Of Wetas, and The Wallabies vs. The All Blacks

SANCTUARY: KARORI NATURE PRESERVE

After a quick tour of the Massey University Medical Research Facilities for Ola this morning, we are whisked away by our VIG [Very Important Guide] to Karori Nature Preserve, which sits in a protected valley of Wellington Harbour.

A pest-proof fence keeps out the rodents, possums, and cats that would otherwise decimate the populations of native birds that are protected here.  Our bags are even checked for any potential stowaway vermin that may have been crafty enough to hitch a ride with unsuspecting park visitors. 

We wander off the main trail to follow a sign pointing the way to an abandoned gold mine, and are invited by a park ranger to explore the old mine shaft.  In the 1800s, the owners of this land discovered some flakes of alluvial gold in their rivers and caught some gold-rush fever; this mineshaft was the result.  

The ranger tells us that back then it was quite the spectator sport to sit around the entrance to mine, sipping tea in their Victorian finery, watching the miners pick, chip, hack and detonate their way into the hillside.  She tells us to keep an eye out for some Cave Wetas, the shy and quirky creepy-crawlies that live underground in this part of the world, and we find a bunch of them chillin’ out just around the first bend.

CAVE WETAS

Further up the main trail, we encounter a Kokoru feeding station, and watch these large native parrots stomp on their food trays to open the lid and pick out some seeds, while a watchful ranger takes notes on who has come for today’s feed.  A couple hours are quickly lost wandering the trails here, stopping every now and then to snap a photo of yet another lush view unfolding at our feet.  This is a very special and picturesque pocket of Wellington that is well worth a visit, expecially on a sunny day.

Meanwhile, our guide has arranged for a hangi tonight with some friends to watch the All-Blacks play the Wallabies. His cousin is off diving for some fresh paoua, or abalone,  to eat tonight, while chicken, pork, lamb, and kumara slow cooks in the portable hangi they have built.  Traditionally, a hangi is the Maori version of the Hawaiian imu, or underground oven, where superhot rocks are placed into a pit filled with banana leaves, and the food is left to slow cook all day. 

The food is delicious - tender meat that falls off the bone, sweet kumara slow-cooked to perfection, and I can’t get enough of the paoua, which has been ground up and simmered in a rich, creamy butter sauce.  We’ve made yet more new friends, who open up their home and welcome us into their families, patiently explaining the rules of rugby to us both even as they cheer on one of the most exciting matches against the rival Aussie team that anyone can remember.  

NEW FRIENDS

Somehow we wind up at a pub on Cuba St, the famous stretch of bars and nightlife in Wellington for the final 10 minutes of the game, and I find myself cheering on the AllBlacks at the top of my lungs for the thrilling finale of the game.

Final Score: Wallabies: 18.  All Blacks: 19.

GO THE ALL-BLACKS!!

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Kia Ora from Wellington

Theme Songs for the Day:

1. "One Love", Bob Marley and the Wailers
2. "Aotearoa Aroha", by Diwata Tribe
3. "Island Style", by John Cruz

We missed the bus!

The plan today was to catch another shuttle, Intercity Buslines, up the coast through beautiful Kaikoru to Picton, where we could jump on a ferry to cross the Cook Strait and land us in Wellington by nightfall.

ATTENTION ALL TRAVELERS: When catching the 7am Intercity Bus to Picton from Christchurch, note carefully that Intercity are the only buses which depart from their own terminal station on Worcester St, behind the chapel.  Lesson learned. 

So, it was back to the source of all knowledge – Google – to find us an alternative way to get to Wellington where Ola’s friends were expecting us in time to make a 1:30 tour of the city’s museum.  

$400 in airfares, one hearty breakfast, and 3 hours later we are waiting for our bags at the Wellington Airport baggage claim with a friend of Ola’s who has offered to be our guide while we are in Wellington.  This is no small feat, as this friend also happens to be the Director of Medical Research at Wellington University School of Medicine, and is a very busy and important man.

