New Zealand: Part Two
January 8, 2010 was a great day! Gina and Ali made it home safe and Carolyn arrived to New Zealand without a hitch. It was tough to say goodbye to my travel mates (including Sunny, our jewel of a rental) but when I spotted Carolyn at the Picton Terminal, I instantly was reassured that the second chapter of this Kiwi adventure was going to be just as wonderful as the first. After exchanging a much anticipated hug, Carolyn and I hopped into our new flashy, purple ride and drove this little car into the big world!
We traveled down the east coast line at high sun and all we could do was gawk over the views. I had driven this path the first week in NZ and found it to be nothing extraordinary due to the gloomy overcast, but I am so thankful that Carolyn and I took the trek for a second time. Seeing this coast line with blue skies and sunshine rays painted me a completely new picture that changed my first impression. It makes me stop and think how many times I pass up a place or pass up a person because I don’t see them on a sunny day. Kaikoura lesson: first impressions don’t always paint the full picture.
We arrived to Albatros hostel with no agenda but it did not take us long to fill our next 24 hours with sights to see. The lovely couple who owned the hostel suggested a few “must see” hiking trails so we took them up on their word. When we started the trek we were in the center of the trendy little beach town and within 30 minutes we had reached an absolutely beautiful overlook.
I have learned on this trip to ditch Lonely Planet Guide and trust the locals!
Shortly after hiking back to our hostel, Carolyn and I jumped on board a boat tour that brought us out to see dolphins in their natural habitat. To be honest, I had low expectations and assumed we would see 15-20 little creatures swimming around. Needless to say, I was gitty when our boat parked in the middle of over 300 Dusky Dolphins. Without feeding or caging the dolphins, this tour guide led us to a pod of acrobats. Everywhere we looked we saw back flips and nose dives. It was incredible!
Being the curious George that I am, I asked Andy, our charming tour guide, why these 8 foot Dusky Dolphins flip and turn as if they are showing off. He said there are a few theories 1) they are showing their territory within their pod 2) they are showing off their strength for mating and 3) they do it just because they can. I think I like #3 the best because if I could, I certainly would! Overall, our Dolphin excursion was another natural wonder that I will certainly chalk up as a highlight in NZ!
After letting our rolling stomachs settle from the rocky boat ride home, we jumped into our flashy purple ride and headed back north towards Nelson. Instead of mastering the south island for a second round, Carolyn and I decided to stick to one region and stay in places for a longer length of time. Nelson was our next stop.
Throughout our time in New Zealand, we have been staying in hostels. We search for them online in advance and pay a small fee to hold our reservation. We make our decision based on the rating that other travelers have given it on hostelworld.com. Thankfully, we have had great success with all the hostels we have stayed in thus far. Every hostel has its own flare and style but our experience at the Golden Lodge in Nelson tops them all.
As we drove up to 193 Milton street just on the edge of the city center, Carolyn and I looked at each other and both agreed this could not possibly be our hostel- it was a large Victorian home that sat on the bluffs overlooking the Tasman Bay. We drove past the address in search for another 193 Milton street… No luck! We later turned around and sheepishly walked into this house wondering if this could possibly be our hostel. To our surprise, we had arrived. It was BEAUTIFUL! With Chandeliers in every room, we felt a bit under dressed in our 3 day old outfits but they welcomed us with warm arms. It was the best $28 dollars I ever spent on a hostel room!
There is a lot that I love about traveling half way across the world but I would have to say meeting other travelers trumps them all! One of my greatest joys is simply sitting around a dinner table, listening to the stories of people’s adventures and sights they have seen across the world. When Carolyn and I arrived to Golden Lodge we walked into the dining room and found a table full of travelers from Germany, Austria, France and Australia, all talking over a bottle of red wine and chocolate cake. I was in my glory! That night I met new people who challenged me in my thought, encouraged me on my path and shifted my narrow perspective. This is why I travel!
The morning of January 11th, Carolyn and I headed north to a small town called Motueka to finalize our Abel Tasman Trek. Abel Tasman is the smallest national park but is known as a beach fringed jewel. Hands down this was one of the most anticipated days on my trip. This area is only accessible by foot or boat so we decided to spend 2 days exploring with a combination of hiking, kayaking, and cruise boat. In a short amount of time, we managed to tackle a large portion of the Abel Tasman coast starting in Kaiteriteri and ending near Tonga Island. I would compare this experience to trekking the villages in Cinque Terra Italy (minus the villages of course).
The narrow trails were covered by thick rainforest cover which led you to white sandy beaches and outlook points. Simply a taste of heaven!
After we wrapped up our day hiking in Abel Tasman, we found an extra burst of adrenaline and decided to keep moving north to Golden Bay. We jumped in our purple ride and started to zig-zag up a mountain towards a town called Takaka. What we didn’t expect was a rain storm to follow us up the mountain. As we climbed the narrow roads with our little car, we soon realized we were driving further and further into the clouds. It was one of the most nerve racking drives of the trip but also, the most memorable. When we reached the top of the mountain, we looked down and saw the storm below us. It was wild!!
After an hour of climbing up and down the mountain, we reached Takaka. It was an adorable hippie town painted in bright colors and dressed in dreadlocks. We grabbed a frozen custard, found a benched and spent the afternoon people-watching. It brought me back to my days of people watching on State Street in Madison!
Our last and final day on the south island was celebrated well…real well. Carolyn and I jumped on the Bubbly Grape wine tour and visited 6 vineyards throughout the Marlborough region. We saw a wide variety of vineyards ranging from large, more corporate productions to small, family run estates. I personally have a heart for the ma and pop shops and fell in love with a little vineyard called Bladen. It was a quaint 20 acre family run shop.
Te Koko was my favorite white wine and Nobilo- Pinot Noir topped the chart for my pick of red. After many swirls, sniffs and samples of vino we said our final cheers to a great week of travels and waded our way, with tingly legs, through the chocolate factory in Blenheim! Quite possibly, a perfect day!
January 14th, we packed up our flashy ride, sent it back to its home (Ace Rental) and sailed north on the Islander Picton ferry. We had a 6:00am flight in Wellington to return home. It was a tough reality to accept that the 15 hours of daylight and 70 degrees of sunshine was coming to an end. It is common for Europeans to take a leave of absent from their jobs for 6 months to a year to travel. Employers will hold their job position until they return. This, my friends, is one area where America has missed the mark. 2-3 weeks of vacation a year? ugh! This is simply crazy talk to most people outside the USA bubble. As easy as it would be to grumble, I am extremely grateful for the time that I was allowed to travel with my close friends, half way across the world, to experience a new land, a new culture and new story to be told.
New Zealand was a place I had only dreamed of visiting until a cheap flight from Virgin Australia flashed across my laptop screen. With a glass wine in one hand, and my best friend by my side, we couldn’t pass it up. And by golly, we are so thankful we didn’t let it slip away because it was a trip of a life time!
Today, I am back in St. Paul, back to work and back in my routine. Thank you for your prayers and encouragement throughout our 3 week voyage. I feel very blessed to have had such smooth and safe travels. Cheers to a ‘sweet as’ 2010 full of ‘heaps of bloody fun’!
