Saturday, May 5
We got good rest that is until about 7 or so when all our neighbors went bananas making noises. Singing, talking, sneezing, showering…annoying! Turns out these were some of the country music singers and they were a whole big group of teenagers. Ugh.
When I left the room to get something from the car, the whole lot of them were seated around some tables gabbing loudly over breakfast. They said good morning but I couldn’t hardly muster eye contact with these people.
Josh and I were ready in a flash and we checked out at 5 past 8. A sign said reception would not open until 8:30. We left our key in a ledger on a chair behind the desk and off we went. I took a picture of the hostel and was glad that God had gotten me through my one night there. I told myself it was only one night and that it would be better in the morning. Feeling well enough rested if slightly annoyed by the noise, Josh and I were off to grab some breakfast before heading to Charleston.
We went to the New World and bought some apples, more chocolate granola bars, and we got some egg and bacon and spinach and feta quiches heated up from the bakery. We also grabbed a bag of chips and we were out.
We reached Charleston on time and finished a granola bar. As we finished, Marilyn, a cave receptionist lady drove up and told us to meet her inside to register when we were ready. We filled out a paper form then met the other woman, Rose from Ireland, who was joining us on the tour. It was only going to be the three of us on this trip…a good start but we all remember how the ATK thing went.
Our guide, Ray, showed up and he reminded Josh of Bob Steinmiller from HSU. After paying and putting our valuables in the safe, we went to the shed out back for our gear. We got wet suits, booties, shoes, gloves, hand paddle thingies, life vests and a bag to put all our gear in. We loaded up in a shuttle van and headed down the road.
Once we were into the forest, we stood on a train platform while Ray took a key to unlock the train that was situated inside a large metal box at the end of the train track. The train came out and in we went after taking a picture. While we rode in the train, Ray provided commentary about the flora and the fact that the BBC just taped The Lost World here. It was kinda like riding the shuttle tram in Silver Dollar City.
At the end of the track, we disembarked and opened our gear bags to put everything we needed on. Josh looked hilarious in his BRIGHT ORANGE wet suit. Too funny! We were outfitted and photographed before walking into the forest to get our inner tubes. Tubes in hand, we crossed a suspension bridge, climbed 117 steps and reached the mouth of the cave.
Man, I hate caves. All I could think about was earthquakes. It was really cool though being on what was essentially a private tour though. We learned a lot and Ray had a lot of good stories. He even explained the whole earthquake thing which was FASCINATING. Basically, it just depends on where the epicenter of the earthquake is located how the cave will respond. People have even been on tours when there were earthquakes! Hoped not us!
Awesome cave formations and rooms…we even turned off all our helmet lights at one point and it was insanely dark I was about to panic it was absolute darkness…pitch black. But we were really here for the glow worms and the tubing. We got to that part, learned about the glow worms then set off in the dark with their green lights shining above us. Magical. Nothing like it. Awesome. Incredible. Remarkable. Too cool for words.
Then, I lost one of my paddle glove thingies but Ray managed to find it for me. Good on ya mate. We paddled a bit outside before hopping out of the tubes to get to the rapids part. Wicked. Josh went down first and did it totally perfect. I went down backwards and so did Rose. We then continued downstream with smaller rapids interspersed. It was so cool!!! This rules!!!
Then, we were done. Out of the water, put the tubes up, change your clothes, train ride and shuttle bus ride back to the station. What a day – What an adventure!! Highly recommended and much better than ATK! Ray gave us drink vouchers so we all got a hot chocolate after unloading the gear and ourselves.
Marilyn had the pictures for us to look at and said they’d be online for a while. She printed off some small pics for us to take with us. We were done around 2 which was an hour later but Ray said he’d told us a lot of stories. It was a good day and we had a great time.
Here's a link to some of our photos: http://www.caverafting.com/showset.asp?folder=2007-05-05_UR_Morning
Back on the road towards Westport, raining again and fog. We were headed to Hanmer Springs which was about a 3 hours drive away. Josh said we’ve definitely not had good weather this trip. I said that overall, when it mattered to have good weather, we’ve had it. Like it was raining when we were going down the rapids but it didn’t matter since we were wet anyway.
We left the old area of Westport behind (billboard signs so unfortunate: Want Switzerland: See Queenstown, Want New Zealand: See Westport or Want England: See Christchurch, Want New Zealand: See Westport). I mean, these are very clever signs, however, I wouldn’t want to think of Westport as what New Zealand towns really are. Ugh.
Rainy road, fog, fog, rain, etc. Not much to see or do so no stopping. Besides, our cell phone is dead and we have to make it to the next hostel by 6 pm (or call for arrangements if late). The sun finally starts to break free in the late afternoon and we have some great views of ice blue water and mountains while driving. Josh and I are both a little drowsy but make it into Hanmer Springs without a problem.
We actually went into town rather than making the early turn to come to the hostel and avoiding town. This town, or “village” as the girl at the hostel who checked us in called it, has a much more happening vibe than the depressing, industrial, downtrodden feel of Westport. I plan to go out for dinner in town tonight. We realize that we’d gone too far into town so we backtrack and find the hostel easily enough in a residential area. Another couple checks in ahead of us but we are quickly taken care of, pay, and our shown our room (soooo much nicer than the Trip Inn and it only cost $6 more) and the public areas. We left our big suitcases in the trunk again tonight.
Our room is in a duplex of sorts. It’s our room (a double ensuite for $60) and next door is a twin room. It all looks new: paint, carpet, bedding, etc. Very cute and nice. When we read that bedbugs have been found in Kaikoura and Christchurch, however, we get nervous. We always have a look now at bed linens and check the mattresses as best we can. Golly, I sure don’t want bed bugs!!! Yikes!
Josh and I took a hot shower and then decided it’d be better to make the rest of the spaghetti to use the leftover sauce. Josh went to get the food started while I finished getting ready. I joined Josh but the water in the pot took so long to boil. I made a hot tea while we waited. When the food was finally ready we both sat at the long picnic table in the kitchen with other strangers and had dinner. We thought this spaghetti tasted better than the last time we made it. Really good.
Then, we watched some more tv and were able to catch the American Idol results show…what a waste because they didn’t kick anyone off this week! I made a coffee for me and a HOT chocolate for Josh (he’d burned his tongue earlier today on his free hot chocolate). We headed to the room after AI and Josh and I uploaded the pictures to the laptop. I wrote in the travel journal while Josh read Harry Potter.
It’s now 12:05 am and we plan to wake up at 8:30. That should be nice…seriously hope there’s no bed bugs in this place…Josh is majorly sweating in bed tonight with only the sheet on so I’ll turn off the oil heater. Man, you should have seen how bad the poor guy was sweating in his wet suit before we got into the river. Toting his tube, bending over in the cave all while wearing a wet suit really took it out of Josh but he did a great job!!
Tomorrow’s plan is to enjoy the thermal pools here in town and then to drive to Kaikoura. Let’s have another day or two or three without rain, mate!
Saturday, May 12, 2007
May 4
Friday, May 4
Josh and I woke up early enough this morning around 7:30ish and got going to a beautiful sun shining day. We made some hot tea and Josh made us grilled ham and cheese sandwiches. Burnt sandwiches...but still good. Then we took our final outdoor showers and finished up the packing we’d started the night before. Check out time was at 11 am.
We were ready with the house tidied up at 10:00. We were on the road again but it was hard to leave such a peaceful place. We left the keys in the door as we’d found them because no one had told us what to do when we left.
We drove down the hill towards Motueka when it HIT ME! We had forgotten to pay the credit card bill online AGAIN this month! What day was it? Was there still time to avoid the late fee? Josh and I decided to pop into an internet place to take care of the bill. I reminded Josh that we needed to pay the bill while we were still in Palmerston North but like usual, we’d forgotten because we hadn’t done it right then and there while I was saying it.
So, in Motueka we see a sign at the Video Ezy place saying they have the internet for $2 for 30 minutes…seemed fair enough. We took in our own laptop so we didn’t have to put credit card info on a public computer. We got the system sussed out fairly quickly and then looked to paying the bill. Thank goodness New Zealand is a day ahead. It looked like if we paid the bill right then, it would post the following day in the States and not be late…could have been a close one.
Then, Josh and I checked our gmail account and saw that many people had written back. We still don’t have the Lake Tekapo accommodation worked out, our last stop before the Ashburton Rotarian couple’s house, but we’ll get there.
We were onto the road by 11 am and driving through Vermont-in-the-autumn type scenery. It was very pretty with all the leaves changing colors. Driving, driving, not so bad at first as there was no major mountain pass.
Josh and I decided to pull off at a place that said one of the Nelson Lakes was only 11 kms down the road. Well, when we got about half way down the road, there was roadworks…and there didn’t seem to be any hurry to let traffic through. We had a lot to do today so we said we couldn’t do it all and we turned back to the main road. On the way, we stopped at the outdoor toilet which was just filthy with bugs. I could handle a quick go at it, however, Josh held out until we reached the gas station in Murchinson.
After Murchinson, the road to Westport got crazy and the rain began to fall once again. Twists and turns as per the New Zealand standard were everywhere. There were a few one lane bridges thrown in for good measure, however, the thing that really impressed us was when we saw a sign with a speed limit and one lane bridge sign followed by a sign we’d never seen before. The sign was fluorescent yellow and said REDUCE SPEED. Having never seen that sign before, I told Josh he’d better follow that advice.
