The title says it all. Our day began with another rainbow, this time over Christchurch as we sat down for breakfast with our host Michael. Over breakfast he gave us the best directions to the airport, we found out he used to do photography, the room we stayed in used to be his studio, and he shared a few photography tips with Hayley. With all our belongings gathered in the car we said goodbye and followed Michael’s directions, getting to the airport with no difficulty. At check-in we said goodbye to our bags until U. S. Customs and then made our way to our plane for Auckland.
In Auckland we would have a five hour layover, therefore we made plans to meet up with Graeme again. As we disembarked the plane Graeme called to let us know where we could meet up with him outside the terminal. Finding Graeme we threw our carry-ons into the boot and headed off for some lunch. The first place we tried, near the airport, had a limited menu because the kitchen was closed, it was in between lunch and dinner hours. Our second stop, Frolic, located near One Tree Hill we made just before their kitchen closed for the afternoon hours. With a plate of pasta and a piece of chocolate cake in our stomachs Graeme took us up to the top of One Tree Hill to give us one last look around the city. What is funny about the name One Tree Hill is there is no tree atop it now, an angry man cut it down. Reacquiring our bearings we have come full circle, starting and ending our time in New Zealand here in Auckland.
Back at the airport Graeme waited while Hayley and I paid our departure fees to leave the country, something we later overheard someone jokingly refer to as a fine for leaving the country. We made our way upstairs to the food court area where we would meet up with Graeme’s wife, Vanessa, and their two kids. For the next hour we hung out, lounging around. At 530pm we said our farewells and Hayley and I made our way through immigration and security. Knowing we would not eat for a few more hours we decided to grab a quick burger at the Burger King inside the secured area. I know, it is a shame to claim our last meal in New Zealand was a double cheeseburger and a whopper, but it is basically all we had for options.
On board our flight home, in the air just off shore to the northeast of New Zealand I took photos of the sunset we were leaving behind. Once above ten thousand feet the in-flight entertainment was activated. Hayley and I opted for different choices—I with “The Simpsons Movie” and “The Shawshank Redemption,” Hayley with “Into the Wild” and some games of Tetris and Solitaire. Fading in and out of sleep we kept track of our flight status on the screens in front of us utilizing the flight tracker, something that was very fascinating. We reached an altitude of 39,000 feet and the outside temperature reached a bone-chilling 56 below Celsius, just some useless, yet intriguing information to share. As the sun rose for the second time, only this time over the Pacific, we dined on a hot airline breakfast of scrambled eggs and pancakes.
With our seat backs and tray tables in their full upright and locked positions we touched down shortly after ten in the morning on U.S. soil. As we taxied to our gate I powered my cell phone up to send out text messages to the family letting them know we were back in the States. However, every time I went to start a text I was interrupted with an incoming text. My sister Andria, someone I text message with almost every day except while I was out of the country, was excited to have me back in the country and sent me eight messages for me to read upon our arrival—she wanted to make up for all the texts we were not able to share while traveling abroad by sending me, in her own words, numerous “frivolous text messages.” As we deplaned my dad called and I told him I would call him back after we cleared through customs and got settled at our departure gate. We then gathered our bags and stood in line for more than a half hour because of an apple. With neither Hayley nor I being tremendously hungry and eating the apple I properly reported it on my declaration form. This led to our requirement of going through the agriculture line. The end result was the half hour wait and Customs took the apple. Hayley, while in line, told me she would have told me to just throw the apple away—now she tells me.
Once cleared through Customs we dropped our bags to continue on their journey home to Oklahoma, found the shuttle over to Terminal Seven, passed through security and found that our flight to Denver was delayed. Following a bathroom stop to satisfy the need to brush teeth and hair (Hayley) and down some Starbucks, we got switched to a flight that would leave earlier than our original flight. Having gotten situated in the airport it was time to call my Dad back. Looking at my incoming calls in preparation to call my dad back, it was weird to see his call had come in four hours earlier then Graeme’s call back in Auckland seventeen hours prior. I called my Dad back while searching for a place to eat and talked with my sister Mary and my Mom. After checking in with everyone we stopped and ate lunch again. To answer the question everyone has been asking, it was better than the first time we ate at LAX, we are not still LAX-tose intolerant. And it was comforting for Hayley to get pink lemonade, a lemonade that was NOT Sprite.
