Milford Sound

Nothing can really prepare you for the visual dynamite that is Milford Sound. Driving through a flat, straight valley, you suddenly begin heading down a short, twisting road. A minute later and you are completely dwarfed by huge rock faces towering straight overhead. The ever increasing signs warning of avalanches doesn’t conjure up any warm fuzzy feelings, and when you stop at a lookout and see a plaque on a huge boulder commiserating a local who died in an avalanche back in 1983, well, you gain the sense that as an individual your quite insignificant.

And then you arrive at the tunnel. Holy crap! This tunnel, 1.2 kilometers long, dropping down at least 300 meters, gives the impression that you are heading into a place that man was not supposed to go. There are no concrete walls or ceilings in that Earthly orifice; just cold, dark, grinded rock that probably hasn’t changed much since it was dug out by some dedicated men some 80 years prior.

Your breath slows down once you exit the tunnel, and you continue your descent into a glacier grinded valley that is simply ferocious looking. Gigantic boulders litter the surrounding streams and woods. More avalanche signs remind you that these humongous rocks (some the size of cars) could reduce you quite quickly to being on the bottom end of the food chain.

I don’t know if I have ever felt so vastly insignificant in my life. Milford Sound is a place that just kicks you straight in the cojones and takes your breath away. I’ve seen plenty of beautiful places in my short time on this Earth, but I’ve never seen such a terrifyingly gorgeous place. It really is beyond my simple vocabulary to describe.

We arrived at the Milford Lodge right before dinner, and right before the rain. After being blessed with perfect sunny days throughout our time on the notoriously rainy South Island, I was beginning to wonder whether Veronica and I were in the midst of an incredible weather winning streak. Milford really took the wind out of that one.

Actually, the wind was practically gale force that night in our campervan. Veronica and I didn’t sleep a wink because our van shook back and forth the entire night like it was going through an eternal high-speed car wash. I checked that morning with the front desk to see if our all day kayaking trip had been cancelled. There was no answer at the kayak office, but the reception guy said he doubted the kayaking trip would continue as scheduled. I looked back outside and noticed that the rain was blowing in sideways, and I began praying that it would be canceled. There was no way I wanted to be out in those conditions!

When we finally got word it was cancelled I was relieved, but nonetheless bummed. Kayaking Milford Sound was the one thing I had planned on the South Island that I really wanted to do. In the end we had to take a two-hour cruise with families and retired couples. Instead of sweating and getting bit by sand flies in a kayak, we took in the sites whilst drinking coffee and eating snacks in comfort.

The one good thing about the rain was getting to witness all of the new waterfalls plummeting off the cliffs. But the bummer is all the pictures turned out quite grey. What can you do?

Wanaka & Queenstown

Drove into Wanaka after briefly checking out Fox Glacier. After hitting up the grocery store to restock our supplies, we took a walk around town. Wanaka, a town of about 4,000, reminded me of a small, upscale Colorado ski resort, except that it sits right between the mountains and Lake Wanaka. Lots of up market alpine stores and restaurants litter the main street. And the houses (oh goodness!) looked like they had been transplanted straight from North Dallas. For Dallas natives, imagine if Plano sat in a gorgeous alpine valley rather than flatlands.

Had a great dinner of chicken noodle soup on a picturesque, very secluded beach on Lake Wanaka. Shame we couldn't camp there but the entry to the gravel road strictly prohibited camping.

That night we went to see a movie at the Paradiso Cinema, a quirky little movie theater that has replaced traditional seats with couches and recliners. The Paradiso is one of Wanaka's biggest draws with backpacking tourists as Lonely Planet has heralded the place with praise befitting an Egyptian Pharaoh, and decidedly so, the place is cool. They even have an intermission during the movie so you can go buy freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. Delicious! Plus, it was great being in a warm place because being in the mountains had turned the weather quite chilly.

That night we broke our cardinal rule of free camping: Never park next to other vans free camping! Ended up being woken at 5 am by a council worker informing us that we couldn't sleep there. Wasn't too big of a deal though since we would wake up at 6 anyways, but nonetheless we learned a valuable lesson, stay away from other dirt baggers like ourselves!

With our early morning, we made good time driving into Queenstown. Another benefit being up early was seeing a gorgeous sunrise. If Wanaka was upscale, then Queenstown was posh. Not quite Aspen posh, but ritzy nonetheless. Didn't take many pictures as I was under the weather with a snotty cold, but we tried to stay warm at a local coffee shop that morning.

