Back to Civilization - For Now

Is this What it Feels Like to be Retired?

"We aren't working", Heather said the other day.  Although obvious, I had forgotten after all this time.  Its been 8 months now, and with only 3 left (a huge amount of time really - Australia, Singapore, and Indonesia remaining), it seems to be going quickly.  The day of the week doesn't matter now (is it Sunday?  Wednesday?  Who cares?),  this is certainly true when living out of a van with no buses or planes to catch, or hostel reservations to make.  Is this what it feels like to be retired?  Maybe in some ways . . . but in other ways it is nothing like retirement or other normal living how we travel when being  "Van-ites".  For most of March and April we didn't sleep in the same place two nights in a row, and we generally had no clue where we were sleeping from one night to the next.  It was a bit weird at times . . .

New Zealand

Take Canada (some 4000kms wide), squish it in a vice till its about 250kms wide, chop off the northern part, and you have New Zealand - about 4 million people, 40 million sheep, and all the hot spots with desserts and vineyard, cold bits, lakes, mountains, and glaciers that we have in Canada.  It has two big islands - the North and the South - that make up New Zealand, and is just under 1/2 the area of Saskatchewan (not a big place), and is generally warmer on average than what we are used to in Canada.  Its the perfect place to visit for all ages, especially by vehicle.  From 20 somethings in a van, to mid-agers and their kids in small motorhomes, to mid- agers acting like 20 somethings in a van, to blue hair Gerrys driving in their mini motorhomes.  A safe and welcoming place, Heather and I spent 2 months here and loved it and will be back again someday. 

"Ian may have cut off his long curly  locks over 7 years ago, but his inner hippie has been loving being in a van again", comments Heather.  Maybe so, but mainly I just like campervans.  Ask me for the "Campervans, are they right for you" power point presentation I made for work a couple years ago and I'll be happy to send it to you when I get back to Canada.

We didn't have Hula Girl hanging out with us the first week.  No, the first week was some R an R after the whole Brazil Carnival deal and 24 hr travel day.  I caught my third cold of the trip, and Heather had some aches and pains of her own.  So spending the first three days in an Auckland hostel (there was a fringe festival on and we caught some entertaining plays, as well as a league rugby game at the new big World Rugby Thingy stadium built last year) helped heal us and deal with the 8 hour time difference and our woes.
 
Then we had a very posh and relaxing three days at Chantel's (friend of Heather's) parents' 2nd home on Waiheke Island.  They graciously invited us to have the whole place to ourselves which was awesome - we did some winery tours and a bit of sea kayaking, while making our own meals again with amazing vegetables in a very nice kitchen.  After these first quiet 6 days we met Hula Girl and it all changed.

Hula Girl

We knew that all the grafitti's were original, and requested something with an ocean theme (you know, fish, whales, that kind of crap that is fairly foolproof from screwing up).  But they gave us what they knew as Hula Girl.  "Can we pick another van?  Any van will be fine."

"No".

Hula Girl - a graffiti artists attempt at portraying waify chicks on each side of the van - one hanging out with bunnies on the grass and a bent/broken leg around the wheel-well.  On the other side a coconut braziered chick of sorts laying on the sand.  Not off to a good start - she was ugly on both sides, and lots of people took photos of her over the weeks.  She was a thirsty 2.5 litre Mazda van, drinking almost $1500 worth of gas ($1.70 Canadian a litre in New Zealand) while we had her.

So Heather, Hula Girl, and I left that together on St Patrick's Day in the evening out of Auckland, away from the drunk youngun's, and taudry flouncey green crinalin clad tarts that were toddling on the sidewalks.  My first crack at left hand driving mixed with drunks at midnight don't mix well.  Even worse was later in Hamilton - a town like, well Hamilton I guess - at 2am as we passed through the same but even more stumbly, and crowds of them taken to the streets before we pulled over in a quiet neighborhood street to sleep for the night.  But I digress. . . . this is supposed to be a blog, not some verbatim recollection of when we met Hula Girl for that first day.

Did I mention that we bought groceries before we left Auckland, and I had happily bought 1kg of salted cashews?  We also got spices, cooking oil, balsamic - we were going to cook now dammit!  Even bought a spicy cookbook in Ponsenby. Oh yeah, the Ponsenby bakery and the pies.  If there is one thing that I liked its those cooked small meat pies and assorted fresh deli sandwiches available everywhere, including 7-11 type establishments 24/7.  Also, there is a fruit called a feijoa - part pear, kiwi, and halls cough candy that has a short shelf life and you can only get in NZ .  I liked them (Heather not so much - they did stink up the van), here I am buying them from the side of a driveway by the bag (along with apples) from someone's house - its an honour system, you put some money in a little coffer and drive off.

