New Zealand 4/4/03 - 4/10/03

Camper Van Adventure Part I

Friday 4/4/03 - Leaving Home

Craig's mother took us to the airport at a little after 2 p.m. We arrived at the American terminal to see a check-in line longer than we had ever seen. This winter has been infinite; and today's early April snow and ice were wreaking havoc on the airport. People were desperately trying to reschedule flights, etc. We were lucky, however, as our flight through L.A. was still running. We still had to stand in line for about an hour and a half to check in, but we had allowed enough time. We ate a functional Burger King lunch and then headed to our gate. Our flight left more or less on time (5:25 p.m.) despite the de-icing it had to undergo. We listened to some music on Craig's minidisc, and I fell asleep. They served us a so-so meal of tortellini.

Saturday 4/5/03 - In Flight

We arrived at LAX at 9 p.m., and we needed to catch a 10:30 p.m. connecting flight. After being pointed in the wrong direction several times by airport staff and circling the entire concourse, we found Air New Zealand (last terminal in building 2). We had enough time to hit the bathroom and exchange some currency before boarding. The plane was a 747. Craig sat in a window seat, I was in the middle, and on the aisle was Andrew, an avocado oil entrepreneur from NZ's North Island. He was on his way back from a business trip to Mexico/ He was very friendly and pleasant to talk to. We all had a good laugh when we noticed music entitled "The Funny Avocado" on the in-flight entertainment. AirNZ is apparently renowned for its food. It was delicious! Hot lamb casserole, mashed potatoes, green beans, Egmont cheese and crackers, and cheesecake. Our seats were in "Pacific Class", which is AirNZ's equivalent of Coach, but much more pleasant. Comfy seats with headrests, footrests, and adequate legroom. We slept through at least two movies, then awoke well rested and happy. We listened to the minidisc for a while, and then watched James Bond "Die Another Day", very formulaic but fun and entertaining. After that we were served a tasty breakfast pf cheese omelet, strawberry yoghurt, a muffin, fruit, tomato, and potato puffs. We had orange juice and very strong coffee. We then watched some programs about New Zealand on the in-flight entertainment. We could start to see the sun rising on the left side of the plane (though we were on the right). We landed in Auckland at 7:15 a.m. on Sunday 4/6/03, local time in 120 kph winds. The flight had been much more manageable than we had anticipated due to the comfort of the plane and the fact that we were both able to sleep. We both felt really well in the morning. Our time spent going through customs nearly caused us to miss our connecting flight. We talked to a nice employee who hailed a cab for us and negotiated a price of $10 to the domestic terminal. We re-checked our luggage at the domestic terminal as they were making the boarding announcement for the flight. We passed through security, and were running up an escalator when they made the final boarding announcement. The humidity of Auckland and the stuffiness of the airport despite the comfortable and cool outdoor temperature caused us to be quite sweaty, and the airline staff teased us as we huffed and puffed our way onto the plane. With this kind of rush, we thought there was no way our baggage would accompany us to Christchurch. And if that were the case, we'd be totally understanding. I mean, how could they possibly pull that off?

Sunday 4/6/03 - Christchurch - Alpaca House, Dinner with Ellen and her Family

Upon landing in Christchurch we saw one of the four AirNZ planes decorated with Lord of the Rings scene (AirNZ the official airline of Middle Earth (TM)) - this one was of Aragorn. We collected our luggage much to our surprise. I waited at the curb while Craig found change and a phone to call Linda and Bill Ellwood, at whose alpaca farm/bed and breakfast (the Alpaca House) we would be spending the next two nights. The airport is surrounded by beautiful gardens, but I stayed under the overhang, as it was cool and lightly raining. Craig got in touch with Linda, and Bill arrived straight away to pick us up at the airport. It was only a 5-10 minute drive to their farm. I sat in the front (on the left), which just seemed very awkward. I'd had the same sensation in London three years ago. In St. Thomas Craig has to drive on the left, but the steering wheel is in its American position. It took a little while to get used to this drive on the left, driver on the right thing.