Queenstown is known as the Extreme Adventure Sports capital of the World, with the primary claim to fame being that it is the birthplace of bungy jumping. Our parents would be proud to know that the most extreme thing we did was a much-needed load of laundry. Frankly, bungy jumping doesn't interest Veronica or myself, and when you are on a long trip, you just can't do some expensive activity every single day.

The best part of Queenstown was unequivocally our dinner at Winnies, a gourmet pizza joint. Seriously, Veronica and I nearly wept with gluttonous joy as we scarfed down tasty chicken wings followed by some of the most gloriously inventive pizza we had ever tasted. Winnies, you made Queenstown. Please, don't you ever change!

Found a great place to park and camp, nice and tucked away from the town center and overlooking the lake, very choice indeed.

Franz Joseph Glacier

We got lucky. Real lucky. After arriving in Franz Jospeh in the afternoon, we went to book our glacier climb. We were told that everything was booked, and I was understandably a bit perturbed. After hearing that, we rushed out to try and book another tour, yet it turns out there was only one company that runs tours in town (which we had just left). So we headed back thinking we would book a half-day. Somehow, with luck on our side, we were squeezed onto the full day for the following morning. Needless to say, my ‘little’ temper tantrum was all for naught. After all this drama and before sun down, we headed over to the glacier to take a few photos on foot and then had a nice little pasta meal in preparation for climbing.

The next day we awoke early, grabbed all of the provided gear at the center, and boarded buses out to the glacier. The guides had the whole operation down like a well-oiled machine, and thankfully not much time was wasted. Within 45 minutes we were at the foot of the glacier receiving instructions on how to use the crampons (they’re like claws for your shoes!) for our journey onto the ice.

All the tourists were broken into 6 groups comprising 11, and luckily Veronica and I managed to steer clear of the group of blabbering UK girls who talked constantly about the most trivial and mundane topics imaginable. I thought of reciting verbatim one of the pathetic conversations here, but halfway through writing it I almost slit my wrists whilst trying to recall the nature of their moronic jibber jabber.

But I digress, from the minute our crampons dug into the first step of ice on the glacier, it was as if we were in a different realm. I hate to evoke the most obvious comparison to the icy environment, but it was truly something out of Lord of the Rings. The huge granite cliff faces towering over the glacier was absolutely awe-inspiring. And the glacier itself, well damn, I am almost at a loss for words in describing it. There were so many different forms of icy terrains up there; from rolling hills of ice, to flat plains of ice, to huge waves that created gigantic valleys in the ice. Perhaps the coolest thing about the glacier is that it is forever changing as the glacier moves over a meter a day down into the valley. One week a cave will become a valley, and then a month or two later a valley will have become part of the flat lands.

As we climbed, we got to enter a tunnel of ice and explore ice caverns. It was amazing. And it was sooo cold. Some of the ice caverns were so tight that you had to walk sideways to get out! In addition, you got really wet and luckily we were prepared and had raincoats. During our expedition, we were told that we could fill up our water bottles with glacier water at the many glacier streams. Veronica and I jumped at the chance and had two bottles filled. The water tasted really good! It was truly some ‘high quality H2O’.

A couple of times we had to stop for other members of the group to catch up and just standing there our feet and hands turned into ice blocks. It was a little uncomfortable but then you got used to it pretty quickly. Once we started climbing sweat would immediately start pouring forth so we warmed up pretty fast. We had 15 minutes for lunch - Veronica almost cried when we started to move again. It was so cold!

Our all day tour cost $150NZ each, and I was prepared to be a tad disappointed. However, at the end of the day Veronica and I were in complete agreement that the tour was completely worth it. The climb wasn’t even that treacherous, yet we woke up with really sore muscles the following morning.

Despite the sore legs we had an epic time. Hopefully the pictures do it justice.

The Journey South

Early afternoon Saturday we arrived in Wellington to blue skies. Our ‘little rigs’ refridgerator wasn’t working so we headed to the Britz dealership to see what the problem was. Turns out that we needed to recharge the battery every 2 or 3 days according to a troubleshooting sheet. Problem was that we were not given said sheet in Auckland. Awesome. But no matter, we checked into a campsite and plugged in, then caught a bus into town.

Wellington is a cool city. Centrally located, the city is compacted into a small little hub offering up a plethora of restaurants and entertainment. Most of the night we strolled up and down Cuba Street, checking out shops and various eating establishments. After a little debate, I convinced Veronica that we should go eat at the Flying Burrito Brothers (Mexican again!). Had a nice, yet pricey dinner that didn’t quite measure up to Auckland’s Mexican Café. Ended up meeting 3 Americans who worked for the U.S. Embassy in Australia. Small world how we always end up running into other American’s, but I guess it’s a Yankee trait to possess a fetish for Mexican. We are all powerless at the thought of some tasty burritos or tacos, hence all the other poor bastards hankering for a little South of the Border (?) cuisine.