Good thing he did too, because we came across something we’d never seen before. It was a one lane ROAD around a sharp bend in the mountain above the river below. This turn even came with MIRRORS so you could hopefully detect oncoming traffic. Crazy! I told Josh to honk the horn as an extra precaution but he didn’t.
No one was coming, and the road straightened out a bit after that. We pulled off the road to look at a waterfall going into the river. Cool.
More driving until we finally make it to the outskirts of Westport. By this point, Josh and I had been teasing ourselves with the thought of McDonald’s so we made a plan. First, we’d check into the hostel. Then, we’d get gas, grab lunch, and drive out to the Pancake Rocks. If we had time, we’d squeeze in the Seal Colony too. Check.
Driving into Westport, it was obvious. This place is a crap town. Industrial and just one main drag through town with uninspiring shops lining the road. We find the hostel, the Trip Inn, easily enough. It looks nice from the outside, like a large Victorian bed and breakfast.
When we walk into the dark house, there is no one at reception so we ring the bell as per the written instructions. We hear a lady walking downstairs. We say hi and get a slight hi in response. This is Lois, the owner. Not so friendly. We introduce ourselves, show her the email confirmation, she finds us on her room diagram, Josh asks if they are full (it’s Friday night) and she says pretty full because there are country music awards in town this weekend. We pay, get a key, and are given the house tour. She did seem a bit wary of us driving the 45 minutes out to the Pancake Rocks given that it was nearly 3 pm. We figured there was still plenty of daylight.
There’s a laundry, communal kitchen, communal living area, bedroom (room 11), and bathrooms. Our room is essentially a bed, one night stand, a built in small dresser and a closet. Not the smallest room we’ve stayed in. What the place lacks in character it makes up with old lady smell.
Out the door to see the sites, we leave the house behind us. We buy some gas and Josh asks the gas girl of good places to eat in town. We decide to not buy lunch out (we’re informed there is no fast food at all in Westport). We eat apples from the cottage and granola bars.
On our way to the Pancake Rocks, we drive through Charleston which is where we are going tomorrow for the Underworld Cave Rafting. It’s a real small town.
The coastal drive to Punakaiki is out of this world. The views are just Awesome. I kept saying, “No way” and “Oh my gosh.” Especially when you consider that it had started to rain again and there was a heavy fog. All this ended when we reached the car park of the Pancake Rocks so it was really perfect timing.
The Pancake Rocks are just awesome and the walking track around them highlights some really incredible aspects of the rocks. The ocean and coast were lovely to view as well since the sun was just starting to peek through as it was setting. We really loved this site. And, it was free! The gift shop closed at 4:30 though so Josh was a bit bummed. I used the toilet and we were off to try to see the Seal Colony and Taraunga Bay.
On the drive back toward Westport, I called the cave rafting people to confirm the reservation for the following day. The cell phone was in and out of range but I got the message across and the guy said there’s another lady who’s glad you’re going. I didn’t know what that was all about but we were on our way to see the seals.
We took the turn toward the bay and Josh said we were chasing the sun. Daylight was fading quickly. We made it to the car park (we were the only ones there) and then after reading a sign that said the seal colony area was a ten minute walk away, we broke into a run to go see the seals.
It was so cool! The seals were on this rocky little island. You couldn’t see them at first because they blended in so well to the rock. After your eyes adjust, however, you can tell that there are black things moving and those black things are seals. There were so many little teeny tiny ones and Josh, after reading the sign, told me that it is “pup growing season.” Cool. I love the baby seals.
We watched them until the sunlight was almost gone and then we headed back to the car. We were getting hungry at this point and planned to eat out in Westport for dinner. Into Westport, we saw a yellow house restaurant but it was empty so we thought that couldn’t be a good sign. Then, we checked out Portabello’s which the gas girl had recommended. It looked more like a sleazy bar. We saw a Chinese takeaway place (Golden Horse Chinese Takeaway) that had some people in it so we walked down there.
As we were looking at the menu, more people came in to order. Okay, we’ll get take away and return to the hostel to eat. It took forever to get our food that place was so hopping with take aways. Ridiculous. The phone ringing, the workers, the customers sitting and standing in the too small entrance either waiting to pick up food or to order it. We hoped the food would be good. While I waited, Josh walked down to the gas station to buy cold Diet Coke as it was cheaper there than at the take away place. Finally, our food was ready and we had enough time to make it back to the hostel to get set up and to watch American Idol.
While Josh got our things settled into our room (we didn’t bother taking our huge suitcases in) I put the take away food onto plates and poured us Diet Coke in glasses. I felt like being here was part of being in a cult. Also, I felt it was really weird for people to be in a space together (like a communal kitchen) and not to talk to each other…essentially just ignoring the other person’s existence completely. Strange.
Dinner prepped, we sat down just in time for our show. Sweet and sour chicken and fried rice were really good. We also had the greasiest “spring rolls” which were beefy but totally good…if you could get over the grease. We looked at some brochures for the cave thing and the heli hike which we will be doing for some more info. Josh had no idea about the cave rafting details so he is excited and thinks it will be neat. I, at these moments, always wonder why I signed us up for this in the first place. I hate caves.
After washing the dishes and getting a last few things out of the car, we go to our room. Apparently, it’s bed time for most everyone else except that they just stand out in the hallway and talk. Josh and I put in earplugs but still they squawk. I truly do not understand how people can be so inconsiderate. Hello, Josh and I whisper to each other. Why can’t other people be as courteous? They must know how thin the walls are. Josh and I read our books and discovered that one of us could plug in the electric blanket as there was only one switch. I took it and it was so nice and cozy.
Around 10:15 people went to sleep (but I had already had to leave my room to go the bathroom and intentionally given the three older women gabbing in the hallway a dirty look. We set the alarms for 7:15 because we needed to be in Charleston by 8:45 to check in for our trip. We decided against showers since we’d be in the water in the morning anyway.
It was a mostly quiet night with a few people getting up in the middle of the night for the toilets (which were right next to our room). The water lines made heaps of noise but I feel that by going to sleep around 10:30, we were able to get some good rest.
Josh and I woke up early enough this morning around 7:30ish and got going to a beautiful sun shining day. We made some hot tea and Josh made us grilled ham and cheese sandwiches. Burnt sandwiches...but still good. Then we took our final outdoor showers and finished up the packing we’d started the night before. Check out time was at 11 am.
We were ready with the house tidied up at 10:00. We were on the road again but it was hard to leave such a peaceful place. We left the keys in the door as we’d found them because no one had told us what to do when we left.
We drove down the hill towards Motueka when it HIT ME! We had forgotten to pay the credit card bill online AGAIN this month! What day was it? Was there still time to avoid the late fee? Josh and I decided to pop into an internet place to take care of the bill. I reminded Josh that we needed to pay the bill while we were still in Palmerston North but like usual, we’d forgotten because we hadn’t done it right then and there while I was saying it.
So, in Motueka we see a sign at the Video Ezy place saying they have the internet for $2 for 30 minutes…seemed fair enough. We took in our own laptop so we didn’t have to put credit card info on a public computer. We got the system sussed out fairly quickly and then looked to paying the bill. Thank goodness New Zealand is a day ahead. It looked like if we paid the bill right then, it would post the following day in the States and not be late…could have been a close one.
Then, Josh and I checked our gmail account and saw that many people had written back. We still don’t have the Lake Tekapo accommodation worked out, our last stop before the Ashburton Rotarian couple’s house, but we’ll get there.
We were onto the road by 11 am and driving through Vermont-in-the-autumn type scenery. It was very pretty with all the leaves changing colors. Driving, driving, not so bad at first as there was no major mountain pass.
Josh and I decided to pull off at a place that said one of the Nelson Lakes was only 11 kms down the road. Well, when we got about half way down the road, there was roadworks…and there didn’t seem to be any hurry to let traffic through. We had a lot to do today so we said we couldn’t do it all and we turned back to the main road. On the way, we stopped at the outdoor toilet which was just filthy with bugs. I could handle a quick go at it, however, Josh held out until we reached the gas station in Murchinson.
After Murchinson, the road to Westport got crazy and the rain began to fall once again. Twists and turns as per the New Zealand standard were everywhere. There were a few one lane bridges thrown in for good measure, however, the thing that really impressed us was when we saw a sign with a speed limit and one lane bridge sign followed by a sign we’d never seen before. The sign was fluorescent yellow and said REDUCE SPEED. Having never seen that sign before, I told Josh he’d better follow that advice.
Good thing he did too, because we came across something we’d never seen before. It was a one lane ROAD around a sharp bend in the mountain above the river below. This turn even came with MIRRORS so you could hopefully detect oncoming traffic. Crazy! I told Josh to honk the horn as an extra precaution but he didn’t.
No one was coming, and the road straightened out a bit after that. We pulled off the road to look at a waterfall going into the river. Cool.
More driving until we finally make it to the outskirts of Westport. By this point, Josh and I had been teasing ourselves with the thought of McDonald’s so we made a plan. First, we’d check into the hostel. Then, we’d get gas, grab lunch, and drive out to the Pancake Rocks. If we had time, we’d squeeze in the Seal Colony too. Check.
Driving into Westport, it was obvious. This place is a crap town. Industrial and just one main drag through town with uninspiring shops lining the road. We find the hostel, the Trip Inn, easily enough. It looks nice from the outside, like a large Victorian bed and breakfast.