Anyways, back to Hula Girl.  She came equipped with a crappy cooler (ie "chillie-bin") that we wrapped a duvet around so the ice wouldn't melt so fast,  a propane stove, a decent stereo (we bought a used I-Pod with 9000 songs on it for tunes), a long queen sized foam bed (a nice change from SA beds), and lots of storage.  It was our kitchen and home.

By day on travel days it was all business, and she never let us down in the 8000 km's we had her, except for having to get 4 new tires early on . . . By nights, we often lived like vagrants "freedom camping" by parking on streets, or on the edge of rural roads to sleep for the night.  The best of these was freedom camping in the heart of a bigger city called Wellington (I went in the police station to ask where I could camp for the night and the guy on duty told me to try along the walkway by the water), so in the morning we woke up to business people and joggers commuting to work.
 
At times we went to places where it was free to camp (small towns had places for our kind with toilets to encourage us to stick around).  There were also cheap national park camp sites in beautiful areas. 
In bigger cities, and some touristy towns and areas, there were more "no camping" signs than there were sheep.  This was a good thing, as it forced us to pay like an adult for parking the van at a hostel or campsite to use their facilities such as hot showers, power to charge batteries, get on the internet, feel human again - that sort of thing. 

Traveling by Hula Girl gave us a good mix of accommodations and was fun way to live.  We'll likely do more of this in Australia. 

North Island Travels

The north island is where 75% of New Zealanders lived - it's warm.  Our first van stop was in a small town called New Plymouth for 3 days to an outdoor music festival called WOMAD (world of music and dance), similar to Calgary's FolkFest in size, venue, and acts.  It was a relaxing start and the weather was stellar.

On to the Cormandel area we visited Cathedral Cove (nice ocean beaches with a big rock arch joining them), fun narrow winding gravel roads (all roads in NZ are mainly paved, winding, and narrow with no shoulders) right on the edge of cliffs overlooking the ocean, and Hot Sands Beach.  Just under the sand in some places there was hot spots from volcanic activity that would warm up the water to over 100C.  Every day at low tide, about 100 people would show up with little spades (rented) to dig out pools in these hot areas to make your own "hot tub" of sorts.  As the tide rose, these pools would be breached with cold ocean water.  Some guys who were swamped this way lost two cameras by us, and Heather found their car keys in the bottom of our pool (important - leave stuff on high land).  As the tide rose and it became dark, we hopped from one abandoned pool to the next like scavengers, some were too hot....formal training in hot sand pool making and management would have helped us. (This is what I'll look like someday if I get a rug.)

In Rotarua, another touristy town, we did some great single track mountain biking through the redwoods.  There was an amazing trail system....to the point of ridiculous with sprinklers in the middle of the fernclad rain forest, and sculptures made alongside some of the trails.  There were awesome bermed corners very reminiscent of the trails in Fernie, but minus the bears.  There was also a Banff-type hot springs, including bus loads of tourists.  An interesting history here, including an eruption a 100 or so years ago killed lots of tourists . . .

In Taupo we were directed by a local to a more obscure hot river mixing with cold water stream for an afternoon soak.  The next day, per the same local guys suggestion, we bought our own mini spade to dig a hole on the sandy beach of lake Taupo which we had to ourselves (like Hot Water beach, minus the 100 people and no tide).  It was hard to get it right with the scalding sand under you.  People would walk by wondering what the hell you were doing sitting in duck poo (ducks hung out, maybe they liked the warm water).  Here I'm laying in about 1 inch of hot water, having a beer, looking like a tit for the locals.

The only hike on the North Island we did is the Tongariro Crossing (some 50,000 people do this pilgrimage a year) with Mount Doom (from Lord of the Rings) as the backdrop.  It was a 7 hour, 19km one way hike with a 1000 metre elevation gain.  This was a full on volcano hike, a crazy big climb with gorgeous views, turquoise lakes and rugged volcanic landscapes.  The last pyroclastic slide was in the mid 1970's, so we liked our chances.  This trail is relatively easy, it is so well graded, with heavy duty wooden stairs, and in some places its like a landscaped garden.  Parks Canada doesn't have any trails quite as well made from what I've been on, and as we discovered they have a very high standard for their "tramping" trails and huts in general.  Kiwis love tramping.

After three weeks on the North Island we took a smooth ferry ride across to the south island - it can be apparently quite rough and pukey.  Here we booted across to the Abel Taismen Great Walk to meet up with our Calgarian friend Mary Hobart who was visiting NZ for a couple months.