With satisfied bellies we checked the departures screen, our original flight was now scheduled to depart earlier than our changed flight. Armed with that information we got switched back to the original. While waiting Hayley got to call her parents for fifteen minutes, making her overjoyed, she knew she was home. While on the phone with her parents they told her about the tornados in Wisconsin the other day. She mentioned that Graeme had told us about them earlier this morning, yet in reality he had not told us for a few more hours thanks to the anomaly of the International Dateline travel. It was quite humorous when I explained it to Hayley later. Her call was cut short so we could board our plane. On board a nearly empty plane, another long lost comfort of home was found when the flight attendants served up pretzels. Hayley was doing the “Snoopy dance” again. You see, for three weeks she has been unable to have pretzels to snack on because we could never find them in New Zealand in a snackable size. The only pretzels we could find were sold in a huge box, which was more than what she needed.
Airborne for Denver and in the window seat this time, Hayley took pictures of our second sunset of the day, this time over western Colorado. Landing in Denver was really sad because at 530pm it was dark out. If we had stayed in New Zealand it would not get dark for another four to five hours.
In Denver we received another dose of American travel I have become accustomed to, the information of our plane being delayed. With an extra hour to kill in Denver we searched for food, traveling to the A, B, and C terminals in hopes to find a nice sit-down restaurant. We were hoping for a sit down restaurant with a waiter or waitress to assist us instead of having to order at a counter and then carrying our own food to the table. With no luck in the sit-down department we settled for a quick Sbarro-like Italian place.
Following a brief wait after dinner we were back in the air for Oklahoma City. We both took the opportunity to sleep on the one hour flight. Arriving at our home airport, Will Rogers World Airport, in Oklahoma City we gathered our bags and my car Sunshine and homeward bound we went.
Back at home we checked the snail mail, I downloaded our long day of pictures, I did a load of laundry, Hayley watched four episodes of “Friends,” and we both checked our emails. Now, after a 37 plus hour day here on 10 January 2008, seven meals, two sunsets and a rainbow I am going to bed.
Cheers to all for staying with us,
Bobby and Hayley
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Friday, January 25, 2008
Tug of War – 09 January 2008
Under normal conditions the only time I see four o’clock in the morning is when I am still up, not waking up. Today however was cause for the four in the morning wake up, the need to call and confirm our balloon ride was still a go. With the push of eight buttons, a few rings and a recorded message on the other end of the receiver I was back in our guest room waking Hayley up to get a move on. Scarfing down a yogurt, a banana, a can of peaches and half a slice of burnt toast while getting ready I was ready to go. At 430am we were out the door, complete with a continental breakfast-in-a-bag for Hayley; a yogurt, a banana and two slices of buttered toast in my hand.
In the car, with tired, sleepy eyes I tried to read the ever-so-small print of our road map to get the street names we needed. Unable to focus on them without a magnifying glass I deferred the navigation to Hayley and began our way. We were excited along the route, as one of the roads we traveled on was Linwood Avenue, and it was spelled correctly. Woo-hoo! Arriving at the Merivale Mall car park at about ten to five we met with the rest of the early rising balloonists and awaited our buses. Moments later we boarded the buses and got an overview of what to expect while in route to our launch site located on a driving range of a golf course.
At the golf course participation was encouraged to help lift the basket off the trailer and stretch out the balloon on the ground. There were sixty balloonists this morning and only three balloons and baskets. Hayley and I looked at one another and questioned how in the world we would get so many people into the three baskets. Once the balloons were filled with air by fans, our pilot, Nigel, turned on the burners and began to warm the air, ultimately lifting the balloon to an upright and locked position above the basket. With a hop, skip, and a jump we had twenty three people in total in our basket, counting our pilot. Surprisingly it was not all that cramped, at least not as much as I figured it would be. Following a quick test of our “landing” positions we were airborne with Up, Up and Away Balloon Safaris.
