On-the-Road Tales

On the way to Queenstown, stopped at Kawarau Brudge, the birthplace of commercial bungy. I never wanted to do one because frankly I thought it looked stupid. I am not afraid of heights so I could not see the thrill but after watching, it actually looked like fun. The peple on the bus had pre-booked it and another busload came so I never got to try it. It was freezing cold and actually snowing so waiting for 30 minutes was not appealing either. Maybe next time. I was surprised how technical it isn’t. They take a towel, yes literally a bath towel and wrap it around the ankles. Then some webbing ‘until is all gone’, and then hook it to a cable. It was interesting watching the reaction of people before, while on the ledge and then after they finish. Good study point for fear and subsequent conquering!

They had a short film on the history. The two guys who started it were interviewing a tribe who would through themselves off a reed tower as part of a ritual. They worked out some kinks and started throwing themselves bridges as practice. The sport got widespread coverage when one of them AJ Hackett his inside the Eiffel tower in 1987 and bailed off it in the morning – I actually remember that. They continued their stunts and finally lobbied the govt for a temporary permit for a commericial operation off a historic bridge that was due to be closed down. The government granted it figuring it would bomb. 17 years later, it is a million dollar industry operating in Queenstown. With several variations including one built over a canyon some 440 feet up.

Checked into Pinewood in Queenstown. Up on a hill with stunning views of the mountains out of our windows. It was bitter cold when we went to explore the town and meet for a final group dinner as the group split from here.

The next day was spectacular, clear blue skies and warm sun. I saw amazing snowy mountains all around I had not even known were there. It was waking from a bad dream of the day before! Our hostel room was choice. It was a 3 bunkbed dorm and the room, tiny, was littered in addition to our backpacks with 6 sets of soaking sopping clothes and daypacks, with passports and documents strewn on the floor in an effort to dry them out, 2 heaters blaring and at least 2 or 3 guys hacking from something that sounded like pneumonia. The other 2 girls in the room were Scandinavian and apparently the cold did not bother them because they were parading around the grounds in bikinis in search of the hot tub, damn nordic. I stuffed my wet stuff into bags and headed for the bus.

We stopped at Lake Matheson where on a still day, you can see reflections of Mt Cook, Aoraki (cloud piercer) and fox glacier. Mt Cook is around 3754 meters, highest in NZ I think. Actually smaller than it used to be as they had am earthquake event within the last 10 years that chopped several meters off the top! Very seismic country, not sure how long before something else big happens here. Today the lake was a bit wavy so not a perfect picture but still beautiful. Checked out Thunder Creek Falls. Lake Wanaka. Lake Hakea. The size of these glacial lakes are like small oceans. 45 km, 5 km wide and some 550 meters deep!

Stopped in Wanaka for the evening and I gor to catch an outdoor photography exhibit Amazing Earth From Above by Yann Arthus-Bertrand. All aerial views of 100 plus countries showing different scenes with an environmental twist. Fantastic.

My nights rest was intermittently interrupted by the massive rainfall I could here outside and the worry of what the day goal. I signed up to do a glacier hike which involved slugging through a rainforest, crossing several rivers, ... [Continue reading this entry]

Pulled out of the trailer park went on down the road to the Bushman center. This is run by a wacky couple trying to recreate the hardships of life living in the wild country. Possums and stokes (ferret ... [Continue reading this entry]

We cruised down along the westcoasrt and stopped at Cape Foulwind. Took a dander along the sea and came to a seal colony. Adorable little creatures, very playful. The seascape was fabulous. Continued on to Punakaiki Pancake Rocks ... [Continue reading this entry]

Stopped off at Nelson Lakes to do a walk. Lovely place. Mountainous and rugged. We moved onto Buller Gorge which is split into an upper and lower gorge. The terrain is a bit rough and the ... [Continue reading this entry]

We boarded the ferry that would take us three hours across the Queen Charlotte Sound to the south island. It was full was full of little ports nestled in and out of groves of trees and mountains. We ... [Continue reading this entry]

Lovely little city. Checked out the Parliament building in the shape of a beehive. In recent years, the Prime Minister, several key government members (Supreme court justice, atty general, governor general) and the most elder Maori representative were all...women ... [Continue reading this entry]

River Valley is renowned for its Grade 5 river rafting. White water rafting has always been on my 'list of things to do before I die' but I was never quite able to cross it off for one reason ... [Continue reading this entry]

Since the walk was cancelled, I did not wait for my bus and went away in the morning. There are busses every day so you are constantly switching drivers and people - not necessarily a bad thing. We did ... [Continue reading this entry]