He whisks us away in his sporty little coupe and takes us to Te Papa Museum on the shore of Wellingon Harbour, where he is delivering an award to a colleague.  She happens to be the Chief Curator of Te Papa, and takes us on a brief whirlwind tour of the Maori history exhibit, which is scheduled to be changed very soon.  Ola is stricken by the beautiful and intricately carved Waka [war canoe] that is the length of the hall.  

We learn about the Marae meeting house and Pataka food storehouses.  We learn about the Treaty of Waitangi, and of the continuting struggles for land rights between Maori and Pakeha [non-Maori].  We learn about how the Maori population has been decimated since white man’s arrival: from 130,000 in the 1700s to about 40,000 today.  The Hawaiian population has suffered similarly, although far more heavily: from 800,000 to about 40,000 today. 

It is fasciating to compare notes between the two peoples, and how each dealt with, and continues to deal with adapting to modern-day society whilst honoring and preserving the rich culture of their ancestors.  This will become a theme for the remainder of our trip. 

After a cup of coffee with our guides, we are whisked away again, where we visit another friend, the Director of Maori Studies at Wellington University.  This part of the city is a college town, with townhouses built into the hills and students lugging books and listening to iPods as they rush to their next class.  We ask for permission to visit the Marae, which is hidden behind some buildings in a protective elbow carved into the hillside.

Led by our guide, we stand at the edge of grass before the Marae and wait to be invited in before crossing the threshold.  We take our shoes off and are led to seats just inside the entrance, where we stand facing a small group of Maori students who survey us with a fierce curiosity. We are motioned to sit as he begins to welcome and introduce us to his family in his native Tongue. 

The students then launch into a beautiful harmony, a welcoming song that gives us goosebumps, and recounts the story of the sacrifices made to build this Marae. The Maori language is beautifully musical, similar to Hawaiian, with a more war-like quality to it.

Now it is our turn: we are introduced as friends, and a little about who we are is shared, before it is sugested that Ola may dance a hula as our offering.  There is enough similarity between Maori and Hawaiian language that Ola understands this part of his speech, and she is visibly nervous.  Her lone voice quivering, she dances and sings beautifully for us, her courage and grace moving everyone in the room.

The ancestors of the many different tribes represented here glare down upon us from the walls as we are welcomed and shown around, learning about the different tribal ancestors represented in each beautiful carving, and the meanings of each intricately weaved pattern.  The mana is strong here, vibrant and pulsing with its own life force. Our host explains that this is very much a living marae, with regular events scheduled and familes coming to sleep under the watch of their ancestors. 

I feel so blessed to be invited into the marae as a 'Brother from Hawaii' to learn about Maori culture .  You see, although I am third generation born and raised in Hawaii, there is no Native Hawaiian blood flowing throw my veins: my family heritage is Irish-Scottish-Filipino.  Though the Hawaiian culture is the one I feel closest to, I have always felt an outsider because of my lack of Hawaiian cultural knowledge.  It is truly humbling and an honor to be so warmly welcomed.

Although we are invited to take photos, the experience of sharing cultures so intimately is so profound that it doesn’t feel right to take out the cameras and start snapping away.  The images and music and emotions of that afternoon, however, will remain etched into my memory banks. 

WELLINGTON HARBOUR

Afterwards we are invited to have a cup of tea in the student house, where we watch the Maori-language news broadcast, then are taken to the staff lounge to enjoy a couple Friday night drinks.  As we relax on a balcony with our new friends, sipping on a cold brew and watching the sun set over Wellington Harbour, I notice that my cheeks are actually sore from the smile that has been on my face since our arrival in Wellington. 

Today's experience epitomizes what I enjoy most about travel: people, humanity, connection. 

Atomic Adventures

Theme Song of the Day:

1. "Slice of Heaven", theme song from 'Footrot Flats' by Dave Dobbyn

JUST ANOTHER BEAUTIFUL NZ VIEW

Indie Travel has its perks: the thrill of not knowing what lies around the next corner, where you will sleep tonight, or what adventures tomorrow will bring…

It also has its frustrations though.  Because it was so easy to get that killer $5/day rental deal from Christchurch to Queenstown, I figured that it would be simple to find a great deal to get our way back to Christchurch… not so. 