As we drifted upwards to the Heavens the clouds and morning fog were breaking, revealing a beautiful sunrise. Far below us, some 3500 meters below, we watched the plains of Canterbury slowly pass by and took in the sounds of the sheep and cattle grazing on the farmland. It was very peaceful up there in the sky, not a care in the world, except when my mind began to think of where I was. I was doing well in our confined basket space, but if my mind got to thinking of what I was standing on and in, and how it was attached to the nylon above, I began to feel a little uneasy. Therefore, I kept my mind from thinking about it by staying focused on my video camera and capturing the beauty that surrounded us.
After an hour of flight time we assumed the landing position and gracefully set down in a farmer’s cow pasture. Once our bus and follow trailer made contact with the farm owner and provided him with a bottle of champagne we were clear to get out. Avoiding the steaming land mines left by our gracious cattle hosts another balloonist and I grabbed hold of a long black rope attached to the top of the balloon and went for a hike. Across the pasture we were in a tug of war with the balloon, ultimately pulling the warm-air filled balloon to the ground. To expedite the release of the warm air in the balloon, other balloonists laid down on the skyward side of the balloon and began to roll towards the opening at the top. The site of this was similar to a baseball grounds crew trying to get all the air out of the tarp before rolling it up. With a few whooshes of air the balloon was flat enough we could bunch it up and place it back in the bag it started the morning in. Moments later the gear was packed on the trailer and we were toasting our glasses of champagne in traditional fashion of all successful balloon rides.
Back at the car park in Christchurch we dropped our bags in the car and made a breakfast and toilet stop at McDonald’s across the street. We followed that up with a walk around the mall to see if there was anything left we absolutely needed to bring home to the States. Exhaustion hitting us made the shopping spree short and fruitless. Returning to our bed and breakfast shortly before eleven we said good morning to our host then went inside to take a nap.
“Ring, ring!” went my cell phone at two in the afternoon and I sprang to life. On the other end was a high school classmate of mine, Amy Gilman. She and her husband live here in Christchurch, along with their daughter and two dogs. Having played email tag with Amy over the past week we were setting up an opportunity to get together for a visit. Fifteen minutes after the phone woke me up we had dinner plans at Amy’s tonight at 7pm.
For the time being though, Hayley and I needed some food. We made a trip down the hill and then a right into Sumner along the coast of the Pacific. After parking the car we walked around until we found a place called Poseidon on the beach. The food was not anything to write home about, but it was food that satisfied an empty stomach. With our time in New Zealand dwindling we wanted to soak up as much as we could. We took a walk along the beach, explored the Cave Rock adjacent to the restaurant we ate at, browsed the opened stores in town and window shopped the “closed for the holidays” art galleries. Returning to our residence in Christchurch we took our turns showering and I downloaded the day’s photos.
About 645pm we rolled up outside Amy’s place. With introductions out of the way we made our way to the back deck to sip on some Pepsi while Amy’s husband John tended to the grill with tonight’s fare. During conversation first my eyes lit up then Hayley’s eyes lit up as we both discovered what was on the plate John was bringing to the table, buffalo wings. From their experience the first time they visited New Zealand, one food they craved after three weeks was buffalo wings, not a standard menu item down here, but a staple amongst us all. As Hayley and I tore into the wings and Amy fed their daughter, John returned to the grill to finish up the next course. With the wings disappearing, John placed on the table a bowl of roasted red peppers and zucchini and a platter of steaks and sausages. Hayley and I were in Heaven, delicious and familiar foods. Now wait, the best has yet to come. For dessert, Amy cooked up a raspberry and strawberry pavlova. In the kitchen with the night settling in outside, we continued our conversation about our honeymoon trip, our wedding, Amy and John’s trips to New Zealand and their move here. We also discussed places of interest that either we had been they want to go or places they have been we want to go, including the Tongariro Crossing. As the glow of street lights grew stronger, we said our goodbyes about 1030pm and went home for the evening.