When we walk into the dark house, there is no one at reception so we ring the bell as per the written instructions. We hear a lady walking downstairs. We say hi and get a slight hi in response. This is Lois, the owner. Not so friendly. We introduce ourselves, show her the email confirmation, she finds us on her room diagram, Josh asks if they are full (it’s Friday night) and she says pretty full because there are country music awards in town this weekend. We pay, get a key, and are given the house tour. She did seem a bit wary of us driving the 45 minutes out to the Pancake Rocks given that it was nearly 3 pm. We figured there was still plenty of daylight.
There’s a laundry, communal kitchen, communal living area, bedroom (room 11), and bathrooms. Our room is essentially a bed, one night stand, a built in small dresser and a closet. Not the smallest room we’ve stayed in. What the place lacks in character it makes up with old lady smell.
Out the door to see the sites, we leave the house behind us. We buy some gas and Josh asks the gas girl of good places to eat in town. We decide to not buy lunch out (we’re informed there is no fast food at all in Westport). We eat apples from the cottage and granola bars.
On our way to the Pancake Rocks, we drive through Charleston which is where we are going tomorrow for the Underworld Cave Rafting. It’s a real small town.
The coastal drive to Punakaiki is out of this world. The views are just Awesome. I kept saying, “No way” and “Oh my gosh.” Especially when you consider that it had started to rain again and there was a heavy fog. All this ended when we reached the car park of the Pancake Rocks so it was really perfect timing.
The Pancake Rocks are just awesome and the walking track around them highlights some really incredible aspects of the rocks. The ocean and coast were lovely to view as well since the sun was just starting to peek through as it was setting. We really loved this site. And, it was free! The gift shop closed at 4:30 though so Josh was a bit bummed. I used the toilet and we were off to try to see the Seal Colony and Taraunga Bay.
On the drive back toward Westport, I called the cave rafting people to confirm the reservation for the following day. The cell phone was in and out of range but I got the message across and the guy said there’s another lady who’s glad you’re going. I didn’t know what that was all about but we were on our way to see the seals.
We took the turn toward the bay and Josh said we were chasing the sun. Daylight was fading quickly. We made it to the car park (we were the only ones there) and then after reading a sign that said the seal colony area was a ten minute walk away, we broke into a run to go see the seals.
It was so cool! The seals were on this rocky little island. You couldn’t see them at first because they blended in so well to the rock. After your eyes adjust, however, you can tell that there are black things moving and those black things are seals. There were so many little teeny tiny ones and Josh, after reading the sign, told me that it is “pup growing season.” Cool. I love the baby seals.
We watched them until the sunlight was almost gone and then we headed back to the car. We were getting hungry at this point and planned to eat out in Westport for dinner. Into Westport, we saw a yellow house restaurant but it was empty so we thought that couldn’t be a good sign. Then, we checked out Portabello’s which the gas girl had recommended. It looked more like a sleazy bar. We saw a Chinese takeaway place (Golden Horse Chinese Takeaway) that had some people in it so we walked down there.
As we were looking at the menu, more people came in to order. Okay, we’ll get take away and return to the hostel to eat. It took forever to get our food that place was so hopping with take aways. Ridiculous. The phone ringing, the workers, the customers sitting and standing in the too small entrance either waiting to pick up food or to order it. We hoped the food would be good. While I waited, Josh walked down to the gas station to buy cold Diet Coke as it was cheaper there than at the take away place. Finally, our food was ready and we had enough time to make it back to the hostel to get set up and to watch American Idol.
While Josh got our things settled into our room (we didn’t bother taking our huge suitcases in) I put the take away food onto plates and poured us Diet Coke in glasses. I felt like being here was part of being in a cult. Also, I felt it was really weird for people to be in a space together (like a communal kitchen) and not to talk to each other…essentially just ignoring the other person’s existence completely. Strange.
Dinner prepped, we sat down just in time for our show. Sweet and sour chicken and fried rice were really good. We also had the greasiest “spring rolls” which were beefy but totally good…if you could get over the grease. We looked at some brochures for the cave thing and the heli hike which we will be doing for some more info. Josh had no idea about the cave rafting details so he is excited and thinks it will be neat. I, at these moments, always wonder why I signed us up for this in the first place. I hate caves.
After washing the dishes and getting a last few things out of the car, we go to our room. Apparently, it’s bed time for most everyone else except that they just stand out in the hallway and talk. Josh and I put in earplugs but still they squawk. I truly do not understand how people can be so inconsiderate. Hello, Josh and I whisper to each other. Why can’t other people be as courteous? They must know how thin the walls are. Josh and I read our books and discovered that one of us could plug in the electric blanket as there was only one switch. I took it and it was so nice and cozy.
Around 10:15 people went to sleep (but I had already had to leave my room to go the bathroom and intentionally given the three older women gabbing in the hallway a dirty look. We set the alarms for 7:15 because we needed to be in Charleston by 8:45 to check in for our trip. We decided against showers since we’d be in the water in the morning anyway.
It was a mostly quiet night with a few people getting up in the middle of the night for the toilets (which were right next to our room). The water lines made heaps of noise but I feel that by going to sleep around 10:30, we were able to get some good rest.
May 3
Thursday, May 3
Today was a do nothing day…just the way we like it actually. We woke up early enough to get a good start to wherever we wanted to go (if we wanted to go somewhere). Josh got up before me and when I walked into the kitchen he said he found something for us to do. Something Hole or another…a granite thing part way over “THE MOUNTAIN.” Dah dah dah. No one wanted to drive over the mountain again.
I suggested the Nelson Lakes but it seemed silly to drive down and then come back up around to Motueka again since we had one more night in the place. Eventually, like the house in Lake Taupo, we decided that anywhere we went would not have as good of a view as the place we were at so Josh made us up a fire and we were content to hang out in the cottage all day.
We love the cottage and we played a game of monopoly. Setting a one hour time limit was definitely the trick to having a fun time. Josh dominated the first game. Then we were on our own to do some reading.
We made a spaghetti lunch and a scrambled egg dinner trying to use up the groceries that we’d bought. Both meals were good. We also played another game of monopoly in the evening which I won but Josh’s feelings got hurt when I could contain my laughter when he consistently had a string of bad luck and he had to pay me money. I couldn’t help it though…it was really funny!
Again, we love this cottage and I kept saying I didn’t want to leave and Josh asked if we could extend our stay. Well, I’d love to stay but I am also excited to see what tomorrow and the rest of the trip holds for us. I know the next two places (hostels) will not be as nice or as private as this place so I’m trying to prepare myself. Heck, we don’t even have a en suite bathroom at the next place.
I finished my book “Making Babies: Stumbling Into Motherhood” which was an okay read but definitely do not see why the Irish authors gets heaps of praise…parts of the book I didn’t even understand, but maybe that’s because I’m an American. I started reading my “Live Strong” book written by cancer survivors, however, every story I read I start to hurt in the place where that person had cancer and I can’t take the thought of getting cancer so it’s definitely a hard read before going to sleep. Psychologically, it’s easier though than reading Stephen King’s The Tommyknockers out here (just barely) so that’s what I do.
Josh and I set the alarm for 9:30 but say we’ll try to get an earlier start so that we can see more stuff tomorrow with the big drive we have to Westport.
Today was a do nothing day…just the way we like it actually. We woke up early enough to get a good start to wherever we wanted to go (if we wanted to go somewhere). Josh got up before me and when I walked into the kitchen he said he found something for us to do. Something Hole or another…a granite thing part way over “THE MOUNTAIN.” Dah dah dah. No one wanted to drive over the mountain again.
I suggested the Nelson Lakes but it seemed silly to drive down and then come back up around to Motueka again since we had one more night in the place. Eventually, like the house in Lake Taupo, we decided that anywhere we went would not have as good of a view as the place we were at so Josh made us up a fire and we were content to hang out in the cottage all day.
We love the cottage and we played a game of monopoly. Setting a one hour time limit was definitely the trick to having a fun time. Josh dominated the first game. Then we were on our own to do some reading.
We made a spaghetti lunch and a scrambled egg dinner trying to use up the groceries that we’d bought. Both meals were good. We also played another game of monopoly in the evening which I won but Josh’s feelings got hurt when I could contain my laughter when he consistently had a string of bad luck and he had to pay me money. I couldn’t help it though…it was really funny!Again, we love this cottage and I kept saying I didn’t want to leave and Josh asked if we could extend our stay. Well, I’d love to stay but I am also excited to see what tomorrow and the rest of the trip holds for us. I know the next two places (hostels) will not be as nice or as private as this place so I’m trying to prepare myself. Heck, we don’t even have a en suite bathroom at the next place.
I finished my book “Making Babies: Stumbling Into Motherhood” which was an okay read but definitely do not see why the Irish authors gets heaps of praise…parts of the book I didn’t even understand, but maybe that’s because I’m an American. I started reading my “Live Strong” book written by cancer survivors, however, every story I read I start to hurt in the place where that person had cancer and I can’t take the thought of getting cancer so it’s definitely a hard read before going to sleep. Psychologically, it’s easier though than reading Stephen King’s The Tommyknockers out here (just barely) so that’s what I do.
Josh and I set the alarm for 9:30 but say we’ll try to get an earlier start so that we can see more stuff tomorrow with the big drive we have to Westport.
