The last leg of my overseas journey!! Simone was able to take another 3 weeks off to join me yet again on my adventures. We arrived on the north island Feb 16th( I think) and spent the day in Auckland. We ate sushi for the first of many dinners here in New Zealand yummy!~
The next day we flew to Christchurch to start our outdoor adventures!! I met a guy from Christchurch while I was in Nepal so he picked us up on Friday to take us on a back country hike to some hot springs. It was a 8 hour hike up to a hut with 3 hot pools! BEAUTIFUL!! The only problem was the sandflies, our first and not last encounter with the very hungry buggers!
A stop on our way to Fox glacier
Craig leading the way up to the springs
The Rivers were amazing!! So clean and so BLUE!!!
Oh- And yes we are carrying our stuff for the first time. NO porters in New Zealand
Oh- And yes we are carrying our stuff for the first time. NO porters in New Zealand
The natural Hot Pools! Lots of mud and sandflies
Abel Tasman National Park
After our adventure riding and wine tasting we headed up to Able Tasman NP! We were to go kayaking the next day for 2 days and camp along the way. This of course depended on the sea conditions. We decided to move our departure date back one day to avoid wind and rain.
So the morning of our depture we had a 4 hour lecture on how to use our sea kayaks and what to do when the winds change, how to read the sea conditions and how to rescue your partner if you flip, etc...... At one point during this talk I looked over at Simone and she had the look of fear on her face. I might not have mentioned that this would be the first time for both of us to take sea kayaks out without a guide. No worries, right? Well Simone looked worried but I reasurred her that everything would be just fine we could do it! I of course had no clue what to expect but was hoping for the best! I asked the instructor how long it would take us worse case to get to the first camp site.. well he said "worst case" 6 hours.. Guess what it only took us about 2 hours. We were so bummed we thought we were in for a long workout and we were a bit disappointed when we arrived in 2 hours. It was all good this meant some beach time and swim time! All good. The next day we paddled up to the next camp site which was suppose to take us 4 hours and again it only took 2 hours so we coutinued up the coast for another few hours to explore some other remote beached. The water was so clear and so blue!!! I don' t know that I can ever go in the ocean in La Jolla again. It just won't be the same. On the 3rd day the boat came to pick up our kayak and we walked out for 4 hours to pick up a water taxi to take us back into town! This was one of my favorite places in NZ! very peaceful and very clean. A bit of everything in one location.
Walking out back to the water taxi
Our lunch stop on a remote beach!
Nelson Lakes
After our adventure in Abel Tasman we headed to Nelson Lakes NP. We stayed in a cute little backpackers house and went out to the lake for sunset that evening. The next day we did a 7 hour hike around the lake. We think it was like 18 miles or so! A beautiful walk but very long. I was so exhausted at the end of the day. Nelson Lakes was very low key. If I return I will do some back packing here. Lots of hikes out into the hills.
MT. Cook Area
Sometimes you make choices on your travels that you may regret.. well going to Mt. Cook was one of those for me. I was really keen on going to see the tallest Mountain in NZ. We called a backpackers from Nelson Lakes to find out how long it would take us to drive there. We were told about 8 hours and take the scenic route on the west coast. Well after about 10 hours and we were still about 3 hours away from Mt.Cook Simone and I were done being in the car and everything was starting to look the same! "oh look another beautiful glacier lake" We haven't seen one of those in the past 2 hours. =)
Once we finally reached Mt.Cook we arrived to pouring rain and no visibility! So.. something we could have done without! we spent 2 nights here and a day at the Edward Hillary museum. At least we got some education out of this adventure. The one picture I have is of the Lake we slept on! On the way out the sun started to come out. Yes..another beautiful Lake!
Sometimes you make choices on your travels that you may regret.. well going to Mt. Cook was one of those for me. I was really keen on going to see the tallest Mountain in NZ. We called a backpackers from Nelson Lakes to find out how long it would take us to drive there. We were told about 8 hours and take the scenic route on the west coast. Well after about 10 hours and we were still about 3 hours away from Mt.Cook Simone and I were done being in the car and everything was starting to look the same! "oh look another beautiful glacier lake" We haven't seen one of those in the past 2 hours. =)
Once we finally reached Mt.Cook we arrived to pouring rain and no visibility! So.. something we could have done without! we spent 2 nights here and a day at the Edward Hillary museum. At least we got some education out of this adventure. The one picture I have is of the Lake we slept on! On the way out the sun started to come out. Yes..another beautiful Lake!
Milford Sound
The famous Milford sound.....
Simone I headed here after a stop over in Queenstown. we booked a day sea kayaking on the sound. This area reminded me of Yosemite Valley but filled with water. They had rain the past 10 days here so the waterfalls were flowing. The day we arrived it was crystal clear and not a cloud in the sky! Amazing.. maybe the trip to Mt.Cook was good. We spent 2 nights in the sound which I guess is unusual beacasue there isn't much to do. Well we did the kayaking and then went on a hike on the Routeburn trail. We were unable to do any overnights due to it being booked out but will when we return. I have never seen a country so kitted out for backpackers. Amazing.
Simone I headed here after a stop over in Queenstown. we booked a day sea kayaking on the sound. This area reminded me of Yosemite Valley but filled with water. They had rain the past 10 days here so the waterfalls were flowing. The day we arrived it was crystal clear and not a cloud in the sky! Amazing.. maybe the trip to Mt.Cook was good. We spent 2 nights in the sound which I guess is unusual beacasue there isn't much to do. Well we did the kayaking and then went on a hike on the Routeburn trail. We were unable to do any overnights due to it being booked out but will when we return. I have never seen a country so kitted out for backpackers. Amazing.
Dunedin
Our last stop before heading back to Christchurch where we say our goodbyes...
We headed to this beach called Sandfly beach, which is not called that because of the sandflyies but because of the wind and what it does to the sand! We were in search of yellow belly Penguins but due to the wind we decided to forgo the search. Next time maybe.
We headed to this beach called Sandfly beach, which is not called that because of the sandflyies but because of the wind and what it does to the sand! We were in search of yellow belly Penguins but due to the wind we decided to forgo the search. Next time maybe.
All good things come to an end!!!!
On March 9th I made my way back to the states. I landed in LA the morning of March 9th and headed straight to my good friends Anne and Steve! I spent a few days in LA before heading to Chicago to get my car and start my drive west!
The past 7 months have been amazing! I am so grateful for this journey I have taken and the joy I have felt in my life. I look forward to sharing it with you all and I look forward to my next adventure.. A move to Australia. I will keep you posted as I know more and when this will happen. Lots of love to you all!
The past 7 months have been amazing! I am so grateful for this journey I have taken and the joy I have felt in my life. I look forward to sharing it with you all and I look forward to my next adventure.. A move to Australia. I will keep you posted as I know more and when this will happen. Lots of love to you all!
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