however, the crowd must appoint a chief to represent the "tribe of several nations" and pass the test of Friend or Foe.

I thought this would be the best time to test out my leadership skills, therefore volunteered myself to become the Chief. It was not an easy task to represent over 300 people, stand in front of the tribes as they check you out and finally having to give a speech to the opposing Chief. It did have its rewards though as we had front row seats to the entire performance, I was able to keep the piece offering that was presented to my people and of course first dibs on the food when it arrived.

It was the best feast we had eaten thus far in New Zealand. The entertainment was top notch and we did go home learning quite a bit of Maori culture.

Agrodome

We now find ourselves in Rotorua. Home of the geysers, hot mud pools, thermal baths and a whole lot of stink. No joke folks, there is a unique smell to this town that isn't close to roses...

But forget all that because it has the Agrodome. An adventure seekers delight. Choose anything from bungy jumping, speed boating, zorbing, sky diving (simulation) canyon swinging and many more.

We decided to start out with the Zorb and work our way up. For those who don't know, a zorb is a big (okay, perhaps gigantic) plastic ball in which you find yourself in the middle of. Once there, they push you down a hill and let gravity do the rest. Oh, and to add a bit of a twist, they fill your area with water just to make it interesting.

Though it didn't last as long as you would have liked, it was a great ride overall. Completely safe to do it, you have the option of pairing up or going solo.

Once that was done, the next event I participated in was the simulation free fall. Produced by a giant wind tunnel, the point of the ride was to see how long you can fly for as you would when you jump out of a plane. The only difference is that this is 3 metres from the ground as opposed to 10,000 feet.

"peter pan, eat your heart out"

Mt. Doom

For all you Lord of The Rings fans, this entry is for you!

It's called the Tongariro Crossing. Three mountains/volcanoes all lined up in one row and in between all of them are glacier and crater lakes. This was the scene of Mordor or more specifically Mt. Doom. Though it doesn't look exactly the same as its covered in snow these days, it's shape resembles the exact location where the ring of power was created.

Folks, forget the fact that this is New Zealand's pride and joy. Forget that this is considered the greatest day hike in the WORLD! This is where THE RING of power was created!

Okay, so I digress. Though it is one of the greatest day hikes to trek through, we were 1 month too late in this journey as winter conditions did not allow for people to step foot on the famous track. Nonetheless, there was still plenty to see in this area and being blessed with yet another spectacular day of sun, we weren't about to sulk over this oversight.

We ended up doing another hike that took about 6 hours long to a crater lake in between Mt. Doom and it's partnering mountain. The entire time we did the hike, I felt as if we were Frodo and Sam making the journey back as the terrain had several similarities to the movie and I felt it was neccessary to carry a "make shift" sword just in case we ran into Orcs.

Waitomo Caves

The town of Waitomo is situated about 2 hours north of the Egmont region. It's claim to fame is the natural glow worm caves and nothing more. Several other companies have piggy backed on the several tourists that come to this area but in the end, its the worms that steal the show.

Though you have several companies and ways in which to enjoy this natural wonder, we decided to do a bit of everything which includes abseiling, rafting on an innertube and rockclimbing up the cave. It begins with a 35 ft abseil into the bottom of a cave with a river flowing through it. We pick up our inner tube and begin hiking upstream. About 20 minutes later, we are instructed to hop on the tubes and away WE GO!

As we take a leisure ride down the river, we soon find ourselves in a cave with thousands of glowing dots all around us. It felt as if we were in Disneyland again as it looked like a bunch of stars. As amazing as this ride was becoming, it dawned on us that as romantic as this picture was, it was still thousands of worms hanging on top of us waiting to spread its eggs.

Chalk it up to New Zealand for providing us with yet another unique experience that can only happen due to its climate and natural habitat.

- the loneasian

HOLY SHEEEEP!

Up until now, we have made little mention to how much sheep there are in this country.... until now.

The population of New Zealand is around 4 million people. The amount of sheep in this country is recorded at over 30 million! That's alot of wool to go around. Since arriving in this country, we have been pretty fortunate not to fall asleep at the wheel with all the bloody sheep we've been counting! Here are some ways in which we have experienced them....












- the lone asian

Mt. Taranaki

Our first stop in the North Island was the Egmont region. On one side you had a surf coast, while moving a bit more island you have an old dormant volcanoe also known as Mt. Taranaki.