When we arrived at the Alpaca House, Linda and Bill were quite welcoming. They showed us around the house (the first floor contains a great room with wood stove which opens onto a nice dining room and kitchen). The floor plan is quite open, and the ceilings are high. It's a gorgeous house. Upstairs there is a landing and lounge area for the guest rooms. There is a bathroom with just a toilet, and another with shower and whirlpool tub. We were the only guests tonight, and were given the large bedroom at the end of the hall. It contained a double bed and a single bed, electric blankets, an electric heater, a desk, and a balcony overlooking the garden (which contained a pond, lush plants, and some garden gnomes.) We took showers and freshened up, and then went downstairs for a cup of tea, some biscuits, and a chat. Bill is a high school maths teacher who also authors math textbooks. He also publishes 4 color math pamphlets which each contain a themed practical application of math concepts (alpaca wool production, alpaca breeding, the Giza Pyramids, stamps, etc). He hopes to get them onto the web some day, and we looked through the pamphlets, wishing we had such creative learning materials when we were in high school.

We had made plans to meet up with Ellen, a lovely woman whom I'd met online on Michael Palin's travel website. I called her and we made dinner plans. Her family would pick us up at the Alpaca House at 5 p.m. It was great to finally talk to her, and I could tell she was as excited as we were for our night out. Next we got a tour of the grounds from Linda and Bill. They showed us the pool house, which houses a pool and a jacuzzi, and has a nice NZ mural on three of its walls. Gorgeous! Then Linda and Bill took us to the alpaca paddocks. Shep the collie accompanied us. Linda rode on her scooter, and Bill gave us some "nuts" of food to hand-feed the animals. At the time we went, they had 27 alpacas (four babies had been born in recent weeks). There was an alpaca named Stephanie who, unlike the rest of the herd, hadn't been sheared in December, so she was sufficiently shaggy. The alpacas were a lot of fun. Kind of skittish but very inquisitive and very cute. It was fun to hand-feed the adults. I got to hold Frankie, who was a premature baby. When he was born his feet weren't even developed. But he has come along nicely and now can walk just fine, though he is a bit smaller than his peers (and needs a coat on cool nights because he doesn't have much meat on his bones). One of the alpacas was grayish with very pale blue eyes. It mesmerized me, as most of the alpacas had very dark eyes. We saw the two sheep, who were very strong. One tried to plow through the fence to get at the bucket of food, and he was one solid sheep. He refused to eat from my hand, and when the other sheep attempted to eat out of my hand, the first sheep head-butted it to prevent it from doing so. I had thought sheep were about the least aggressive animal there is. Who knew?

It began raining and we headed back to the house. Linda and Bill were kind enough to let us use their computer to send an email home informing people that we had made it safely. I began to get quite a headache, which I attributed to jet lag. Craig was explaining our itinerary to Bill, and I excused myself to take a rest. I had a granola bar as my stomach was feeling empty, and I also took some aspirin. I got into bed with the hopes of resting until my headache went away. I expected Craig to arrive in the room at any time, so that we could prepare for meeting Ellen. I didn't set an alarm or anything because I assumed he'd be around to wake me. The next thing I knew I opened my eyes and it was 4:51 p.m. No sign of Craig. I quickly got dressed and ran downstairs. Craig and Bill were still deep in conversation. The time had flown by and they had no idea what time it was.

We quickly got ready and at 5:00, Ellen and her 5-year-old daughter Emily arrived at the door. Her husband John and their 10-year-old daughter Rosalie were in the driveway in their other car. Craig and I rode with Ellen and Emily. It was still kind of cool, and it was sprinkling rain. As we had just arrived and hadn't seen much of the city of Christchurch, they kindly made a later dinner reservation and showed us some of the sights in the meantime. We drove through the University of Canterbury campus (where Ellen and John first met). The foliage was beautiful. It was early autumn, and unlike at home, the brilliantly colored leaves coexisted with lush green grass (by autumn here, the grass is pretty much brown and dead). We then drove to the Christchurch Arts Centre. It is a gorgeous complex, established in 1877 as the original Canterbury College. The gothic revival architecture is stunning. We felt like we were in the UK. The girls took us upstairs in one of the buildings to peek into their ballet studio. We went into a small gallery that showcased paper lanterns made of flax. Then we drove to the restaurant.