Our ferry was scheduled for 1:00 pm Sunday afternoon, so we headed back into town in search of a good coffee. On Cuba Street we decided to forgo Fidel’s and instead try Ernesto’s. Oh how they love their Marxist Revolutionaries on Castro Street! Had a fantabulous flat white at Ernesto’s, and oh how I wish we were not on a budget because their breakfast looked like Jimmy Walker would be yelling ‘Dy-n-o-mite!’ after each bite. Before heading onto the ferry we took another photo in front of a Texas named business, as seen here.

The ferry crossing was gorgeous, but COLD! Oh so cold. The trip was 3 hours, and after arriving in Picton we headed out across some winding roads to Nelson, the biggest city in the North end of the South Island. Had a very interesting night as we met up with 3 inebriated locals who were celebrating seeing their mate who’s been gone for a year. The wayward mate (Al) was a boat builder who lived just South of Sydney. We all got to talking and ended up having a couple of beers with them before we headed to a residential street to free camp.

Monday morning we grabbed groceries before driving a long way down to Greymouth. We stopped just outside of Westport to check out a seal colony, but besides for that most of the day was spent highway bound. Spent a cold night in Greymouth with howling winds rocking the van back and forth during the night. Veronica thought the campervan was going to tip over and I thought the telephone pole was going to fall on us! Tuesday morning we used the free Wifi at the Library to catch up before heading to Franz Joseph.

Raglan

Monday morning we made tracks back to the airport so we could pick up our campervan. It felt great to get into our ‘little rig’ and gain some freedom. After picking up our bags from the hostel and grabbing some groceries we got on the highway and headed South to Raglan.

About 3 hours out of Auckland, Raglan has been a Mecca for goofy foot surfers since Bruce Brown featured its perfect left hand pointbreak waves in “The Endless Summer”. We arrived in town late afternoon, and after grabbing a block of Sex Wax drove out to Whale Bay. Witnessing the waves wrap around the point and peel through the bay in a perfect symmetrical fashion almost made me weep with joy. I took a few photos then hopped into my wetsuit, waxed my board and made my way out over the lava rocks to jump out.

While paddling out in such a gorgeous spot I couldn’t help but have a Cheshire cat grin plastered all over my face. It wasn’t too crowded and almost immediately I stroked into wave and was flying down the face of an emerald peeler. Caught a few more inside waves and then went to the outside to wait for a set wave. A set loomed out the back and a few guys scrambled for the first wave leaving me in position for the second wave. My recollection of the wave is hazy, but I remember taking a high line and pumping like mad to make each section. After about 50 yards I finally made a cut back and then continued down the line for another 20 yards. As I kicked out of the wave I wanted to start pumping my fists like Rocky I was so freaking elated.

We’ve been here now for 4 days, and I have continued to have some of the tastiest waves ever. The other surfers out in the water have been super cool and the vibe of the place is slow and mellow. Generally when I build up a place in my mind it never comes close to fulfilling my expectations. Raglan (as much as I had built it up) has far exceeded my heady expectations. The place is magical.

The toughest part of life here is finding a place to park your rig to sleep. Raglan is quite anti-camping in parks around town, and park rangers issue violators with $40 tickets. The recommendation from most locals is to pay for a campervan park. Veronica and I (except for Wednesday night) had decided against paying $30 to stay in a campervan park. We’d rather save the money, but it does make it a little nerve racking sleeping at night wondering if your going to get a knock on the window to tell you to move on. But Veronica has a real hawk eye for scoping out places that are out of the way, and then yesterday we met a guy named Lee in Raglan HQ (the coffee shop we go to for our java and internet needs) who had just moved from Manly 2 months ago. Turns out Lee used to work in the Aloha Surf shop and knew all of our friends, small little world. Lee clued us in that we could actually sleep in the RSL’s parking lot for free and not get hassled. Our last night was spent with other dirt bags sleeping in a free and hassle free parking lot. Score!

Today we are making our way down further South to Wellington. We will break up the 8 hour trip by stopping at Mount Taranaki for the night before heading into Wellington Saturday morning. From there we plan on taking a ferry across to the South Island on Sunday, where it is gonna be cold. So far we have had some nice weather, but it can definitely be a tad nippy in the early morning and at dusk.

I am sad to be leaving Raglan, but I am stoked to know that we will be coming back to spend my birthday in this epic piece of coastline.