The fascinating aspect of this mountain is that it is completely in solitude. There are no mountain ranges or other smaller ones around it. It truly stands out on its own. If you look at it close enough, some people may say that it emanates a feeling of dominance to the region or perhaps others see it as the areas protector.

Whatever one you choose, it is truly a magnificent sight to see when its at its best. We were "again" fortunate enough to have great weather. Upon our arrival, there were small clouds in the air, but by noon, they had burned off and we saw the pull peak.

This was the mountain that stood in as Mt Fuji in the Last Samurai.

- the lone asian

The Cross Over

As many of you already know, New Zealand is made up of 2 islands; the North and South. As we have now completed the South (as much as our time had allocated), it was off to the North for the whole new adventure.

Our journey would have us cross the ocean on a ferry with our one and only campervan. The journey to the port was amazing! It was called the Queen Charlotte passage and it was very similar to the ferryride from Vancouver, BC to the Victoria Islands.

The only glitch we ran into was during the ride across. As soon as the boat hit the open waters, we soon learned what the term "sea sick" meant. Waves coming from all angles, as well as wind, rain did not make for a comfortable ride. The crew did their best by providing us with entertainment only I don't think "Finding Nemo" was the best way to get our minds off being in the ocean. What was suppose to be a 3 hour ride ended up being 4.5. Where we ended up docking, we needed a two tug boats to push us in as the winds kept up in Wellington.

The good news, we made it to the North Island, more specifically Wellington which is the capital city of New Zealand.

Abel Tasman

Named after one of New Zealand's early explorers, the Abel Tasman area is situated at the north western tip of the South Island. Does that make sense?

It's a place that most Kiwi's will tell you they go during their holidays as it boasts some of the finest beaches in the country. Not only that, but there are several hikes to do that will often have you grabing the "green rush" as they put it because of the vegetation that grows out there.

In order to get to several of these hikes, you will need to take a water taxi up to one end and hike all the way back. (that is, if you are short on time)

We decided to allocated a day to this cause and were ambitous in wanting to complete a 5-6 hour hike. Once we passed the seal colony, the taxi boat dropped us off and we were on our own for the rest of the day. The hike itself was nice but perhaps not as spectacular as they had pumped it up to be. In the end, there was no "green rush" or perhaps we didn't find it. We did enjoy the hike, though it probably wasn't our most favorite. Our suggestion would be to experience it for yourselves if you have the chance. If not, its not the end of the world.

Where's the Maple Syrup?

After an amazing time at the glaciers, we were ready to move on to the next adventure. But before we get to it, we stopped along the way at a place called Punakaiki which was home to the "Pancake Rocks".

The rock formation literarly looked like a stack of pancakes ready to be eaten. This natural wonder was formed through millions of years of geological evolution. Sand, dirt and whatever other sediments you can think of are piled on top of each other and pressed down by the pressure of the ocean water to compress.

The best part of this however, was when the waves came crashing through, it would eventually spout out at another end as if it were a whales blowhole. It was truly amazing the power of the waves and how it was able to spit out water over 30 metres high.

- the lone asian

got ICE? or maybe just a PICK?

Driving up the westcoast of the south island in New Zealand brings us to the two famous ice glaciers named Fox and Franz Josef. The latter being the larger of the two, however once you are on the glacier itself, "ice is ice".

There are several ways you can enjoy this natural marvel depending on how much time you have, how much you want to spend and how crazy you really are. We decided to settle on doing an ice climb on Fox Glacier.

The morning began with a bright blue ski (again, not a common phenomenon in this part of the country). It was only the two of us that was going to participate in this event (with of course, a guide). Forget warm ups or gradually easying us into this sport. The first wall we were put on would be the hardest of the day as there was a slight overhang at the top which we needed to climb past. Therefore, we were given a set of ice pics and a pair of foot claws then we strap ourselves onto the rope and away we go.

We can't tell you what a unique experience this was. It felt as if you were in Superman's fortress of solitude trying to climb to the top. Though it was physically challenging at times, when you finally reached the peak of each wall, it felt as if you conquered another part of nature. In total we did 6. My personal favorite was when I was dropped into a hole of ice where a part of it was a waterfall. It was my task to climb out of that hole if I wanted to go home.

Nine hours later, we were exhausted yet satisfied. Though it did eventually rain while we were up there, it did nothing to dampen our spirits. Another tick on the "things to do list" before we pass on and a big thank you to the glacier for having us on board.

- the lone asian

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