Home by 11pm our emotional tug of war kicked into high gear. On one end of the rope we were having a great time, loving what we have been doing and not wanting to go home. The other end of the rope resided our emotions of wanting to return home to see family, get back into a land of familiarity, and have an opportunity to relax. To compound the tug of war, we had to unpack everything so we could assess what we had to take home then play the tug of war weight limit game so we did not have to pay over-the-limit charges. It was while we were unpacking everything I discovered I had somehow misplaced the fennel honey I was so excited about bringing home and trying. In disappointment I realized I had left it in the hotel room back in Taupo, the city where I had purchased it. With our bags all packed and tomorrow’s clothes set out for the morning it is now time for some sleep.
Cheers,
Bob and Hayley
Restaurant Names We Found Funny:
· Sticky Rice
· Two Fat Indians
· The Headless Mexican
· The Salty Pig Deli
In the car, with tired, sleepy eyes I tried to read the ever-so-small print of our road map to get the street names we needed. Unable to focus on them without a magnifying glass I deferred the navigation to Hayley and began our way. We were excited along the route, as one of the roads we traveled on was Linwood Avenue, and it was spelled correctly. Woo-hoo! Arriving at the Merivale Mall car park at about ten to five we met with the rest of the early rising balloonists and awaited our buses. Moments later we boarded the buses and got an overview of what to expect while in route to our launch site located on a driving range of a golf course.
At the golf course participation was encouraged to help lift the basket off the trailer and stretch out the balloon on the ground. There were sixty balloonists this morning and only three balloons and baskets. Hayley and I looked at one another and questioned how in the world we would get so many people into the three baskets. Once the balloons were filled with air by fans, our pilot, Nigel, turned on the burners and began to warm the air, ultimately lifting the balloon to an upright and locked position above the basket. With a hop, skip, and a jump we had twenty three people in total in our basket, counting our pilot. Surprisingly it was not all that cramped, at least not as much as I figured it would be. Following a quick test of our “landing” positions we were airborne with Up, Up and Away Balloon Safaris.
As we drifted upwards to the Heavens the clouds and morning fog were breaking, revealing a beautiful sunrise. Far below us, some 3500 meters below, we watched the plains of Canterbury slowly pass by and took in the sounds of the sheep and cattle grazing on the farmland. It was very peaceful up there in the sky, not a care in the world, except when my mind began to think of where I was. I was doing well in our confined basket space, but if my mind got to thinking of what I was standing on and in, and how it was attached to the nylon above, I began to feel a little uneasy. Therefore, I kept my mind from thinking about it by staying focused on my video camera and capturing the beauty that surrounded us.
After an hour of flight time we assumed the landing position and gracefully set down in a farmer’s cow pasture. Once our bus and follow trailer made contact with the farm owner and provided him with a bottle of champagne we were clear to get out. Avoiding the steaming land mines left by our gracious cattle hosts another balloonist and I grabbed hold of a long black rope attached to the top of the balloon and went for a hike. Across the pasture we were in a tug of war with the balloon, ultimately pulling the warm-air filled balloon to the ground. To expedite the release of the warm air in the balloon, other balloonists laid down on the skyward side of the balloon and began to roll towards the opening at the top. The site of this was similar to a baseball grounds crew trying to get all the air out of the tarp before rolling it up. With a few whooshes of air the balloon was flat enough we could bunch it up and place it back in the bag it started the morning in. Moments later the gear was packed on the trailer and we were toasting our glasses of champagne in traditional fashion of all successful balloon rides.
Back at the car park in Christchurch we dropped our bags in the car and made a breakfast and toilet stop at McDonald’s across the street. We followed that up with a walk around the mall to see if there was anything left we absolutely needed to bring home to the States. Exhaustion hitting us made the shopping spree short and fruitless. Returning to our bed and breakfast shortly before eleven we said good morning to our host then went inside to take a nap.