We parked and crossed a footbridge, and entered Sticky Fingers restaurant. The finger theme was cute; the door handles were bronze hands, the chandeliers were all held by carved wooden hands. It was a fun atmosphere, yet quiet enough that we could really enjoy our conversation. They offered outdoor dining as well, overlooking the Avon river, but the weather wasn't conducive to that. We sat at a semi-circular booth, and the more we talked to Ellen and John the more we realized that we had in common with them. It was fantastic, and the girls were so well-behaved and cute. I got the herb-crusted lamb in a beet and wine sauce with mashed kumara (sweet potato). I got a "mojo juice" cocktail, which contained Red Bull. Craig got a Monteith's beer and a 200-gram steak with mushrooms and garlic mashed potatoes. It was such a great night. We had only been in the country for less than 12 hours, but between Linda, Bill, Ellen, John, Rosalie, and Emily, we already felt like we were among friends. It was a fabulous welcome. This was the night I discovered the ultimate New Zealand dessert - the pavlova. It is a meringue type of thing which tonight they served with kiwi fruit and toffee ice cream. It was incredibly rich yet light at the same time. When we left the restaurant, it was pouring. We dashed back to the cars. John brought sleepy Emily home, and Ellen and Rosalie brought us back to the Alpaca House at 10 p.m.

What a great first day in New Zealand! We were sound asleep by 10:40.

See more pictures from 4/6/03

Monday 4/7/03 - Christchurch - Alpaca House, Dinner with Linda and Bill

We had a leisurely morning and went downstairs at around 11. Linda cooked us breakfast to order:scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, marmalade, cereal, orange juice, and tea. It was delicious and really hit the spot. We had a nice long chat with her, and at around 1:30 Linda took us down near the airport to pick up our Maui camper van. The van was quite lovely - nicer than I had expected. It was the Maui Spirit 2 Deluxe. It had 2 seats up front, a stove, microwave, sink, linens, utensils, cups, dishes, pots and pans, shower, toilet, and table and benches that converted to a bed. It was the perfect size for two people. We hired a cell phone from the camper van company. Prepaid $20 NZ worth of calls. It's funny, because calling the U.S. isn't that much more expensive than making local NZ calls on the thing. Linda kindly waited at the camper van office until everything was squared away, and then she drove home.

Craig got the hang of driving the van very quickly (though he stalled it a couple times). We headed to a mall to browse around and buy some groceries. We laughed at the "Boston Bun" - a coffee roll with bright pink frosting and coconut bits - something we've NEVER seen in Boston. We bought pizza bread, biscuits, chippies, orange juice, Fanta, etc. We saw some NZ-made avocado oil ( http://www.avocado-oil.co.nz/ ) and thought about Andrew from the plane. We got back to the Alpaca House at around 5 p.m. It was another rainy chilly day. Bill was home from work so we gave him a tour of the van. We said a quick hi to the alpacas and then went inside and sat with Bill near the fire. Missy the cat joined us and then so did Linda.

Dinner at Churchill's: Craig, Linda, Bill and Steph

We asked Linda and Bill if they'd like to go to dinner, and they said yes. Bill drove us downtown. We stopped at Christchurch Cathedral to take some pictures and we viewed the Chalice, a sculpture made in 2001. According to http://www.ccc.govt.nz/square/Chalice/About.asp: "Chalice has a solid steel base up to approximately three meters above the ground and beyond that comprises a perforated network of 42 aluminium shapes depicting the leaves of native trees that previously grew in the city area. The leaves depicted are mapou, kowhai, mahoe, totara, karamu, titoki, ngaio, maratata and koromiko. The 42 leaf patterns – complex constructions made up of computer routed shapes – are also intended to reflect the geometric features of the Cathedral, architecture, windows and tiles. As the leaves become larger, higher up the sculpture, they also become more detailed and less dense. The open texture of the artwork allows views into and through it." It looked much better than the similarly lit Lloyd's of London building! Christchurch is such a beautiful city. We ate dinner at Churchill's English Pub, a favorite haunt of Bill’s. Craig got venison in a rosemary wine sauce with salad and roasted potatoes. I got kumara and squash fritters which were served with peanut satay sauce. Craig got a "CD" (Canterbury Draught) and I got an orange Bacardi Breezer. We had a nice conversation over dinner. Linda told us that one of their last guests (who had departed the day that we arrived) had the same first and last names as me. Small world!