May 2
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Well, it rained all night…and by rain, I mean the hardest hitting wet stuff on the tin roof ever. I thought in my quasi sleep as I was coming in and out of dreams that the house was going to slip off the mountain. The house didn’t fall off but, man alive, was it a lot of rain!
By 7:30 in the morning when the alarms started going off, the sun was out and bright and shiny. Awesome. Josh and I got ready following the printed off check list I found from the Abel Tasman Kayak company online. T shirt, warm shirt, shoes to get wet, shoes to walk/hike in, swimming suit, towel, etc. Basically, a lot of gear.
We finished off the last of the doughnuts we’d bought and Josh washed up two apples to take as a snack. I grabbed the bananas to have for breakfast and we were off by 8:25 or so and we’d wanted to leave at 8:30 at the latest. So, we were good.
Down the mountain. Down Swamp Road…a different Swamp Road out of Brooklyn area. Then, although we had thought it was correct to turn right and get into the town of Riwaka…it turned out that we were wrong. We were driving past an elementary school and came to another road that thankfully said NO EXIT. That’s how we figured out we were going the wrong way and that where we had turned right at on the road we really should have turned left.
So, we backtracked keeping an eye on the clock thinking it was going to be close for our making the 9:15 departure time. We saw the signs for Marahau (our departure town) and took a shorter mountain pass to reach the town than the pass we drove through yesterday. That was a good thing.
We found Marahau but not ATK. At least not on our first pass through town. ATK is actually outside of town 100 meters past the end of the beach. We did find it, however, and we still arrived 5 minutes early. There were people getting set up in all their gear in front of us while we parked and got our stuff situated.
When we went to check in at the counter, the girl said we’d been upgraded. I was not happy. Unlike getting an upgrade on a flight, which you know means business or first class, you don’t know what your “upgrade” is going to consist of on a tour like this. So, I gave the girl and unpleasant look I’m sure and said, “I guess we have no choice.”
She explained that our original tour only covered this small area (showing us on a map). With our upgrade, we got to take a water taxi out to a different bay and see “better” stuff like Seal Island. Josh asked if there was more kayaking involved or anything but there wasn’t (and really, what choice did we have as we’d already paid?)
We had to wait for the bus to drop off the other two people who were coming on the tour with us. While we waited, we picked out some water shoes to wear and some thermal tops. Our kayak guide Ryu (Japanese immigrant who came to NZ about 10 years ago) showed us on a map our “upgraded” trip reminding us that we’d paid $105 for our experience and the trip we were getting to take was valued at $170. Ryu also said the shuttle bus was notorious for running late. Great…and, as predicted, late it was.
By the time our two other kayakers, a Japanese tourist couple, it was already after 10:00. We loaded up all our gear into a “water taxi” which was really a big catamaran and off we went down the road to the beach being pulled by a farming tractor. There were about 12 other people onboard the water taxi and most of them seemed to be taking the boat as a shuttle between different bases so they could hike. There we a couple of loud talkers who went on about all they’d seen and done while traveling in NZ.
We backed the boat into the water and off we went over large swells…it was mostly fun and not overly nausea inducing like the mountain road yesterday. We were dropped off at Torrent Bay, our guide and the four of us. Everyone else was going on to different beaches to be dropped off. We helped unload all the gear from the water taxi and then we were standing on the shore ready to learn about how to kayak.
But first, the guide had to show us where the toilet was. Then, we had to learn about the different kayak hatches and all the safety precautions… a “Lovely Johnny” is the loop shaped cord that you want to grab hold of to release you from the kayak if you capsize…good thing to know. Next, we had to learn how to put all our gear on…like a spray skirt, jacket, life vest, hat. Okay, now we had to learn how to paddle correctly while on the land. And I have no coordination.
Not to mention, all the while, we are being EATEN ALIVE to the point of bleeding by little sand fleas and mosquitos!
Can we finally get going? It’s lunch time (noon) and we hadn’t had tea or even put the kayaks into the water yet and our day was ending around 3:30. Ryu gave us a couple of chocolate/peanut butter cookie things which despite my hate for peanut butter I devoured.
So after further instruction on how to properly leave the beach, we kayak out, easily enough and no worries. We head out past a rocky island just fine. Then we learned some more signals like “raft up” and “stop.” The guide intermittently spoke English and Japanese.
We decided to go forward to Seal Island to see some seals, however, about 5 minutes later, we saw two seals on a rock jutting out into the sea and that would have to do for us. The tour guide told us that the Japanese tourists couldn’t go on and I’m sure he told them, yeah, the Americans can’t go on. In truth, Josh and I were holding up quite well and Josh was really giving the paddling the what for and I told him I was proud of him for doing a great job. Ryu paddled closer to the rocks and the seals to take some pictures for us and we talked to Fumiko and Hiroshi.
So, we turn around and head straight ahead for a place called Anchorage Bay or something like that. We made it there without a problem since the waves were pushing us in the right direction and the wind was helping us out too. The scenery was great, however, we don’t really feel like we saw that much. As it turned out, the Anchorage place was our lunch stop and our only stop before returning to Torrent Bay to be picked up by the water taxi.
As we landed on the beach, I got out first and then Josh got out. Well, Josh tried to get out. Josh’s leg had fallen asleep while he’d been crammed up in the kayak (Ryu had even made Josh practice seeing if he could fit in a standard kayak before our departure from the ATK base that morning). So, because Josh’s leg had fallen asleep, when he stepped out of the kayak and onto the land, he fell down in the water!
Josh was okay and no worse for the wear except he was pretty wet now. We helped unload the lunch supplies and my thoughts of having lunch on the beach were dashed when Ryu kept walking up into the forest to a hut to prepare lunch there. We hung out things to dry and took photos while lunch was being prepared.
When lunch was ready, we had pumpkin soup, a roll, one fatty beef kabob, one pita bread sliced, salad to fill the pita, an orange, and a cookie. We had some juice, tea or coffee to drink. Overall, an underwhelming lunch for something that was billed online as “substantial.” Not even close to the Australian rainforest tour lunch and tea that was provided. This was just sub-par although it didn’t all taste that bad.
We made conversation about Japan and New Zealand as we were the only other nationality and the others were Japanese. After Ryu cleaned up lunch, we were ready to head out at 2:30 to return to Torrent Bay. The tide was out at this point which made viewing the shoreline neat because it was different. We made it back into the water without any problems and it was maybe a 15-20 minute paddle at most to Torrent Bay where we began kayaking only a couple of hours ago (and by a couple of hours ago I’m including our lunch break).
Because the tide was out, we had to carry the kayaks in to the shore. This was a big chore! We were slogging through the sinking wet sand and it was all just unpleasant. When the water taxi arrived to pick us up, we had to carry our personal gear out slogging through the sand to meet it. Then, as it was full of other people, we had to push our way up to the front seats.
Water taxi back to the shore, Josh and I both having an enormous feeling of what a waste today was. The tractor met us at the shore to pull us back up to land and take us to the ATK office. A fellow passenger asked how long we got to kayak and we said 1.5 hours and she said they’d kayaked for 3 and walked. I through in the part about the seals and she said they saw the seals from the water taxi. Guess we lost on that one.
We cleaned up the gear and exchanged emails with the Japanese tourists to send them pictures of the seals that Ryu had taken with our camera. As Ryu pointed out, they had a really nice camera, so I would like to get the pics that they took in general just in case they’re better than ours.
Then, after saying bye and shaking Ryu’s hand, we left. And good riddance too. Because once in the car we both let loose on how disappointing overall this trip had been. We both felt like we’d put in a lot of effort learning everything and getting in and out of the water with the kayaks and all that and there was no reward of getting to kayak a long time. We were only in the water for 1.5 hours at most!
Josh and I realize we are NOT athletic at all (remember the Tongariro Crossing?) but the Japanese tourist kept saying how good we were…and they did almost capsize/veer out to sea several times…anyway, all this to say that we don’t generally ask to do MORE of an activity but we feel like what we did essentially amounted to nothing. We certainly didn’t feel UPGRADED, heck, we don’t even think we got our money’s worth for what we paid. And anyway, I paid to do what I wanted to do not necessarily because it was the cheapest thing but because it sounded best to us.
Josh didn’t like the fact that there was little to no commentary/tour guide aspect of the trip either.
So, we complained like this all the way back to the cottage. Then, we took a hot shower. My shower was so relaxing and I told myself I didn’t have to get out until I was ready and I could relax and enjoy the ocean view because this is why I worked at Vision Manawatu and now I can RELAX until all the hot water is gone if I wanted.
Josh ran down to the owners house to settle up the payment and get more tea, coffee and sugar. Josh also talked Paul, the owner, to come up here to build us a fire as that was proving challenging for Josh.
The full moon was out big and bright and reflecting in the ocean below. Simply amazing view. Paul came up with a tub full of fire supplies and set us up right. They’ve only started having visitors to the cottage since December. I typed up the journal, Josh read Harry Potter and then we had some dinner of grilled ham and cheese (only one cheese slice each tonight to put some cheese in the eggs tomorrow).
Dinner was good and we ate more of the “mousse” ice cream for dessert. We were both happy with the way the food budget is looking thus far although it will go up as we are not set to have a kitchen in all the places we are staying at.