South Island - Abel Tasman, and Nelson Lakes

We met up with Mary Hobart (a Calgary friend, vacationing in NZ for two months) on the sunny and warm south end of the north island.  It was nice to catch up with her on the goings-on back home after being away for so long.  We camped on a beach, and did a couple day hikes up and down the coast on the golden beaches and coastal trails of Abel Tasman park.  Timing tides in some places, and hiking in the dark on the first night (seeing glow worms along the trail followed by a high tide estuary crossing in our  shorts - no alligators in NZ thank god) was a good time.  It had been a long time since we had campfires, and we had some good ones two nights in a row.  There was a Weka (brown bush chicken - these things have lots of character) that lived in the area, he hung out with us both nights and "poked" around for handouts and got really mad when I hung the garbage bag up in a tree (they can squawk really loud).

Then we went to the Nelson Lakes area to meet up with her friend John where we hung out for a few days in St Arnaud.  Camping in our first hut (taking his boat across the lake) we had a good stew with venison sausage, and smoked salmon that he made himself.  There was this bearded old brit who was skinnier than an anorexic 15 year old, and was a bit crusty until we fed him some food (he had been in the bush for several days living on noodles).  John is an avid hunter and fishing guide, so he always has his rifle and rod with him.  Typical of many people in the south island, people are very outdoorsy and are hunters and collectors, much like northern Canada.  Here is Heather trying to ride a surfboard behind his boat the next day on a glass lake (tricky, but she did alright for the most part). 

John had a resident eel, Delise, who lived in the stream on his property.  She was about 80 years old and a behemoth who would appear out of nowhere to gobble up the venison scraps John dangled in the water.  Any other eels who tried to get in on the action who get promptly bit and tossed by Delise.
We travelled down to the west coast which was wickedly rugged and wild with huge waves, rock formations and cliffs.  We camped and had a great driftwood bonfire on the beach, before parting ways the next day when Heather and I headed inland to Arthur's Pass for some hiking.
 
Arthur's Pass

Arthur's reminded us a bit of Rodger's Pass, with its steep valleys and gorges.  Here we did a cool 3 day hike through a crazy pass with lots of route finding, navigating in valley fog and river crossings.  They have these things called tussock grasses, which are huge clumps of wild grasses that cover the trail's obstacles (such as rocks, roots, along with gorges).  I fell in a gorge and thought I broke my ankle, thankfully it was only a hiking pole.  Heather wasn't so lucky and slipped on wet rocks along a stream, and fell on her shin with all her weight.  We both thought it was broken at first, but thankfully she just bruised the bone.

The first night we had the first hut to ourselves (the guest registry indicated that the crusty old brit had been there the night before) and had a fire.  Second night after a 10 hour hike of routefinding, we found the 2nd hut which was overrun with 22 Kiwi's (Kiwi's are a name for New Zealanders, the fruit, and their skiddish national bird).  Although people camp in tents, its far more common for them to stay in huts.  In the Arthur's Pass area alone, there we some 165 huts.

We met up with Mary again in Franz Joseph where we checked out a glacier (now retreating) that was once quite large and close to the ocean.  Not impressive by Canadian standards in my opinion.  We also went to thermally heated pools to rest Heather's gorish shin and our aching muscles.

Welcome Flats

Mary joined us again for a few days, as we hiked into Welcome Flats hut.  This was a 17km 6 hour hike one way, and we had to come back out the same trail the next day. Normally I hate these same way return hikes, but this was an exception with its green mossy rainforest and numerous bridges over often flooded streams.  The best part was the natural hot springs in four silty pools at the hut with fantastic views of the valleys all around us.  We went in it before dinner, after dinner, and the next morning before we hiked out.  A three time soaker that was realllllllly good.

Wanaka

Driving along the wild western coast, and stopping for decent fish and chips, we spent a rainy driving day going to a Canmore type town called Wanaka.  There, we spent a few days mountain biking, and doing some R&R after all the hiking.  We also had some mexican food and booze to celebrate my 35th b-day - and Mary (being Mary) baked me a surprise chocolate cake.  The next day we parted ways Mary, and headed out for more hiking and Fiordlanding to take advantage of a few days of good weather before crap rain came again.

Fiordland and Kepler Trail

In Doubtful Sound, we spent 2 days and a night on a boat with 12 other people,  catching our dinner (blue cod, sea perch, and a diver got some lobster - one lady kept catching small sharks that they would throw back in the ocean).  They make you kiss your catch, here is me with my fish, and poor Heather gave her sea perch a big smooch and his little teeth gave her three bleeding bite marks on her lips.  It was awesome to eat fresh seastuff, which means a lot coming from someone like me that doesn't like it very much.  Glaciers carved out deep channels (over 400m deep) and tall mountains, giving this area incredible scenery.  Heather did a short day kayak off of the boat.