See more pictures from 4/7/03

Tuesday 4/8/03 - Kaikoura Maori Tour, Queen Charlotte Drive, Havelock

We woke up at 5:30 and got showered and packed. Linda made bacon, eggs, toast, and tea for us, which was especially kind since it was so early. We ate breakfast with Bill as he prepared for work. At 7:30, we said our goodbyes to Linda and Bill (we would be spending our last night in NZ with them as well) and hit the road. The weather had cleared, and it was sunny and warmer. We drove north, and caught our first glimpse of the Southern Alps, snow-capped peaks silhouetted against a bright blue sky. The cloudy rainy weather we had experienced thus far had pretty much rendered us incapable of seeing much of the landscape. Today it really did seem as though we were on the other side of the world. Every curve in the road ushered in different plants and different landscapes than the last. It was quite an enjoyable scenic ride.

As we arrived in Kaikoura, we rounded a bend and suddenly had a gorgeous view of the ocean. The morning sun was hitting it perfectly and the stormy weather system that had just gone to sea had caused an unusually high surf. One of Kaikoura's main tourist activities, whale watching, was cancelled for the day due to the high surf. We parked the van and crossed the street to the beach. The frothy, glowing white waves crashing on the beach is probably one of my most salient memories from this trip. Our first glimpse of the ocean in New Zealand (or "Aotearoa", Land of the Long White Cloud, in Maori).

We were to meet up with Maori Tours Kaikoura at 10:30. We were about 15 minutes early and went to check in. However, we had mistakenly gone to the whale watch office rather than the visitor's center. As is common with Kiwi hospitality, the woman working at the whale watch place was eager to help, even though we weren't her customers. She called the Maori tours and told us that we had gone there by mistake, and a few minutes later, Maurice Manawatu and his niece Jasmine arrived to pick us up. There was only one other person on the tour: a North Island tour guide named Otto. Maurice has a great, charming, friendly, funny personality, and he made the tour fun from the start. He first took us to a pa (fortified village) site where we learned how to properly introduce ourselves (our names, our river, our mountain) and greet each other via the hongi (touching noses which comes from the Maori legend of how Tane breathed life into Hineahuone, the first woman). We touched noses twice, the formal way of greeting a stranger. Jasmine recited a greeting prayer, which she repeated three times. Three is a very important number in Maori culture. In this instance it represented the physical, mental, and spiritual realms. Maurice handed out lyrics to a song written by Jasmine's mother. We practiced saying the Maori words.

After that, Maurice drove us to the marae (traditional meeting place). In Kaikoura, the tribes have decided to keep tourism separate from ritual. Because of this, we would not be greeted at the marae with a haka dance, or be able to talk to any Maori there. We had seen such things on TV (Michael Palin in Full Circle and Ian Wright on Globe Trekker had attended ceremonial hakas). We knew that there were tourist dinner shows where you could pay to see a haka and partake in a hangi feast. But somehow they seemed to us to be too contrived and touristy, like a commercial Hawaiian luau or a Vegas show. So although we wouldn't be able to see those traditions demonstrated, we felt it was more appropriate to do the activities that we were doing with Maurice. We viewed the marae from outside the fence. It had elaborate carvings along the roofline of the building. In the yard were some large statues, one a feather representing the signing of the Waitangi Treaty (Maurice's great-great-grandfather was one of the chiefs who signed it, and his great grandmother wrote the first written history of their tribe), and the others carvings representing gods. Maurice explained why Maori warriors are often depicted sticking out their tongues: "Papatuanuku (mother earth) was married to Ranginui (sky father) they had 70 children all male and all gods. After awhile the children decided to create human without the powers of the gods. The gods mated with different female entities but instead of creating humans created nature instead (the plants and trees). After awhile they went to IO (supreme Being) because they didn't have any success IO ask Papatuanuku to vomit from the vomit the gods created the first human a woman by the name of Hineahuone. The tongue that pokes out on our Maori carvings represents the birth of humans as a result of Papatuanuku vomiting . Our belief also is we come from the earth we go back to the earth ."