I’m not exhausted tired like how you might feel if you don’t get enough sleep the night before. I’m dreamy, floaty kind of tired if that makes sense…kinda like drifting out on the waves feeling mixed with sleep. It’s 8:35 or so right now but I’ll probably go lie in bed and read and fall to sleep soon.
Tomorrow’s plan of driving to St. Arnaud for a look around the Nelson Lakes area may be off as Josh and I just like being in our nice cottage and hanging out here together. We’ll see.
It’s so pleasant to have a warm, warm fire and not be freezing cold. Even in Palmerston North, the little oil heater doesn’t warm us up this much and I’m enjoying being really warm and cozy for what seems like the first time in a long time!
Well, it rained all night…and by rain, I mean the hardest hitting wet stuff on the tin roof ever. I thought in my quasi sleep as I was coming in and out of dreams that the house was going to slip off the mountain. The house didn’t fall off but, man alive, was it a lot of rain!
By 7:30 in the morning when the alarms started going off, the sun was out and bright and shiny. Awesome. Josh and I got ready following the printed off check list I found from the Abel Tasman Kayak company online. T shirt, warm shirt, shoes to get wet, shoes to walk/hike in, swimming suit, towel, etc. Basically, a lot of gear.
We finished off the last of the doughnuts we’d bought and Josh washed up two apples to take as a snack. I grabbed the bananas to have for breakfast and we were off by 8:25 or so and we’d wanted to leave at 8:30 at the latest. So, we were good.
Down the mountain. Down Swamp Road…a different Swamp Road out of Brooklyn area. Then, although we had thought it was correct to turn right and get into the town of Riwaka…it turned out that we were wrong. We were driving past an elementary school and came to another road that thankfully said NO EXIT. That’s how we figured out we were going the wrong way and that where we had turned right at on the road we really should have turned left.
So, we backtracked keeping an eye on the clock thinking it was going to be close for our making the 9:15 departure time. We saw the signs for Marahau (our departure town) and took a shorter mountain pass to reach the town than the pass we drove through yesterday. That was a good thing.
We found Marahau but not ATK. At least not on our first pass through town. ATK is actually outside of town 100 meters past the end of the beach. We did find it, however, and we still arrived 5 minutes early. There were people getting set up in all their gear in front of us while we parked and got our stuff situated.
When we went to check in at the counter, the girl said we’d been upgraded. I was not happy. Unlike getting an upgrade on a flight, which you know means business or first class, you don’t know what your “upgrade” is going to consist of on a tour like this. So, I gave the girl and unpleasant look I’m sure and said, “I guess we have no choice.”
She explained that our original tour only covered this small area (showing us on a map). With our upgrade, we got to take a water taxi out to a different bay and see “better” stuff like Seal Island. Josh asked if there was more kayaking involved or anything but there wasn’t (and really, what choice did we have as we’d already paid?)
We had to wait for the bus to drop off the other two people who were coming on the tour with us. While we waited, we picked out some water shoes to wear and some thermal tops. Our kayak guide Ryu (Japanese immigrant who came to NZ about 10 years ago) showed us on a map our “upgraded” trip reminding us that we’d paid $105 for our experience and the trip we were getting to take was valued at $170. Ryu also said the shuttle bus was notorious for running late. Great…and, as predicted, late it was.
By the time our two other kayakers, a Japanese tourist couple, it was already after 10:00. We loaded up all our gear into a “water taxi” which was really a big catamaran and off we went down the road to the beach being pulled by a farming tractor. There were about 12 other people onboard the water taxi and most of them seemed to be taking the boat as a shuttle between different bases so they could hike. There we a couple of loud talkers who went on about all they’d seen and done while traveling in NZ.
We backed the boat into the water and off we went over large swells…it was mostly fun and not overly nausea inducing like the mountain road yesterday. We were dropped off at Torrent Bay, our guide and the four of us. Everyone else was going on to different beaches to be dropped off. We helped unload all the gear from the water taxi and then we were standing on the shore ready to learn about how to kayak.
But first, the guide had to show us where the toilet was. Then, we had to learn about the different kayak hatches and all the safety precautions… a “Lovely Johnny” is the loop shaped cord that you want to grab hold of to release you from the kayak if you capsize…good thing to know. Next, we had to learn how to put all our gear on…like a spray skirt, jacket, life vest, hat. Okay, now we had to learn how to paddle correctly while on the land. And I have no coordination.
Not to mention, all the while, we are being EATEN ALIVE to the point of bleeding by little sand fleas and mosquitos!
Can we finally get going? It’s lunch time (noon) and we hadn’t had tea or even put the kayaks into the water yet and our day was ending around 3:30. Ryu gave us a couple of chocolate/peanut butter cookie things which despite my hate for peanut butter I devoured.So after further instruction on how to properly leave the beach, we kayak out, easily enough and no worries. We head out past a rocky island just fine. Then we learned some more signals like “raft up” and “stop.” The guide intermittently spoke English and Japanese.
We decided to go forward to Seal Island to see some seals, however, about 5 minutes later, we saw two seals on a rock jutting out into the sea and that would have to do for us. The tour guide told us that the Japanese tourists couldn’t go on and I’m sure he told them, yeah, the Americans can’t go on. In truth, Josh and I were holding up quite well and Josh was really giving the paddling the what for and I told him I was proud of him for doing a great job. Ryu paddled closer to the rocks and the seals to take some pictures for us and we talked to Fumiko and Hiroshi.So, we turn around and head straight ahead for a place called Anchorage Bay or something like that. We made it there without a problem since the waves were pushing us in the right direction and the wind was helping us out too. The scenery was great, however, we don’t really feel like we saw that much. As it turned out, the Anchorage place was our lunch stop and our only stop before returning to Torrent Bay to be picked up by the water taxi.
As we landed on the beach, I got out first and then Josh got out. Well, Josh tried to get out. Josh’s leg had fallen asleep while he’d been crammed up in the kayak (Ryu had even made Josh practice seeing if he could fit in a standard kayak before our departure from the ATK base that morning). So, because Josh’s leg had fallen asleep, when he stepped out of the kayak and onto the land, he fell down in the water!
Josh was okay and no worse for the wear except he was pretty wet now. We helped unload the lunch supplies and my thoughts of having lunch on the beach were dashed when Ryu kept walking up into the forest to a hut to prepare lunch there. We hung out things to dry and took photos while lunch was being prepared.
When lunch was ready, we had pumpkin soup, a roll, one fatty beef kabob, one pita bread sliced, salad to fill the pita, an orange, and a cookie. We had some juice, tea or coffee to drink. Overall, an underwhelming lunch for something that was billed online as “substantial.” Not even close to the Australian rainforest tour lunch and tea that was provided. This was just sub-par although it didn’t all taste that bad.
We made conversation about Japan and New Zealand as we were the only other nationality and the others were Japanese. After Ryu cleaned up lunch, we were ready to head out at 2:30 to return to Torrent Bay. The tide was out at this point which made viewing the shoreline neat because it was different. We made it back into the water without any problems and it was maybe a 15-20 minute paddle at most to Torrent Bay where we began kayaking only a couple of hours ago (and by a couple of hours ago I’m including our lunch break).
Because the tide was out, we had to carry the kayaks in to the shore. This was a big chore! We were slogging through the sinking wet sand and it was all just unpleasant. When the water taxi arrived to pick us up, we had to carry our personal gear out slogging through the sand to meet it. Then, as it was full of other people, we had to push our way up to the front seats.
Water taxi back to the shore, Josh and I both having an enormous feeling of what a waste today was. The tractor met us at the shore to pull us back up to land and take us to the ATK office. A fellow passenger asked how long we got to kayak and we said 1.5 hours and she said they’d kayaked for 3 and walked. I through in the part about the seals and she said they saw the seals from the water taxi. Guess we lost on that one.
We cleaned up the gear and exchanged emails with the Japanese tourists to send them pictures of the seals that Ryu had taken with our camera. As Ryu pointed out, they had a really nice camera, so I would like to get the pics that they took in general just in case they’re better than ours.
Then, after saying bye and shaking Ryu’s hand, we left. And good riddance too. Because once in the car we both let loose on how disappointing overall this trip had been. We both felt like we’d put in a lot of effort learning everything and getting in and out of the water with the kayaks and all that and there was no reward of getting to kayak a long time. We were only in the water for 1.5 hours at most!
Josh and I realize we are NOT athletic at all (remember the Tongariro Crossing?) but the Japanese tourist kept saying how good we were…and they did almost capsize/veer out to sea several times…anyway, all this to say that we don’t generally ask to do MORE of an activity but we feel like what we did essentially amounted to nothing. We certainly didn’t feel UPGRADED, heck, we don’t even think we got our money’s worth for what we paid. And anyway, I paid to do what I wanted to do not necessarily because it was the cheapest thing but because it sounded best to us.
Josh didn’t like the fact that there was little to no commentary/tour guide aspect of the trip either.
So, we complained like this all the way back to the cottage. Then, we took a hot shower. My shower was so relaxing and I told myself I didn’t have to get out until I was ready and I could relax and enjoy the ocean view because this is why I worked at Vision Manawatu and now I can RELAX until all the hot water is gone if I wanted.
Josh ran down to the owners house to settle up the payment and get more tea, coffee and sugar. Josh also talked Paul, the owner, to come up here to build us a fire as that was proving challenging for Josh.