Next was a 60km 3 night alpine hike of the Great Walk Kepler Trail.  The 2nd day of the hike was in the alpine for 6 hours, where we hiked along numerous ridges and a peak, all the while seeing in all directions for many km's.  Perhaps the best of the alpine hikes we did in New Zealand.
Finally, we went to New Zealand's famous Milford Sound.  The drive through a long tunnel, and popping out into an amphitheater with near vertical mountains and surrounded by waterfalls is so impressive.  At the end of the switchbacking highway down to the fiord, we took a short ferry ride along the vertical peaks out to the ocean.  This was a touristy area with many ferrys coming and going, but it is obvious why it is such a popular spot.  There are more waterfalls than you can shake a stick at, and the harder it rains here (and it almost always rains here), the more waterfalls there are.



Queenstown and Routeburn Trail

We needed some R&R, and found it here.  Setting up our tent at a hostel overlooking the town-site was nice, and we enjoyed a jet boat ride, concrete luge (like soapbox racing), and I liked the 18 hole disc golf course at the park right in the heart of the town.  We each bought a disc and played the course 5 times while we were in the area.  A nearby town Arrowtown was nice,with all the late April fall colors on the trees.

Our last alpine hike was the Routeburn Great Walk, 32kms long.  At the top of one mountain we could see clear out to the ocean some 30kms away.  This trail had probably the nicest alpine lake that I've seen.  The alpine sections here were different from the Kepler, and there was lots of ice on the trails in places.  Winter was coming and we had to think about leaving this cold country soon.

 Dunedin

Time for a rugby union match, a shower in the hostel we stayed at, a chocolate tour of the Cadbury factory, and a visit to the nearby albatross refuge.  This was a really nice university city and we had some hot and sunny days, and a couple nights on the town. 

Steward Island





Remember I mentioned the kiwi's, the national bird of NZ?  One of the flightless birds with rat like butts, and long beaks with nostrils at the ends of the beaks - we wanted to see these guys.  We came to this small island of about 300 people to find the elusive kiwi whose numbers here were higher than anywhere else in NZ at 30,000.  The introduction of weasels, rats, and possums have taken their toll on these and other birds, some species driven to extinction (80 million years in NZ, then gone in about 700 years after man and his mammal friends showed up).  So we flew there, took a boat to a trail head, then hiked for 3 hours to a hut where most of the birds were.  Being a nocturnal animal, we went out to find them at dusk and managed to only see the bum of one bird before it ran into the bush.  Damn kiwis . . . and what have I become chasing birds?  We did see lots of other birds along our hike on this island (many Wekas along one beach that liked to peck at Heather),  it was different and quiet than the rest of NZ, and there was the best fish and chips we have ever had in the fishing village which  we ate it two days in a row.

Catlins

Hardly visited, especially in the low season, we were lucky to have a couple days driving along the east coast in the Catlins area.  The Rock Nuggets and lighthouse, awesome beaches, waterfalls (best since Iguazu in Brazil), and lookouts over a few hundred km's were relaxing as there were hardly any other tourists about.   This was a farming area, so we saw more sheep here than anywhere else.  One day was a rain day, so we spent the evening in the van finishing a bottle of gin, and just hanging out with no where to go . . . at this point Hula Girl was looking pretty messy inside, we were letting things go as we could see the end of our time in NZ.

Christchurch and Akaroa

Winter was here.  It was getting colder, approaching mid May.  I really wanted to hike up to a hut in the glaciers of Mount Cook, but all we could do was go for a short day hike there in the rain.  Someday I will go back to the Mount Cook area, large glaciers, very rugged mountains, and Heather wants to back country ski up there.  Fortunately, our drive to Mount Cook was not in vain as we found a disc golf course in nearby Twizel - got soaked, but it was fun.  Here is me washing the last of our dishes in a puddle in the road behind the van, Heather laughed at me and felt we had reached a low point in our camping - just another sign it was time to move on. 

To finish off NZ, we spent a day in Christchurch and a day in the french coastal town of Akaroa.  The downtown area of Christchurch was fenced off, so the devastation of the recent earthquake was somewhat out of sight.  But there were lots of old brick buildings and churches with lots of damage and walls missing.  It was a sad sight, but the town had a resilient feel to it and I felt safe there (apparently there are daily tremors, and one while we were there but we didn't feel it).  It will take a couple decades to rebuild the damage from the latest quake.  We also went to a wildlife place, so that we could see some Kiwis (birds), as we felt we had to after all the effort on Steward Island.

Akaroa was an hour from Christchurch, and we spent out last two nights there.  Kayaking on a hot sunny day, then cleaning out Hula Girls contents into our hostel room to be packed.  Oh how I did not miss packing after having all our stuff in the van for 6 weeks, and it took us a while to get everything sorted again.
Now we are in Austrailia, hanging out in Brisbane at the moment at Ed and Dion's place enjoying the high life for now . . . but that is for the next blog.