At this point we dropped Otto back in town. He kept getting cell phone calls and was eventually called away for good. Next we went to Maurice's house. We were greeted outside by Maurice's wife Heather, his sister-in-law and young niece, and his daughter and her 11-month-old baby. After performing the more formal two-nose-touch hongi, we removed our shoes and were shown in to the living room. The family served us hot chocolate, tea, egg salad sandwiches, salmon pate on crackers, danish pastries, and small pancakes topped with strawberries and whipped cream. Much of the serving and clearing was done by the young girl. The family was incredibly friendly. We all introduced ourselves and we had a great conversation. We mentioned seeing the marae on TV and Heather asked if by any chance did we mean the Michael Palin programme. We said yes, that we were fans of Palin's travel series. She said that Maurice appears in Full Circle. He said that they spent a lot of time with Michael. He was fun to be with, and they filmed a lot of sequences that were never used in the series, such as crayfishing together.

The Manawatus started their business a year ago. They are in the process of creating their own web site. It is wonderful, because the tour is so well thought-out and implemented. The whole tour embodies the values of the Maori people. We learned a lot from what Maurice and Jasmine told us, and then we saw it put into practice in the Manawatu family home. The Waitangi restitution was passed 5 years ago, and the Maori were awarded $170 million and a written apology from the queen of England. They deposited the money and got a business planner who is helping the community to start various tourist ventures. We had a great conversation with the family. They were so nice and were genuinely interested in us. Maurice got out his guitar and we all sang the Maori song together. We took some photos of the family outside, and then said our farewells. We were given the one-nose-touch hongi as we left, as we had now eaten at their table and were now "family".

We hopped back into the van and started heading toward the Puhi Puhi Reserve. On the way, Jasmine gave us flax weaving lessons. We made bookmarks and fishies, and Jasmine gave us woven flowers. At Puhi Puhi, Jasmine took us on a trek showing us various medicinal plants and trees. Maurice followed along with his guitar, and we sang the song to several trees. It was quite calming to hear Jasmine telling Maori legends while Maurice softly played his guitar and sang in the background. After that we drove back to where we had parked our camper van. Maurice and Jasmine gave us gifts: little woven flax bags called "kete" that contained the lyrics to the song and the family's nine tenets of living. The tour had lasted from 10:30 - 2:00. We were so touched that they welcomed us into their home and taught us so much. We sat for a while in the camper van just reflecting on the day's activities while overlooking the ocean.

Then we started driving north again. We saw lots of sheep, deer, and cows. We stopped for a picture above Picton, a port town from which the ferry to Wellington embarks. We then continued along Queen Charlotte Drive, a scenic, winding route. We arrived in Havelock at around 6 p.m. We found a camper van park right near the marina and checked in. We walked up the street to the Green Lip restaurant at the hotel (Havelock is the Green Shell Mussel Capital of the World).We ordered at the counter and then took a seat in the enclosed porch. Craig got pork and mushrooms, and I got the cottage pie (shredded pork, sauce, and mashed potato). Both meals also came with mashed potato, carrots, corn, chips, cole slaw, and macaroni salad. Craig had a Canterbury Draught and I got an orange Bacardi Breezer. The place was mostly full of locals, and as it was Tuesday night, the staff were wearing wacky get-ups (tonight was pajama night). I got a huge piece of pavlova topped with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, raspberries, and rainbow sprinkles. We chatted with the waitress, and I enquired about pavlova. She said that it's made of sugar, egg whites, and corn syrup. It was delicious. We walked back to the camper (able to see some stars for the first time). We were ready for bed by 9 p.m.

See more pictures from 4/8/03

Wednesday 4/9/03 - Pelorus Bridge Circle Track, Nelson, Paragliding

We woke up at 6:30 and heated up the pizza bread in the microwave. We had some orange juice and then hit the road. Craig was outside the van and told me to get out quickly; R2-D2 was in the bushes. I hopped out of the van and immediately knew what he meant. Some bird sounded exactly like R2-D2. It was as if George Lucas had recorded the bird and used it as-is to create R2-D2's sounds. How could a noise that electronic come from a living thing? We parked up the street in Havelock and took a little walk through the town. It was once a gold mining town, and it was interesting to see a monument in memory of some Kiwis from the area, including one who worked for NASA in the early days. We entered a small cafe and Craig ordered a coffee. While we waited, we looked at exhibits pertaining to the town's gold mining history, including little vials of gold. I was reminded of the museum in Hope, Alaska. The early morning sunlight coupled with misty fog rising out of the mussel flats was spectacular, so we took the opportunity to take some photos before we continued on.