The full moon was out big and bright and reflecting in the ocean below. Simply amazing view. Paul came up with a tub full of fire supplies and set us up right. They’ve only started having visitors to the cottage since December. I typed up the journal, Josh read Harry Potter and then we had some dinner of grilled ham and cheese (only one cheese slice each tonight to put some cheese in the eggs tomorrow).
Dinner was good and we ate more of the “mousse” ice cream for dessert. We were both happy with the way the food budget is looking thus far although it will go up as we are not set to have a kitchen in all the places we are staying at.
I’m not exhausted tired like how you might feel if you don’t get enough sleep the night before. I’m dreamy, floaty kind of tired if that makes sense…kinda like drifting out on the waves feeling mixed with sleep. It’s 8:35 or so right now but I’ll probably go lie in bed and read and fall to sleep soon.
Tomorrow’s plan of driving to St. Arnaud for a look around the Nelson Lakes area may be off as Josh and I just like being in our nice cottage and hanging out here together. We’ll see.
It’s so pleasant to have a warm, warm fire and not be freezing cold. Even in Palmerston North, the little oil heater doesn’t warm us up this much and I’m enjoying being really warm and cozy for what seems like the first time in a long time!
May 1
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
We awoke to a stunningly bright sunrise that was reflected off of the Tasman Bay. Josh stayed in bed as per usual. I came back to bed for awhile but we were both up and getting ready at 9. We bypassed the morning shower since we planned to drive out to Farewell Spit and maybe do some hiking. We were on the road by 10 am and the clouds and fog had started to roll in on the hill top.
Driving down the mountain in the day time, I could see the bright colors of the leaves as they were changing colors. I saw a really cool tree and thought about taking a picture but didn’t say anything till we were just past it. I had to go back to take a picture of the leaves. So, I did. While I was snapping away, Josh found $14.50 in the change area of the car. Good find! This was ironic because just before we left the cottage, Josh asked where he should put the $250+ cash he’d taken out of the ATM in PN to pay for the cottage. I said, don’t put it anywhere that doesn’t belong to you so even if you do forget about the money, it will still be in something that is yours. A good piece of advice it turns out.
We drove onward toward the Farewell Spit…onward over a mountain that made insane twists and turns. The clouds would come and go but we were rewarded with a spectacular valley view as we crossed to the other side of the mountain and started making our way down hill. Very nice. A mountain biker even pulled into the bay with us. Funny.
Too, that’s when Angela with PNP rang again and I was able to catch her on the phone. Explained that she was wrong about the time sheet thing and she agreed… No more work worries. We stopped into an I-site for information about how to best view the Farewell Spit while in the town of Takaka. Josh got all the details and a map and we were off again. We knew we didn’t have much time to explore because we had the Rotary meeting tonight and also we had that dang long trip back across the mountain!
We followed the map easily enough and could start to make out the hook shape sand dune spit in the distance. Then we detoured. The place we were going was called Cape Farewell and it is the northernmost point on the South Island. As we drove along the road we were bullied onto the rough shoulder (up against a mud embankment) by a red Takaka bus, I believe. He didn’t even try to share the road and in the end we were lucky that we only lost/found/broke a hub cap. The hub cap, to our defense, looks really cheap…kinda like the Sunny car itself that we’re driving.
So, we made it out to the car park of the Cape Farewell area. One group was leaving and one couple was there having a picnic out of the back of their car. The grass was so green and the sun was so bright. It was gorgeous- just like you think Easter or spring should be not fall. We walked past a gate (after confirming with the couple the right way to go) and onward 200 meters to the cape.
What a sight it was! I have always wanted to see an arch carved into the stone cliffs by an ocean and that was here. It was awesome to have no expectation of a place and to be so pleasantly surprised. We saw the sign confirming that this was the northernmost point. Then we walked up the hill along the dangerous cliff edge to see Farewell Spit in the distance. Josh did slip on the wet grass but he was in no danger of going over the edge.
However, he did step in poo…cow or sheep poo was undetermined but it was everywhere up there on the cliff and we soon understood why. The farmer at the bottom of hill released his sheep flock and up they began to bound toward us on the cliff top. We had to get back in order to prepare for Rotary so it was time to leave. The sheep got pretty close to us though and it was absolutely magnificent being out there in the sunshine on the coast. Just amazing.
Then, we had the long drive back. After buying expensive $1.63 or so gas the car made a funny noise on the side that’d gone off the road so we stopped in at two mechanics but both were too busy to help. We drove home and made it safely!
We quickly got ready…the outdoor shower was still awesome…Josh called to confirm we were still on for the Abel Tasman kayak tomorrow…then we headed out to Stoke/Tahanui Rotary. We made it no worries on time and got it all set up. We mingled, had a great dinner, lamb, pork, cauliflower (which I’ve grown to enjoy), potatoes, cheesecake, pavlova, custard). I had a diet coke and Josh had a beer.
The presentation went well and soon it was time to get back on the road to the cottage. We did drive down Swamp Road coming and going and did not see the remains of a kitten so we are optimistic that maybe we did not kill it (Josh says we just severely wounded it). As we came into Motueka, it was 8:29 and the New World closed at 8:30…the manager was even standing guard at the door…that’s NZ shop time for you. So, no milk for us tonight.
Back to the cottage and it started to rain just as we began to climb the hill up. Rain all you want tonight just don’t rain tomorrow on the kayak trip! Josh and I uploaded the recent pictures and deleted the old ones. I’ve updated the travel journal…wow, what an upgrade from the last paper versions I wrote on the previous two US roadtrips! Weather on the news was worthless as it was all fuzz and static noise. So, we’ll see what tomorrow holds. Josh is reading in bed and I’m off to join him….Crap, I just about had a heart attack as the rain just started back up falling on the roof…whew, that was a close one!
We awoke to a stunningly bright sunrise that was reflected off of the Tasman Bay. Josh stayed in bed as per usual. I came back to bed for awhile but we were both up and getting ready at 9. We bypassed the morning shower since we planned to drive out to Farewell Spit and maybe do some hiking. We were on the road by 10 am and the clouds and fog had started to roll in on the hill top.
Driving down the mountain in the day time, I could see the bright colors of the leaves as they were changing colors. I saw a really cool tree and thought about taking a picture but didn’t say anything till we were just past it. I had to go back to take a picture of the leaves. So, I did. While I was snapping away, Josh found $14.50 in the change area of the car. Good find! This was ironic because just before we left the cottage, Josh asked where he should put the $250+ cash he’d taken out of the ATM in PN to pay for the cottage. I said, don’t put it anywhere that doesn’t belong to you so even if you do forget about the money, it will still be in something that is yours. A good piece of advice it turns out.
We drove onward toward the Farewell Spit…onward over a mountain that made insane twists and turns. The clouds would come and go but we were rewarded with a spectacular valley view as we crossed to the other side of the mountain and started making our way down hill. Very nice. A mountain biker even pulled into the bay with us. Funny.
Too, that’s when Angela with PNP rang again and I was able to catch her on the phone. Explained that she was wrong about the time sheet thing and she agreed… No more work worries. We stopped into an I-site for information about how to best view the Farewell Spit while in the town of Takaka. Josh got all the details and a map and we were off again. We knew we didn’t have much time to explore because we had the Rotary meeting tonight and also we had that dang long trip back across the mountain!
We followed the map easily enough and could start to make out the hook shape sand dune spit in the distance. Then we detoured. The place we were going was called Cape Farewell and it is the northernmost point on the South Island. As we drove along the road we were bullied onto the rough shoulder (up against a mud embankment) by a red Takaka bus, I believe. He didn’t even try to share the road and in the end we were lucky that we only lost/found/broke a hub cap. The hub cap, to our defense, looks really cheap…kinda like the Sunny car itself that we’re driving.
So, we made it out to the car park of the Cape Farewell area. One group was leaving and one couple was there having a picnic out of the back of their car. The grass was so green and the sun was so bright. It was gorgeous- just like you think Easter or spring should be not fall. We walked past a gate (after confirming with the couple the right way to go) and onward 200 meters to the cape.
What a sight it was! I have always wanted to see an arch carved into the stone cliffs by an ocean and that was here. It was awesome to have no expectation of a place and to be so pleasantly surprised. We saw the sign confirming that this was the northernmost point. Then we walked up the hill along the dangerous cliff edge to see Farewell Spit in the distance. Josh did slip on the wet grass but he was in no danger of going over the edge.
However, he did step in poo…cow or sheep poo was undetermined but it was everywhere up there on the cliff and we soon understood why. The farmer at the bottom of hill released his sheep flock and up they began to bound toward us on the cliff top. We had to get back in order to prepare for Rotary so it was time to leave. The sheep got pretty close to us though and it was absolutely magnificent being out there in the sunshine on the coast. Just amazing.
Then, we had the long drive back. After buying expensive $1.63 or so gas the car made a funny noise on the side that’d gone off the road so we stopped in at two mechanics but both were too busy to help. We drove home and made it safely!
We quickly got ready…the outdoor shower was still awesome…Josh called to confirm we were still on for the Abel Tasman kayak tomorrow…then we headed out to Stoke/Tahanui Rotary. We made it no worries on time and got it all set up. We mingled, had a great dinner, lamb, pork, cauliflower (which I’ve grown to enjoy), potatoes, cheesecake, pavlova, custard). I had a diet coke and Josh had a beer.