“Ring, ring!” went my cell phone at two in the afternoon and I sprang to life. On the other end was a high school classmate of mine, Amy Gilman. She and her husband live here in Christchurch, along with their daughter and two dogs. Having played email tag with Amy over the past week we were setting up an opportunity to get together for a visit. Fifteen minutes after the phone woke me up we had dinner plans at Amy’s tonight at 7pm.
For the time being though, Hayley and I needed some food. We made a trip down the hill and then a right into Sumner along the coast of the Pacific. After parking the car we walked around until we found a place called Poseidon on the beach. The food was not anything to write home about, but it was food that satisfied an empty stomach. With our time in New Zealand dwindling we wanted to soak up as much as we could. We took a walk along the beach, explored the Cave Rock adjacent to the restaurant we ate at, browsed the opened stores in town and window shopped the “closed for the holidays” art galleries. Returning to our residence in Christchurch we took our turns showering and I downloaded the day’s photos.
About 645pm we rolled up outside Amy’s place. With introductions out of the way we made our way to the back deck to sip on some Pepsi while Amy’s husband John tended to the grill with tonight’s fare. During conversation first my eyes lit up then Hayley’s eyes lit up as we both discovered what was on the plate John was bringing to the table, buffalo wings. From their experience the first time they visited New Zealand, one food they craved after three weeks was buffalo wings, not a standard menu item down here, but a staple amongst us all. As Hayley and I tore into the wings and Amy fed their daughter, John returned to the grill to finish up the next course. With the wings disappearing, John placed on the table a bowl of roasted red peppers and zucchini and a platter of steaks and sausages. Hayley and I were in Heaven, delicious and familiar foods. Now wait, the best has yet to come. For dessert, Amy cooked up a raspberry and strawberry pavlova. In the kitchen with the night settling in outside, we continued our conversation about our honeymoon trip, our wedding, Amy and John’s trips to New Zealand and their move here. We also discussed places of interest that either we had been they want to go or places they have been we want to go, including the Tongariro Crossing. As the glow of street lights grew stronger, we said our goodbyes about 1030pm and went home for the evening.
Home by 11pm our emotional tug of war kicked into high gear. On one end of the rope we were having a great time, loving what we have been doing and not wanting to go home. The other end of the rope resided our emotions of wanting to return home to see family, get back into a land of familiarity, and have an opportunity to relax. To compound the tug of war, we had to unpack everything so we could assess what we had to take home then play the tug of war weight limit game so we did not have to pay over-the-limit charges. It was while we were unpacking everything I discovered I had somehow misplaced the fennel honey I was so excited about bringing home and trying. In disappointment I realized I had left it in the hotel room back in Taupo, the city where I had purchased it. With our bags all packed and tomorrow’s clothes set out for the morning it is now time for some sleep.
Cheers,
Bob and Hayley
Restaurant Names We Found Funny:
· Sticky Rice
· Two Fat Indians
· The Headless Mexican
· The Salty Pig Deli
Ride to Rohan – 08 January 2008
Oh what a beautiful day it turned out to be to ride into Rohan. Hayley and I started with a big cooked breakfast at our bed and breakfast, chatting with our hosts, Michael and Jean. Michael wanted to know how “this GPS thing” worked and I explained. Jean walked around with a tennis racquet like fly swatter hunting for big house flies. She was a little firecracker and just hated those little buggers. She managed to get a few too.
After breakfast we found ourselves at the Methven Information Centre awaiting our transport, the EDORA5, to take us to Mount Sunday, also known as Edoras, the capital of Rohan. The EDORA5 is one of the vehicles used by Hassle-free Tours, a company that has been carboNZero certified for using fuel made from recycled hotel and restaurant cooking oil. On board we were treated to Lord of the Rings trivia delivered by our guide, Mack. Some of what he told us we already knew from the DVD extras, some we knew from prior tours in the past two and a half weeks, yet some came as a surprise to us. One of the big surprise pieces we were not aware of was Sean Connery was initially sought after for the roll of Gandalf, yet he turned the roll down. Now rumor is, Peter Jackson and New Line Cinemas wanted him so bad Connery was offered a salary of ten to fifteen percent of the Box Office ticket sales. That would have translated into a payment of four hundred to six hundred million dollars. I bet Connery is kicking himself for that decision now, although could you envision Connery as Gandalf after the fine performance given by Ian MacKellen? Another little tidbit we came across is the nine members of the Fellowship all got a tattoo reading “The Elvish Nine.” When Peter Jackson found out about it he too got a tattoo, only his read “The Elvish Ten.”