On our drive north, we stopped at Pelorus Bridge to tramp the Circle Track. It was a gorgeous day (sunny and warm). The vegetation was lush and thick.The Pelorus Bridge is a wooden suspension bridge. The river was very still, andproduced a lovely reflection of the vegetation.The track was neatly kept by the Department of Conservation (a.k.a. "DOC"). The morning sublight filtered through the treetops and dappled the track in light. We saw some black-barked trees that were absolutely covered in wasps. There were no other people on the track, and it was a lovely way to spend the early morning.

We returned to the camper van and continued on to Nelson, a pretty town right on the coast. Downtown has a field house, a big clock tower (the locals use it as a landmark to give direction: "Take a left at the ugly clock tower...") and a bunch of shops selling CD's, crafts, clothes, etc. We went in to some shops, and then called to try to schedule a paragliding trip for the afternoon. Craig was told that the wind was not favorable, but to try to call back at around 2 or 2:30 to see about a late afternoon flight. We then wandered through a small park near the field house. We were looking for Trafalgar Square, home of the Jens Hansen Gold and Silversmith. The late Jens Hansen was the artisan who was commissioned to create the One Ring for the Lord of the Rings movies. Jens Hansen passed away before the movies were released, but his son Thorkild continues the craft, and creates replicas of the One Ring and its companion chain, along with original jewelry.

On our search for Trafalgar Square we ran into Christ Church cathedral, which was a very pretty gray church with a cool steeple. We walked al around Trafalgar and were about to give up and go eat lunch in the park when I asked a lady if she knew where the shop was. Turns out we were almost there, and she directed us about two blocks up on the left. We arrived at the shop and saw the replicas of the rings. They had no inscription, which Thorkild Hansen's brother Halfdan told us was accurate, as the rings they provided to the movies had no inscriptions (that was done digitally in post-production). We decided to each buy a ring. They were gorgeous. Halfdan sized our fingers (different than US sizing, their sizes are alphabetic). We told Halfdan we might be paragliding this afternoon, but we weren't sure what the time frame would be. We might not be able to return before 5:00 to pick up the rings. He gave us his cell phone number and said to call when we knew details. He lives near the paragliding area, so he could even meet up with us that night if necessary. Wow, yet another example of the extra lengths Kiwis are willing to go to make your experience a good one.
We walked to the Victorian Rose restaurant for lunch. I got smoked chicken satay with pumpkin hummus, a salad, and bread. Craig got a Nelson native scallop and shrimp salad. Craig had a Waikato Extra Bitter Draught and I got an Archers Peach Schnapps Aqua. As its name suggests, the restaurant had a Victorian feel, and we ate in the bar area, surrounded by old Guinness advertisements. We went to some more shops to pick up souvenirs (a children's book of Maori legends, some necklaces, some CD's to listen to in the camper van). Craig called back the paragliding place, and they said that the weather looked favorable, and we could try for a flight at 3:30. We went back to the goldsmith and told them our plans for the afternoon. They told us that they could have the rings done shortly after 3:00.