The presentation went well and soon it was time to get back on the road to the cottage. We did drive down Swamp Road coming and going and did not see the remains of a kitten so we are optimistic that maybe we did not kill it (Josh says we just severely wounded it). As we came into Motueka, it was 8:29 and the New World closed at 8:30…the manager was even standing guard at the door…that’s NZ shop time for you. So, no milk for us tonight.
Back to the cottage and it started to rain just as we began to climb the hill up. Rain all you want tonight just don’t rain tomorrow on the kayak trip! Josh and I uploaded the recent pictures and deleted the old ones. I’ve updated the travel journal…wow, what an upgrade from the last paper versions I wrote on the previous two US roadtrips! Weather on the news was worthless as it was all fuzz and static noise. So, we’ll see what tomorrow holds. Josh is reading in bed and I’m off to join him….Crap, I just about had a heart attack as the rain just started back up falling on the roof…whew, that was a close one!
April 30
Monday, April 30
We woke up this morning to overcast and super foggy skies. We thought it would burn off. It didn’t. It actually got worse and started raining without letting up. Oh well. No reason to go out in the rain if you don’t have to. We stayed in and read our books and Josh played his video game some. It was relaxing but cold as Josh couldn’t get the fire going again after cleaning out all the ash and soot from the burner this morning.
I read my books crawled up under all the covers in the bed and dozed off and on. It was the perfect rainy foggy gray day for that. I wasn’t feeling much motivation to get dressed up and to drive back to Nelson but we did. We took a shower in the outdoor shower (very very nice) and got ready to go.
We had the most difficult time backing the car up and trying to get it back up the hill after we went down it too much unintentionally. We made it though (with a stop at the Warehouse at Motueka for books…I voluntarily put up an $8 magazine…that’s a rip off…and got a message to call Angela at PNP re. a timesheet…I’m on vacation-quit adding to my stress) and got to Nelson through the rain.
We found the Waimea Club easily enough due to Tom’s excellent directions. We got set up and saw that Tom and Margot were already there. Tom bought Josh and I Diet Cokes like we asked for and Margot bought us 2 raffle tickets. We felt bad for not sitting at their table, however, it was customary to sit with the president at his table I think so we did that.
We had a great dinner of beef lasagna, breaded fish, potatoes, wedges, mousse, pavlova (a sweet, airy, fluffy, egg white cake), coffee, etc. It was really good food. However, the president, Len, took Josh’s plate away before Josh could go back to grab a second round! Ah well, onto dessert. We had great dinner conversation (Graham the resident “does it all” dropped knowledge on all the places/things we should do and I was like, yeah, we’re booked in to do that). Then, we were up to speak.
Rotarians are thrown off by two things when they are introduced to Josh and I when we are at their clubs to present. The first thing is that Josh and I have different last names but we’re married. The second thing is that we do the presentation together. Win or lose, however, it is what it is.
We presented to the Richmond Club and they have 41 or so members who were present that night. The presentation went well enough and when they called the hogs it was AWESOME…I love that little bit of home down here. Then one guy, who turned out was named Peter Glue, did an imitation Haka…funny!
Presentation over, some people came up to speak to us like this Peter guy because his wife works at Nayland College with the international students area and she travels to all these foreign places all the time…if we come back to this area, I’ll definitely touch base with her (Judy Glue). We said good bye to Tom and Margot who had treated us so well.
President Len walked us out as the last people to our car talking about phrases we should learn in Maori.
On our way back to the cottage, on Swamp Road, we thought we hit a kitten. But, to his credit, Josh didn’t swerve the car which would have been bad on the really wet roads. We made it back to the cottage safely enough to find nothing freshened up so the cottage truly is self catering. We are running low on sugar and coffee though.
Josh and I read our books until we fell asleep. I read a book called Making Babies by an Irish author that I’d picked up at the Warehouse this afternoon. Fortunately for me, it just reconfirmed that I do not want to have kids. Reading this type of literature is like a test and it’s a test of if I’ll go, “Oh, I want that life.” But I don’t end up thinking that---which, like I said is fortunate. Josh fell asleep before me but I was out around midnight.
We woke up this morning to overcast and super foggy skies. We thought it would burn off. It didn’t. It actually got worse and started raining without letting up. Oh well. No reason to go out in the rain if you don’t have to. We stayed in and read our books and Josh played his video game some. It was relaxing but cold as Josh couldn’t get the fire going again after cleaning out all the ash and soot from the burner this morning.
I read my books crawled up under all the covers in the bed and dozed off and on. It was the perfect rainy foggy gray day for that. I wasn’t feeling much motivation to get dressed up and to drive back to Nelson but we did. We took a shower in the outdoor shower (very very nice) and got ready to go.
We had the most difficult time backing the car up and trying to get it back up the hill after we went down it too much unintentionally. We made it though (with a stop at the Warehouse at Motueka for books…I voluntarily put up an $8 magazine…that’s a rip off…and got a message to call Angela at PNP re. a timesheet…I’m on vacation-quit adding to my stress) and got to Nelson through the rain.
We found the Waimea Club easily enough due to Tom’s excellent directions. We got set up and saw that Tom and Margot were already there. Tom bought Josh and I Diet Cokes like we asked for and Margot bought us 2 raffle tickets. We felt bad for not sitting at their table, however, it was customary to sit with the president at his table I think so we did that.
We had a great dinner of beef lasagna, breaded fish, potatoes, wedges, mousse, pavlova (a sweet, airy, fluffy, egg white cake), coffee, etc. It was really good food. However, the president, Len, took Josh’s plate away before Josh could go back to grab a second round! Ah well, onto dessert. We had great dinner conversation (Graham the resident “does it all” dropped knowledge on all the places/things we should do and I was like, yeah, we’re booked in to do that). Then, we were up to speak.
Rotarians are thrown off by two things when they are introduced to Josh and I when we are at their clubs to present. The first thing is that Josh and I have different last names but we’re married. The second thing is that we do the presentation together. Win or lose, however, it is what it is.
We presented to the Richmond Club and they have 41 or so members who were present that night. The presentation went well enough and when they called the hogs it was AWESOME…I love that little bit of home down here. Then one guy, who turned out was named Peter Glue, did an imitation Haka…funny!
Presentation over, some people came up to speak to us like this Peter guy because his wife works at Nayland College with the international students area and she travels to all these foreign places all the time…if we come back to this area, I’ll definitely touch base with her (Judy Glue). We said good bye to Tom and Margot who had treated us so well.President Len walked us out as the last people to our car talking about phrases we should learn in Maori.
On our way back to the cottage, on Swamp Road, we thought we hit a kitten. But, to his credit, Josh didn’t swerve the car which would have been bad on the really wet roads. We made it back to the cottage safely enough to find nothing freshened up so the cottage truly is self catering. We are running low on sugar and coffee though.
Josh and I read our books until we fell asleep. I read a book called Making Babies by an Irish author that I’d picked up at the Warehouse this afternoon. Fortunately for me, it just reconfirmed that I do not want to have kids. Reading this type of literature is like a test and it’s a test of if I’ll go, “Oh, I want that life.” But I don’t end up thinking that---which, like I said is fortunate. Josh fell asleep before me but I was out around midnight.
April 29
So, it's been awhile...I know. In the interim, Josh and I took a dairy tour of David and Bernice's farm and I also had my last day of work at Vision Manawatu. There's some stories behind each of those events, however, the biggest news to update everyone on is the South Island trip we've been taking. Below, I've inserted writings taken from the electronic travel journal I've been keeping in Word since the start of the trip. We haven't had a lot of internet (only stopping into pay sites along the way to check a email or two) so now's our chance to put some of the info on the blog. Photos take forever to upload so it may be awhile before those are posted...Sorry!
Sunday, April 29, 2007
We started the day off by finishing up packing for the trip and printing off 50+ pages of the itinerary. We still don’t have absolute confirmations from the last two hotels/holiday homes. We had a whole deal worked out about how we were going to the airport because the car needed its Warrant of Fitness completed before May 3 and when we took it in on April 26 or so, we found out that it needed a new tire and rack boot. So, since we were leaving for the South Island on the 29th, we had planned to have Graham fix it for free labor while we were away…that meant leaving the car at Graham’s shop and calling a cab.
We had planned to take a cab to the airport anyway because paying for a month’s worth of parking would have been expensive. So, at least it was good that Graham’s shop was closer to the airport than our house because it made the taxi cheaper. Josh dropped me off with the big bags while he went to Graham’s to drop off the car. 25 minutes later Josh had returned, the Air NZ check in line was much shorter than when I had arrived, so we went ahead to the counter.
I had checked Josh and myself in online and printed off our boarding passes. The guy behind the counter asked what flight we were on and if we had our passes. He didn’t ask for photo ID nor did he ask to actually see the passes (let alone ask if we packed our own bags)! He did, however, inform us that there is a $5 pp departure tax for everyone who flies out of PN. We went to the magazine/candy shop and paid the fee, got stickers, and learned that those stickers are to be placed on the boarding passes before exiting the gate.
We had about 20 minutes before the flight departed so we went upstairs where we found a café. I bought an expensive Diet Coke at $3.50 and then opted for a slice of quiche for $5.00…hey, we’re on vacation. The quiche, which I had heated up, was really good! We sat for awhile and then it was announced that our flight would be boarding soon so we headed downstairs.