After 2 hours at the airport internet kiosk, on the phone, and visiting all the car rental outlets, there were no good deals to be found.  It would have even been cheaper to catch a flight back to Christchurch, or even Wellington had they not all been sold out. 

At times like these, you really appreciate having a friend in the business.  With a tip from EntirelyKiwi, we ended up booking a couple of seats on the Atomic Shuttle for only $30 – slightly more than the cost of our cab back to town.

The six-hour bus ride would take us on the direct route back via Tekapo and yet even more spectacular scenery, and get us into Christchurch at 10 o’clock that night.  We get the cool kids’ seat at the back of the bus and settle in for the epic journey north with our new travelmates. 

On one side sits a young Aussie named Lucky, who hangs off the side of skyscrapers with a bucket and squeegee to earn a living, and is on his way to North America in search of new adventures.  He’s sick of hitch-hiking this route and has decided to do it the easy way this time.  Kathy sits on our other, an India-born American from Georgia, who is studying pharmacology in Las Vegas, and is in the final days of a 6-week trip across New Zealand - her first solo travel adventure.  She ‘s just survived her first skydiving experience just the day before.

We wind through giant brown hills, follow bubbling creeks and rushing rivers, skirt massive mirror lakes as the afternoon sun silently backlights everything with an intense drama that culminates in a mad rush to pile out of the bus and snap a few shots of Mount Aoraki as the sun sets.

The bus drops us about a block from Christchurch town square half an hour earlier than our ETA, and we barrel out of the bus, stomachs growling, in search of room and board.  We opt for a room at the Camelot hotel for only $120/night instead of staying at the backpackers’ hostel next door.  With a heartfelt smile from behind the front desk, we are pointed in the direction of Sticky Fingers, a popular restaurant [and personal favorite of our concierge] that is right around the corner. 

As with most things in life that don’t go to plan, it all worked out in the end… and we had a great adventure getting there.  The people you meet along the way are one of the best things about Indie Travel.

EVERYBODY BACK ON THE BUS!!

Flat White Organic Free Trade Coffee …..………....…...............$3.50

Roasted Kumara Pizza at Sticky Fingers in Christchurch…………..$18

Cab ride to City Center from Queenstown Airport……………….......$25

Atomic Bus Fare from Queenstown to Christchruch [6 hours]…...$30

View of Mount Araki at dusk ….………….........................Priceless

PRICELESS

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Snowboarding and the Art of Perseverance II: LYNCHMOB

Fall down seven times, get up eight.  

Enough said.

Me and my cousins on Coronet Peak, Queenstown:

QUEENSTOWN ROCKS!!

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Snowboarding and the Art of Perseverance

VIEW FROM OUR BALCONY AT GARDEN COURT

Queenstown, the 'Adventure Capital of the World', is  a picturesque lakeside town on the shores of Lake Wakatipu.  We are meeting up with my Uncle Darryl and my tow cousins, Danny & Andrew to join them on their annual ski/snowboarding holiday.

The deep blues of the lake reflect the winter blues of the sky, and wispy cirrus clouds streak from behind the snow-capped peaks which surround us - a stark contrast to our entrance into Queenstown late last night:  the dark road wound its way along a black lake, a trail of tailights leading around the next corner as starbursting headlights whooshing past in the opposite direction.  Amber streetlights and incandescent houselights twinkled in pairs across the way, relected in the inky waters.  A deep, throbbing dub soundtrack gave everything a hauntingly surreal feeling, taut with anticipation.

Ferdburger, which has been recommended to me as 'DaBestestBurgerInThaWorld' is packed to the walls and does not disappoint.  Harrys Bar, just up the street, has a warm fire and cold beer, and is full of beautiful people with the satisfied smiles of a good day on the slopes.

Our morning is spent returning rental cars, transferring to the swanky Garden Court lodge in town, searching for a good flat white, and preparing to hit the slopes of Coronet Peak that afternoon. 

I’ve never been a good surfer. 

One, I don’t go often enough to be any good, and two, I’m just plain lazy.  It’s a heck of a lot of work to get around on the water, all that paddling and paddling and paddling for a short ride on a wave.