When Mack appeared to be finished telling all his stories the Lord of the Rings soundtrack began to play. The music climaxed as we came around a bend in the road and Mack uttered the words “Welcome to Rohan.” As we descended into the river valley surrounding Mount Sunday (Edoras) we made numerous stops for everyone to get out, stretch their legs, and grabbed a photograph or two. Driving along the side of Mount Sunday, across some river branches, and up the back of side of the mount we parked halfway up. From here we traveled on foot the rest of the way. At the summit we were shown pictures while Mack explained where the buildings sat, including the Golden Hall, and where Helm’s Deep resided in reference to Edoras. When the explanations were over, it was photo time. What really made these photos awesome is we had replica props to hold in the photos. Hayley and I got to dual while Hayley garnered Sting, a Hobbit’s sword, and I wielded Aragorn’s sword. We also took pictures of us with Gimli’s axe and the flag of Rohan. It was definitely a very cool and rock ‘em sock ‘em moment for the two of us.
Back at the base we had lunch and a champagne toast to celebrate Rohan. Unable to purchase souvenirs, because they got wiped out during the holidays, we left with our photographic memories and a cork from the champagne bottle. This was my second cork to be saved from the honeymoon, the first from the bottle we received from Jean and Michael last night. On the road to Methven, we both took the opportunity to catch a few zzz’s on the bus ride back while listening to more of the Lord of the Rings soundtrack.
In Methven, after making a confirmation call to our hot air balloon ride vendor for tomorrow we gathered the car and made our way to Christchurch. Without the GPS of the North Island, finding our bed and breakfast was my one big worry in trying to find. With directions emailed to us in hand, Hayley truly stepped up and navigated us through Christchurch and up Mt. Pleasant to our bed and breakfast.
Not eating a lot for lunch we were starving. Our host, Michael, called ahead to a French restaurant just down the road and got us in. The food was excellent, yet we had to wait a considerable amount of time for the food. It took us nearly two hours to dine. Two hours we really did not have to spare, as we needed to get to bed early because tomorrow starts at 4am. With the night getting short I have been typing like the wind while watching Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone on New Zealand television. Here in New Zealand it is not called the Sorcerer’s Stone.
Cheers,
Bob and Hayley
After breakfast we found ourselves at the Methven Information Centre awaiting our transport, the EDORA5, to take us to Mount Sunday, also known as Edoras, the capital of Rohan. The EDORA5 is one of the vehicles used by Hassle-free Tours, a company that has been carboNZero certified for using fuel made from recycled hotel and restaurant cooking oil. On board we were treated to Lord of the Rings trivia delivered by our guide, Mack. Some of what he told us we already knew from the DVD extras, some we knew from prior tours in the past two and a half weeks, yet some came as a surprise to us. One of the big surprise pieces we were not aware of was Sean Connery was initially sought after for the roll of Gandalf, yet he turned the roll down. Now rumor is, Peter Jackson and New Line Cinemas wanted him so bad Connery was offered a salary of ten to fifteen percent of the Box Office ticket sales. That would have translated into a payment of four hundred to six hundred million dollars. I bet Connery is kicking himself for that decision now, although could you envision Connery as Gandalf after the fine performance given by Ian MacKellen? Another little tidbit we came across is the nine members of the Fellowship all got a tattoo reading “The Elvish Nine.” When Peter Jackson found out about it he too got a tattoo, only his read “The Elvish Ten.”