There are four “gates” at the PN airport. Really, you exit through a sliding glass door and your plane will be there up close on the tarmac for you to board. So, the guy at the “gate” asked for our boarding passes and not our IDs…interesting. Then we boarded and I told Josh he could ask the flight attendant how to turn off the cell phone because we didn’t know how. However, as we found our seats on the 19 seater (1-1 across) we realized there would not be a flight attendant and the guy who had greeted us as we climbed the steps into the plane was the co-pilot.
Josh asked the co-pilot how to turn off the cell phone and said he felt like a moron afterward. Oh well, now we know for next time. There was no door on the cockpit, no overhead bins, really, it was a stripped down version of a plane. Heck, it didn’t even say Air NZ on the plane (we later found out that another company has been sub-contracted to carry this short haul flight for Air NZ).
Well, as someone who hates flying and had a real fear of the turboprop plane…this flight was probably the BEST I’ve ever been on…and that’s competing with the two times Josh and I were bumped up to first class (once domestic and once international).
It was the best flight because it was so smooth and sunny and bright (I could not believe the pilot said we’d only be getting up to 12,000 feet). As we rose above the Manawatu plains with PN below, I could see Mt. Taranaki to the west. AWESOME! Then, we saw Kapiti Island to the east. Then, we were over the ocean and we could see the high, high mountain tops of the South Island approaching…they were so cool. Closer to the Nelson area we started to see other islands and because the cockpit was wide open, we could see the runway approaching us and truly had a pilot’s eye view of things. Wicked!
Upon landing, we exited the small aircraft and walked into the small airport where we were greeted by Tom, a local Rotarian. Tom was going to have us over to his house for tea before we headed to our cottage. As we were picking up our checked luggage, the car rental guy came by and we walked over to the rental while Tom picked up his car to meet us. We checked out the car and signed the forms before following Tom to his house. I was glad the car had been delivered to the airport because I thought we were going to have to drive into Nelson to get the car.
Well, Tom (and his wife Margot) have the absolute most amazing house ever. It is so modern in architecture and interior decorating. It was my dream home and they did it all themselves. The house sits at the end of a cul de sac up a hill with a view of the ocean from the front windows. Truly amazing! We had some tea and biscuits and sausage rolls and meat pies and got additional maps and directions from Tom (so helpful). They didn't want us to drive to the cottage in the dark, so we were out of their house by 10 till 5 and we’d arrived in Nelson around 3:30 or so.
We found our way out of town easily enough and although a quick side trip to find a Warehouse or grocery store yielded nothing in Nelson, we found both a Warehouse and a New World grocery store in Motueka…the main town down the hill from the cottage we’d be staying at. Josh and I popped in for some groceries and spent about $65 on bread, meat, cheese, Diet Coke, snacks, etc. Our food budget in NZ $40 so this should help us keep to that. There was a guy singing outside the shop as we went in and it was the most beautiful pink sky sunset.
On the road again and with the directions sent by the cottage and with Tom’s maps we found the cottage no worries! Except, when I looked at Josh while we were driving up the hill for like 3.6 kms, I knew he was worried because it was out in the “wop wops” or boonies real bad. I knew what the cottage looked like but Josh had no idea.
As we drove up to the owners home (before the cottage) we got out to check in with them. They were having dinner and said for us to go ahead and get settled in. So we did. We made it up the most insane hill/driveway and were rewarded with the most spectacular moonlight view over the Tasman Bay. The distant lights of Nelson shone below.
The cottage itself is ideal. A log burner, running water, fridge and stove top but no oven or microwave. The bedroom has a queen bed and two twins in the loft. The first night we had some snacks for dinner (like ice cream) and Josh made us a fire. We sat in the kitchen area and talked for awhile before heading to bed.
The bathroom in this cabin is outside but at least the toilet flushed and there is hot water for the bath and shower. The first night sleeping in the middle of nowhere was a bit frightening, however, I didn’t let my fear stop me from going to the outside toilet at 12:30 am. Good on ya mate!
Sunday, April 29, 2007
We started the day off by finishing up packing for the trip and printing off 50+ pages of the itinerary. We still don’t have absolute confirmations from the last two hotels/holiday homes. We had a whole deal worked out about how we were going to the airport because the car needed its Warrant of Fitness completed before May 3 and when we took it in on April 26 or so, we found out that it needed a new tire and rack boot. So, since we were leaving for the South Island on the 29th, we had planned to have Graham fix it for free labor while we were away…that meant leaving the car at Graham’s shop and calling a cab.
We had planned to take a cab to the airport anyway because paying for a month’s worth of parking would have been expensive. So, at least it was good that Graham’s shop was closer to the airport than our house because it made the taxi cheaper. Josh dropped me off with the big bags while he went to Graham’s to drop off the car. 25 minutes later Josh had returned, the Air NZ check in line was much shorter than when I had arrived, so we went ahead to the counter.
I had checked Josh and myself in online and printed off our boarding passes. The guy behind the counter asked what flight we were on and if we had our passes. He didn’t ask for photo ID nor did he ask to actually see the passes (let alone ask if we packed our own bags)! He did, however, inform us that there is a $5 pp departure tax for everyone who flies out of PN. We went to the magazine/candy shop and paid the fee, got stickers, and learned that those stickers are to be placed on the boarding passes before exiting the gate.
We had about 20 minutes before the flight departed so we went upstairs where we found a café. I bought an expensive Diet Coke at $3.50 and then opted for a slice of quiche for $5.00…hey, we’re on vacation. The quiche, which I had heated up, was really good! We sat for awhile and then it was announced that our flight would be boarding soon so we headed downstairs.
There are four “gates” at the PN airport. Really, you exit through a sliding glass door and your plane will be there up close on the tarmac for you to board. So, the guy at the “gate” asked for our boarding passes and not our IDs…interesting. Then we boarded and I told Josh he could ask the flight attendant how to turn off the cell phone because we didn’t know how. However, as we found our seats on the 19 seater (1-1 across) we realized there would not be a flight attendant and the guy who had greeted us as we climbed the steps into the plane was the co-pilot.
Josh asked the co-pilot how to turn off the cell phone and said he felt like a moron afterward. Oh well, now we know for next time. There was no door on the cockpit, no overhead bins, really, it was a stripped down version of a plane. Heck, it didn’t even say Air NZ on the plane (we later found out that another company has been sub-contracted to carry this short haul flight for Air NZ).
Well, as someone who hates flying and had a real fear of the turboprop plane…this flight was probably the BEST I’ve ever been on…and that’s competing with the two times Josh and I were bumped up to first class (once domestic and once international).
It was the best flight because it was so smooth and sunny and bright (I could not believe the pilot said we’d only be getting up to 12,000 feet). As we rose above the Manawatu plains with PN below, I could see Mt. Taranaki to the west. AWESOME! Then, we saw Kapiti Island to the east. Then, we were over the ocean and we could see the high, high mountain tops of the South Island approaching…they were so cool. Closer to the Nelson area we started to see other islands and because the cockpit was wide open, we could see the runway approaching us and truly had a pilot’s eye view of things. Wicked!
Upon landing, we exited the small aircraft and walked into the small airport where we were greeted by Tom, a local Rotarian. Tom was going to have us over to his house for tea before we headed to our cottage. As we were picking up our checked luggage, the car rental guy came by and we walked over to the rental while Tom picked up his car to meet us. We checked out the car and signed the forms before following Tom to his house. I was glad the car had been delivered to the airport because I thought we were going to have to drive into Nelson to get the car.
Well, Tom (and his wife Margot) have the absolute most amazing house ever. It is so modern in architecture and interior decorating. It was my dream home and they did it all themselves. The house sits at the end of a cul de sac up a hill with a view of the ocean from the front windows. Truly amazing! We had some tea and biscuits and sausage rolls and meat pies and got additional maps and directions from Tom (so helpful). They didn't want us to drive to the cottage in the dark, so we were out of their house by 10 till 5 and we’d arrived in Nelson around 3:30 or so.
We found our way out of town easily enough and although a quick side trip to find a Warehouse or grocery store yielded nothing in Nelson, we found both a Warehouse and a New World grocery store in Motueka…the main town down the hill from the cottage we’d be staying at. Josh and I popped in for some groceries and spent about $65 on bread, meat, cheese, Diet Coke, snacks, etc. Our food budget in NZ $40 so this should help us keep to that. There was a guy singing outside the shop as we went in and it was the most beautiful pink sky sunset.
On the road again and with the directions sent by the cottage and with Tom’s maps we found the cottage no worries! Except, when I looked at Josh while we were driving up the hill for like 3.6 kms, I knew he was worried because it was out in the “wop wops” or boonies real bad. I knew what the cottage looked like but Josh had no idea.
As we drove up to the owners home (before the cottage) we got out to check in with them. They were having dinner and said for us to go ahead and get settled in. So we did. We made it up the most insane hill/driveway and were rewarded with the most spectacular moonlight view over the Tasman Bay. The distant lights of Nelson shone below.
The cottage itself is ideal. A log burner, running water, fridge and stove top but no oven or microwave. The bedroom has a queen bed and two twins in the loft. The first night we had some snacks for dinner (like ice cream) and Josh made us a fire. We sat in the kitchen area and talked for awhile before heading to bed.The bathroom in this cabin is outside but at least the toilet flushed and there is hot water for the bath and shower. The first night sleeping in the middle of nowhere was a bit frightening, however, I didn’t let my fear stop me from going to the outside toilet at 12:30 am. Good on ya mate!
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