LOOKING OUT FROM THE TOP OF CORONET PEAK

That’s why snowboarding sounds so good to me:  strap your boots to the board so’s it can’t float away, ride a lift to the top of the swell, then drop in on the biggest wave, albeit a frozen one, that you’ve ever seen – 1,200 meters above sea level.

So it’s a wonder that I’m not better at it.  But then again, see #2: I’m just plain lazy.

AW YEAH, THAT'S HOW I ROLL...

HOW'S THE SERENITY!?

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Queenstown via Mount John Observatory and Wanaka

Theme Song of the Day:

1. "Carmina Burana", Carl Orff

THE LONG WHITE CLOUD

The day breaks clean, crisp and blue, with the sun making a welcome appearance by midmorning. 

This morning’s adventure takes us up to Mt John’s Observatory, 300 meters above Tekapo. The four massive telescopes on the summit are in active use today by scientists from around the world, and in 2003 discovered a Jupiter-sized planet orbiting a star several thousand light years away.

Only twenty minutes up the road, the town looks like a minature train set from here.  I understand why the Maori named this land ‘Land of the Long White Cloud’ as I look out at the bright blues of lake, sky, and distant mountains and sip my flat white at the Astro Café. 

The amazing interstellar imagery captured in the postcards on display is enough to convince me to return and to do the stargazing tour.  There are images of distant galaxies, comets streaking across the Tekapo night sky, and even of the Aurora Australis shimmering behind and dwarfing the distant peaks. 

COMING DOWN FROM THE OBSERVATORY

As we wind our way back down the hill, my thoughts drift into the scenery - I’ve never seen such massive spaces - the glimpses of wide open nature that I’ve caught always seem to be interrupted too soon by the harsh grid of civilzation.  As I look out at miles and miles of blue lake, brown plains and snow-capped peaks, there are no other towns visible in the distance.

I glimpse a farmhouse here, a small cluster of buildings there… and a now-familiar feeling wells up inside.  It is the same exhilleration that I feel when embarking on a road trip, eating up the endless open road… except these spaces ignite a yearning to be back on foot, tramping and camping with my backpack and a tent, a tiny speck wandering in wonder as the vast landscape swallows me. 

SOMEWHERE ALONG THE ROAD TO WANAKA

There is also a peace of mind, a stillness that is stirred as I drink in the clean air and blue nature all around me.  Surely only nature could evoke such contrasting emotions with such a deft stroke of her brush.

I’ve no idea how long my thoughts have been wandering when I actually notice the canal that we’ve been following for the last half hour.  The water is still the same glacier-flower blue that was Lake Tekapo, except that it is eddying and boiling in a fast flow, rushing to get somewhere in a hurry.  This road appears to be on a man-made embankment ten stories high that is so precisely engineered that I am reminded of one of those virtual roller coaster rides where you are going down down down into darkness and the track jerks and jolts you around unforseen corners.

IS THAT THE SAME LONG WHITE CLOUD WE SAW IN TEKAPO!?

The mountains and lake are still our backdrop one hour later, and the I am sure that the long white cloud skirting the mountain is the same one we were looking at up at the observatory.  Suddenly the flume opens up into a squarish pool, and the road turns away from the water. 

A sweeping curve starts our descent, and as we round the corner, massive pipes can be seen plunging out of the embankment towards the lake below.  We must have stumbled across one of New Zealand’s hydro-electric plants.  It is impressive; the energy coursing down through those pipes is almost tangible.

CRISPY SKINNED SALMON W/ PESTO ON WARM SALAD

Before we know it, we come to the Wanaka turnoff and decide to check the place out before we hit Queenstown.  I highly recommend the detour: we share the most amazing Salmon filet with pesto over warm rosted veggies with a couple of locally brewed, preservative-free beers from Kai Whakapai.

The road to Queenstown from Wanaka winds through rocky brown and black hilltops that bring to mind images of Mordor as the sun is getting low in the sky and casting long, dramatic shadows.  We gradually climb higher and higher until patches of melting snow appear, turn a corner and the hilltops here are mottled with snow.  Another corner, and the hilltops are now mountain peaks.  Another corner, and LakeWakatipu greets us silently, the grandeur of this view demanding a full orchestra but only getting static on the radio in response.