Auckland

We ended up spending a couple of days in Auckland before we could pick up our campervan. Our first night we slept in the Airport as we arrived a little after midnight and didn’t want to waste money on half a night’s accommodation. Frugality at it’s finest.

Thursday morning we checked into a hostel and immediately crashed out for a couple of hours. Our first New Zealand meal was spent enjoying the culinary delights of Wendy’s. We know, it’s terrible and it puts us on par with the silly Americans who go to Paris to eat at McDonalds. In our defense, we were hungry and it was really close to the hostel.

Besides walking around the city, took it pretty easy that first day. The highlight was our dinner at the Mexican Café that Veronica had spotted from our hostel window. I admit I was real apprehensive about eating Mexican food since the majority of Sydney’s Mexican cuisine made Taco Bell seem deliciously authentic, but low and behold I was utterly shocked by how good our meal was. Veronica had the enchilada and taco combination plate and I opted for the chimichonga. I feel confidant in stating that Auckland’s Mexican Café is the best Mexican food in the Southern Hemisphere.

After our delicious dinner we cruised to the grocery store so we could load up on groceries. Our hostel had a clean kitchen that was perpetually crowded, but nonetheless we managed to make a few sub par meals to keep our bellies full.

Besides searching out the best cafes Auckland had to offer, we walked over to the Auckland Museum to check it out. Of particular interest (to me) was Sir Edmund Hillary’s pick axe that he used to climb Mount Everest with, and included a little seven-minute film playing behind it. Just as cool was a 19th century Maori war canoe that was an incredible 25 meters long.

I managed to convince Veronica that we should go see a movie our last night in Auckland. Ended up seeing “In Search of a Midnight Kiss”, an independent film set in LA but I am pretty sure written/directed by a Texan. Really cool little film that had both of us laughing hard.

The weather in Auckland was pretty crazy. One minute it would be warm and sunny, and literally 5 minutes later it would be cold and rainy. Definitely one of those cities where you need a backpack so you could change clothes depending on the day’s ever-changing mood.

First Week of Freedom (Noosa)

Our day of exodus finally arrived, and on cue a torrential downpour worthy of Noah accompanied it. Terrible traffic had me worried we would miss our flight, yet we escaped Sydney and arrived in Noosa to sun bleached skies.

Damn near had a hernia lugging our bags and my surfboards up and down the hill into Hastings Street (the main thoroughfare of Noosa). V and I had taken the local SunBus instead of a shuttle from the Maroochydore Airport, saving an outstanding $52, yet giving us both a nice little work out in the process. (If you plan on traveling for 6 months, it is all about being thrifty, isn’t it?)

After settling into our digs, we took a stroll through Hastings Street. I was reminded me of a tropical Manly, full of a curious mix of douche bags with too much money and dreadlocked backpackers with tacky tribal tattoos. Prices were actually more expensive than Sydney, never a good sign. We decided to have lunch at the Noosa Surf Club, overlooking the machine like waves of First Point. The view was great, the food was average, and that concludes our culinary journey of Noosa. We had a full kitchen and a barbie, and in the interest of saving money we were cooking machines, making pastas, papas con carne and grilling up pork chops.

It was obvious from the beginning that the week in Noosa would have a certain yin and yang aspect to it. The yin was that the points of Noosa fired all week long, a real rarity (I am told). The yang was that the sun disappeared after our first day, refusing to appear until the day we left. Because of the storm perfect waves were on constant offer, but because of the storm little beach bunny Veronica only made it to the eroding beaches 2 times. Yet, despite the lack of rays, Veronica channeled her free -time into becoming a running deity.

While Veronica got Zen-like on the road, I had 6 days of absolute hair pulling, unbelievably frustrating surf sessions. Nothing can tear the edges of sanity quicker than watching perfect waves constantly roll through, yet every single time you take off on a wave either someone drops in on you or you get snaked by a 15 year old. It is my semi-professional diagnosis that surfing the points of Noosa could drive a sane man absolutely bat-shit crazy.

Before you start feeling a bit sad for me, know that on my 7th and final session out at Granite Bay, I finally scored some fun waves. Waves where I did not get dropped in on, or snaked, or given stink eye for being out in the water. Hallelujah for that last session!

Our last night we took the River Sunset Cruise, and even though it was grey and cloudy, it was a delightful little tour. The most fascinating part of it all was the Captain’s commentary about the prices of all the waterfront property. Who knew property overlooking a dirty brown river could fetch $10 million dollars and over? Only in Australia, eh mate.

In summation, we had a good time in Noosa, but we are still bigger fans of Byron Bay. Perhaps it is because we are not ‘wealthy style cats’, which according to Lonely Planet are the main inhabitants of Noosa. Bummer dude.