So we waited and picked up the rings before waiting at the Visitor's Centre to be picked up by Adventure Paragliding. We had to make a stop at the van as we were wearing sandals, and they recommended hiking boots. Andrea from Switzerland and her Kiwi husband Richard were the instructors. We were the only first-timers; a German couple and a Kiwi guy were working toward their paragliding certifications. Richard drove us up a private road up switchbacks to a hill overlooking the town and the sea. Andrea asked whose idea this was, and Craig said that it was mine. She said that she'd take me first then (which I was happy about, I get less nervous when I don't have to watch other people first). They strapped me into the tandem harness, with Andrea behind me. They set up the parachute. When Andrea counted down, we both had to sprint toward the edge of the hill. By the time we got to the edge the parachute was already in the air, and was providing a lot of resistance. Still, we kept running despite the difficulty, and soon we were airborne. We sailed in gentle circles for about fifteen minutes. The waning afternoon light looked amazing reflected on the ocean. From above I could clearly see reforestation on the hills below. The harness was very comfortable; you could sit back in it like a chair. Andrea steered and read the altimeter while I just enjoyed the view and took photos. It was so amazingly peaceful and smooth! As we kept circling by our takeoff spot, we could see others in the group taking off, and I could wave to Craig. Since Andrea needed to take Craig next, we didn't land in their usual cow pasture. Instead we landed back at our takeoff spot, going uphill. Andrea told me to lift my legs up and land on my rear end. My right knee bent as my butt dragged up the hill, and Andrea kind of landed on top of me. Still, we were totally fine.

They unhooked me from the harness and got Craig into his harness. I got photos of Craig taking off and sailing down toward the sea. The others in our group all took off, leaving me with Richard on the top of the hill gazing out onto the setting sun. After a while I realized Craig was out of view and when I heard Richard on the radio with Andrea I realized they were landing in a different spot. Richard drove me down to the landing spot, and we picked up the others. Craig had had a great ride and had landed in a cow pasture. He landed on his feet, which was very good as the pasture was full of cow patties, and this was still the very beginning of the trip, wardrobe-wise. They dropped us off at our van at 6 p.m.

We decided to press on toward Abel Tasman National Park. While on the road I used the cell phone to make a reservation for sea kayaking tomorrow, for the One Day - OneWay Blast tour. We arrived in Marahau at around 7:30 and found a campsite right across from the beach at the Marahau Beach Camp. We ate dinner at a small place called Hooked on Marahau, which shared a building with the campground office. We didn't expect it to be as good as it was, especially when we had trouble getting someone to pay attention to us enough to lead us to a table. But things quickly turned around. We each got the lamb shanks with garlic mashed potato and feta. It was absolutely delicious. Craig drank a Mac's Copperhop and I had a Smirnoff Ice. We had tea and berry cheesecake for dessert. We then went back to the campground, showered, (on the way to the bathroom I tripped over a picnic table in the dark, and got my first and worst bruises of the trip). We were settled into the van by 10:30.

See more pictures from 4/9/03

Thursday 4/10/03 - Kayaking at Abel Tasman National Park

We woke up at 7 a.m. and microwaved the remainder of our pizza bread. We settled up for the campsite (it, like many places in NZ, ran according to the honor system. The office had been closed when we arrived the prior night, so we were allowed to use facilities, water and electricity as long as we paid them in the morning). We headed a short way down the street to Ocean River Kayaks. We had been in touch with Adventure Life Tours, the agency we used to plan our trip to Peru last year. One of their employees, Crackle, used to live in New Zealand, and was a guide for Ocean River. She recommended them to us and told us we should look up Jude. We talked to Jude and told her about our connection with Crackle. She was very nice and we chatted for a while. We were introduced to Julie, who would be our guide for the day. Also in our group were Liz (a nurse from the UK who was working in NZ for a while) and a couple from Switzerland. Julie gave us some quick paddling instructions, and we stowed our gear in the kayaks. Julie had forgotten her sunglasses, so she borrowed a pair of amber '70's Elvis Presley style ones from the lost and found. She never heard the end of that! The weather was warm enough that we were wearing shorts. We put on our splash skirts and life jackets and loaded the kayaks and paddles onto a trailer, which was being pulled by a tractor. We sat in the front of the trailer and were pulled down the street and onto the low tide beach by the trailer. It was surreal, as it was prime time for kayaking, and various groups of kayakers were all doing the exact same thing, with the same tractors and small trailers.

Craig was in the back of the kayak, and was in charge of steering via foot pedals which turned the rudder, and I was in the front. Julie told us to get into the kayak, paddle like crazy until we are off the beach, and then adjust our spray skirts. Our cameras were in dry boxes secured by bungy cord to the kayak. Our water bottles were also secured by the bungy. Well, as soon as we got into the water a huge wave came in. We didn't capsize, but we were totally drenched. We were sitting in a couple of inches of water, and my water bottle was nowhere to be seen. I would not see it again. We affixed our splash skirts (a little late to be of use, but...) When we got past the breaking point of the waves it was much calmer. We had views of Marlborough Sounds and Adele Island and the sunlight was reflecting off the water. We paddled across an open expanse of ocean until we got closer to the coastline.

