Friday, December 16, 2005
DAY 106: New Zealand
New Zealand was a great way to finish up the international portion of our trip (here we come Hawaii!!). While we have both been excited to get home, New Zealand presented us with so many things we wanted to see and do, that we barely even remembered what we're missing in the US (I am craving some Xmas music and cheer). After long debates, (some might prefer the term "arguments",) we decided to spend time on both the North and South Island.
We were warned in Australia that the Kiwis are "crazy", and in the extreme-sport sense of the word, we would have to agree. There are hundreds of things that you can pay for to defy death in this country where bungee and base jumping originated. And of course, Leslie and I hoped to take advantage of a few of them (and that's not even counting the drives through winding mountain passes)! Imagine the possibilities offered in a land where adventure sport guides don't have the threat of lawsuits influencing their decisions... yes, it's quite exciting.
On the North Island, we flew into Auckland, but went straight to Waitomo Caves for the glowworm caves that we had heard so much about. There, we spent the day bundled in wetsuits, rapelling into a cave, where we tubed down the black water (so aptly named since you're in the pitch black) marvelling at the thousands of bioluminescently-endowed magots on the cave ceilings, and then rock climbing back out. A pretty amazing experience, and it definitely sounds better using the word "glowworm" instead of "magot". We, or I should say "I", then went to experience Miori culture and view geysers and boiling mud pools in Rotorua, while Leslie slept in the car in a parking lot.
The next day we flew down to the South Island to partake in some high adreneline sports and a four day roadtrip taking in the scenic views. We went directly to the Franz Joseph glacier on the west coast, dressed in our winter gear and crampons (obviously borrowed), and went mountaineering on the ice. We saw amazing ice landscapes, crevasses and did some adventurous hiking. Our guide was quite a character, a glacier expert/ballet dancer who was definitely sporting some purple thong underwear for our hike. And though he was very skilled, after lunch as we were hiking around the glacier and climbing up a cave, while he leaned out to secure a hand rope for us to follow him, he took a 13 foot fall, including a hard hit to the head and an ice pick to the hand. That basically ended our day of mountaineering, but we have PLENTY of amazing pictures (as well as some gross mental ones). We then drove to Lake Wanaka, where Leslie attempted to satisfy her adreniline craving by skydiving, only to find out that the weather was not on her side. Instead, we spent about 5 hours at Puzzling World, where we raced through the life size maze (despite a rough start, I beat Leslie by a strong 3 minutes), went to various optical illusion rooms, and spent hours trying to work through various games in the cafe. After various attempts by the "puzzle professionals" to help us with certain puzzles, we caved in and requested hints, finished up, and headed back on the road up to Christchurch where a plane took us back to Auckland for our flight back to the US.
While we definitely enjoyed the adventure sports New Zealand had to offer (dodging birds on the highway included, I must apologize to the one bird less fortunate, but survival of the fittest stupid bird!), the scenery was even more amazing: snow capped mountains, glittering ponds and hills covered in sheep. It was almost surreal in its magestic beauty. Choosing New Zealand as the setting for sci-fi "Lord of the Rings" definitely didn't require a stretch of the imagination.
The last 10 days of our trip will be spent in Hawaii, back in the good old US of A. As Hawaii is part of the US, and as we are already way behind in updating the blog as it is, and furthermore as it is beginning to take on the feelings associated with homework, we have decided to leave that portion of the trip up to your imagination...
Happy Holidays! Merry Christmas! And Happy New Years! We look forward to communicating with you all by phone in the future!
Congratulations! You have read the novel that is our blog. You have passed the friendship test and will be quizzed at a later date!
We were warned in Australia that the Kiwis are "crazy", and in the extreme-sport sense of the word, we would have to agree. There are hundreds of things that you can pay for to defy death in this country where bungee and base jumping originated. And of course, Leslie and I hoped to take advantage of a few of them (and that's not even counting the drives through winding mountain passes)! Imagine the possibilities offered in a land where adventure sport guides don't have the threat of lawsuits influencing their decisions... yes, it's quite exciting.
On the North Island, we flew into Auckland, but went straight to Waitomo Caves for the glowworm caves that we had heard so much about. There, we spent the day bundled in wetsuits, rapelling into a cave, where we tubed down the black water (so aptly named since you're in the pitch black) marvelling at the thousands of bioluminescently-endowed magots on the cave ceilings, and then rock climbing back out. A pretty amazing experience, and it definitely sounds better using the word "glowworm" instead of "magot". We, or I should say "I", then went to experience Miori culture and view geysers and boiling mud pools in Rotorua, while Leslie slept in the car in a parking lot.
The next day we flew down to the South Island to partake in some high adreneline sports and a four day roadtrip taking in the scenic views. We went directly to the Franz Joseph glacier on the west coast, dressed in our winter gear and crampons (obviously borrowed), and went mountaineering on the ice. We saw amazing ice landscapes, crevasses and did some adventurous hiking. Our guide was quite a character, a glacier expert/ballet dancer who was definitely sporting some purple thong underwear for our hike. And though he was very skilled, after lunch as we were hiking around the glacier and climbing up a cave, while he leaned out to secure a hand rope for us to follow him, he took a 13 foot fall, including a hard hit to the head and an ice pick to the hand. That basically ended our day of mountaineering, but we have PLENTY of amazing pictures (as well as some gross mental ones). We then drove to Lake Wanaka, where Leslie attempted to satisfy her adreniline craving by skydiving, only to find out that the weather was not on her side. Instead, we spent about 5 hours at Puzzling World, where we raced through the life size maze (despite a rough start, I beat Leslie by a strong 3 minutes), went to various optical illusion rooms, and spent hours trying to work through various games in the cafe. After various attempts by the "puzzle professionals" to help us with certain puzzles, we caved in and requested hints, finished up, and headed back on the road up to Christchurch where a plane took us back to Auckland for our flight back to the US.
While we definitely enjoyed the adventure sports New Zealand had to offer (dodging birds on the highway included, I must apologize to the one bird less fortunate, but survival of the fittest stupid bird!), the scenery was even more amazing: snow capped mountains, glittering ponds and hills covered in sheep. It was almost surreal in its magestic beauty. Choosing New Zealand as the setting for sci-fi "Lord of the Rings" definitely didn't require a stretch of the imagination.
The last 10 days of our trip will be spent in Hawaii, back in the good old US of A. As Hawaii is part of the US, and as we are already way behind in updating the blog as it is, and furthermore as it is beginning to take on the feelings associated with homework, we have decided to leave that portion of the trip up to your imagination...
Happy Holidays! Merry Christmas! And Happy New Years! We look forward to communicating with you all by phone in the future!
Congratulations! You have read the novel that is our blog. You have passed the friendship test and will be quizzed at a later date!
# posted by Mer and Les @ 2:36 PM 