COMING OVER THE MOUNTAIN PASS TO QUEENSTOWN

The sun has disappeared behind the mountains but has not yet set, muting the hues below and backlighting a dramatic skyscape.  We must be a couple thousand meters above the valley floor as the van picks its way down the switchbacks, stopping every kilometer or so to take in the changing views. 

Queenstown, here we come!

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ROADTRIP!! ~ Lake Tekapo

Theme Song for the Day:

1. "Happy Birthday", by Stevie Wonder

ROADTRIP!!

Solo travel has its perks, but there’s nothing like a great travel companion to really make  an awesome roadtrip.

COUCHSURFING HOST MARINA, OLA AND ME

I am being joined for the next two weeks by a friend from Hawaii, the beautiful Kapuaola Gellert [or just Ola for short], who is an Epedemiologist currently working and conducting medical research on the tiny island of Molokai.  She also happens to be a mad keen Waterwoman: StandUp Paddling, Outrigger Canoes, Surfing, and anything to do with ocean sports are the loves of her life. 

So at 10.26am I meet her at Christchurch airport’s baggage claim, we pick up our $5/day relocation rental special [Toyota Previa family van] and head towards Lake Tekapo.  We’ve got 48 hours to complete the journey and deliver the vehicle back to the depot at Queenstown Airport. 

Breakfast [at noon] is a smoked chicken panini with blueberry salsa and melted camembert cheese from Vic’s [again!], where we make more new friends at the table.  Apparently, in Christchurch you make friends by slamming down your table number to startle your neighbors… Anna and Paul are studying Organic Horticulture and turn me on to some key people and places to visit while I am here. 

LAKE TEKAPO

The 3 hour drive to Tekapo takes us through the rolling green pasturelands of Central South Island.  The cloud cover is low, muting the colors and swallowing the hilltops.  Sheep, cattle, deer and lamas munch and stare as the kilometers easily tick past, and before we know it we round a sweeping corner and are greeted with an epic turquoise view of Lake Tekapo. 

After a good hour taking photos on the shoreline behind the iconic Church of the Good Shepard, we check into The Chalet, a cozy little boutique inn run by Swiss-expat couple Walkter and Zita.  The couple has been here since 1987, and show us the available rooms with obvious pride –Zita has designed each one herself.  We drop our bags and head to the Alpine Springs Spa and Winter Park for a Skate‘n’Soak. 

Two Hawaiians on an ice rink?  Trouble.  Luckily, there is only one spill between us [me of course], and the rink is empty so as to minimize the risk of us mowing down any unsuspecting skaters. 

...AAAAAAHHHHHH...

The natural hot spring waters are slightly salty, and wonderfully steamy in the cold night air.  There are three pools ranging in temperature from 36 – 40C degrees; we choose the warmest pool to soak our tight hamstrings and watch a group of backpackers flirt with each other across the way.  Ah, the simple voyeuristic pleasures of people watching…

Dinner is at Pepe’s pizza and pasta tavern: one large handmade pizza, half venision [with BBQ sauce and roasted kumara] / half lamb [with mint jelly and roasted potato] with a pint of Speights cold ale to wash it down please.  Lamb and venision pizza… only in New Zealand.  

BEN AND JUAN FROM GREAT BRITAIN

Two friendly Brits, Ben and Juan join us at our booth and we strike up the travelers conversation: where you from, where you been, where you goin’…?  Turns out they have been on the road for 5 months now, and have covered the skifields of Europe, the backpacker treks of Southeast Asia, the trails of Nepal, the suburbs of Sydney, and are now in search of the magnificent scenery and powder snow of New Zealand.  It’s also Ben’s birthday, so we end the night with a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday [the traditional version, seeing as no-one knew the words to the Stevie Wonder version], and show some restraint by not dancing on the tabletops per his request.  

Happy Birthday Ben!

THE WATERS OF LAKE TEKAPO REALLY ARE THIS COLOR!

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