We then followed the coastline. The water was pretty calm until we came to the infamous "mad mile" which featured prominent swells. Near the end of the mad mile we stopped at Te Pukatea Bay for morning tea and hot chocolate and raisin bread. The beach was gorgeous. It was virtually empty, and the sand was striated in different colors and textures due to the workings of the tide. There were some gulls as well as some black birds with bring orange beaks (which we later learned were oystercatchers). I took a walk down the beach to photograph them, and then rejoined the group. Julie led us up a track through some gnarled, funky tree groves to a spot where we could look out onto the beach from above. We then tramped a little further and got to a point where we could see Anchorage (our ultimate destination). On our hike back down to the beach, we heard R2-D2 again. We excitedly asked Julie its identity. She said that it was a bellbird. Toward the end of our hike, I captured one on film. They are green and rather larger than I expected.

We got back into our boats and paddled to Torrent Bay. There is a sandbar and a neat lagoon that only fills up at high tide. We crossed the sand bar, looked at the interesting lagoons, coves, and caves, and then set ashore. By now the clouds had increased and the air was chillier. I went in search of the rest room which was fabled to be just down the beach. I ended up wandering around a rustic "resort" and eventually found their rustic facilities. By the time I found my way back to the group, Craig was taking a dip, after being challenged by Julie. He had gotten into the water and as the lagoon had filled, the water pushed him along with the current. Liz took a photo for him so that he could prove he had swum, since it was taking me so long to return. But I returned just as he was about to get out. Julie made us lunch (lamb fajitas with all the fixings). She tried to pass it off as seal meat. She obviously didn't know whom she was dealing with. If we'll eat guinea pig, you'll have to do better than that! We then had tea and oatmeal cookies as the sandflies had us. Now that the tide was in, we were able to really fully explore the lagoon and a river's confluence with the ocean.

We then paddled to Anchorage, and pulled ashore at around 3:20. This is the destination for many one-day and multi-day kayak trips. Julie, Liz, and the Swiss couple were heading on the next day. Liz was staying onboard a fishing boat that served as a backpackers, and the others were tenting. We got onto an aqua taxi (crowded motorboat) to take us back to the Ocean River headquarters. It took about 20 minutes just to get back to where the tractor had dropped us off, which gives you an idea of how far we paddled (13 or 14 km, according to Jude). When we arrived at the beach, the whole water taxi boat was winched onto a trailer, and a tractor pulled our stuffed boat up the boat ramp. It then drove down the street and let us off at Ocean River. Again, how surreal! Back at the headquarters, we took hot showers and then used the hot tub. Our arms were really sore, and the spa felt very good. We then took one more warm shower to wash the chlorine off, bought some t-shirts and postcards from Jude, and went back to the camper van. Although we would be staying in town again tonight, Jude recommended a different campground called Old McDonald's Farm.

We decided why not stay at a different place, so we headed down the street to Old MacDonald's. It's a working farm with tent and camping sites. On the way to our site we saw chickens, cows, pigs, sheep, and even a llama. After checking out our site, we drove back to Hooked on Marahau for dinner. Tonight I got a peach Archers and a "vege strudel" (filo dough filled with veggies and cottage cheese) with garlic mashed potatoes and tomato sauce. It was quite tasty, and the veggies were pleasantly al dente. Craig got a 350 gram rib eye with potatoes, mushrooms, bleu cheese, and au jus. He had a Mac's Copperhop to drink. Dinner was so good. Craig thinks this was the best restaurant we hit on the entire trip. We signed the guest book, and by the time all was said and done we had no room for dessert (a first for me!) We went back to the campground and did a load of laundry. While it was finishing up, I wrote in the journal and we listened to our new "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" CD, and planned tomorrow's activities.

See more pictures from 4/10/03

Continue with Craig and Steph's camper van adventures

Back to Craig and Steph's Vacations

Read my Dreambook guestbook!
Sign my Dreambook!