When Mack appeared to be finished telling all his stories the Lord of the Rings soundtrack began to play. The music climaxed as we came around a bend in the road and Mack uttered the words “Welcome to Rohan.” As we descended into the river valley surrounding Mount Sunday (Edoras) we made numerous stops for everyone to get out, stretch their legs, and grabbed a photograph or two. Driving along the side of Mount Sunday, across some river branches, and up the back of side of the mount we parked halfway up. From here we traveled on foot the rest of the way. At the summit we were shown pictures while Mack explained where the buildings sat, including the Golden Hall, and where Helm’s Deep resided in reference to Edoras. When the explanations were over, it was photo time. What really made these photos awesome is we had replica props to hold in the photos. Hayley and I got to dual while Hayley garnered Sting, a Hobbit’s sword, and I wielded Aragorn’s sword. We also took pictures of us with Gimli’s axe and the flag of Rohan. It was definitely a very cool and rock ‘em sock ‘em moment for the two of us.
Back at the base we had lunch and a champagne toast to celebrate Rohan. Unable to purchase souvenirs, because they got wiped out during the holidays, we left with our photographic memories and a cork from the champagne bottle. This was my second cork to be saved from the honeymoon, the first from the bottle we received from Jean and Michael last night. On the road to Methven, we both took the opportunity to catch a few zzz’s on the bus ride back while listening to more of the Lord of the Rings soundtrack.
In Methven, after making a confirmation call to our hot air balloon ride vendor for tomorrow we gathered the car and made our way to Christchurch. Without the GPS of the North Island, finding our bed and breakfast was my one big worry in trying to find. With directions emailed to us in hand, Hayley truly stepped up and navigated us through Christchurch and up Mt. Pleasant to our bed and breakfast.
Not eating a lot for lunch we were starving. Our host, Michael, called ahead to a French restaurant just down the road and got us in. The food was excellent, yet we had to wait a considerable amount of time for the food. It took us nearly two hours to dine. Two hours we really did not have to spare, as we needed to get to bed early because tomorrow starts at 4am. With the night getting short I have been typing like the wind while watching Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone on New Zealand television. Here in New Zealand it is not called the Sorcerer’s Stone.
Cheers,
Bob and Hayley
Taste the Rainbow – 07 January 2008
Wow! What a surprising morning today was. The first surprise was Hayley got up before me which rarely happens. Second, when I opened the drapes to check the weather conditions outside over what portrayed the “Plains of Rohan” there was a faint rainbow. The third surprise came when we went upstairs for breakfast and finally met our host. The stairwell was lined with framed photos of people in their Lord of the Rings costumes. Over breakfast our host told us how her husband Lester, her son Paul, her daughter-in-law Penny (Paul’s wife), and five of their horses all acted in the LOTR trilogy. Lester and Paul were Riders of Rohan while Penny was an Orc. Lester, being tall and having been a rodeo rider in the past, also was a stand-in for some of the taller actors. And finally, the last big surprise to the LOTR fans, particularly Hayley, was to find out that Gandalf could not ride a horse. Hayley was saddened by this news. Our host continued to tell us more LOTR stories, including how some of the 30,000 acres they used to own just over the rise in their backyard a kilometer away was used for the Battle of Rohan.
Following our morning of wonderful inside scoop on LOTR we hit the road for Methven, our next LOTR adventure. Stopping just a few kilometers up the road from Twizel we checked out the would-be view of Mt. Cook/Aoraki at the other end of Lake Pukaki in the gift shop on a postcard because our real view was clouded over at the other end of the lake. In fact, if you did not know Mt. Cook/Aoraki was there you would not know it existed. Fortunately for us, the icy blue glacial water of Lake Pukaki was highlighted by the sun in the foreground. Before we departed we satisfied a sweet tooth craving with a raspberry ice slushy for Hayley and a cola one for me.
Back on the road for about an hour Hayley dosed back off to sleep while I checked off kilometer after kilometer of more beautiful scenery; traversing over mountain passes, through tree lined farm land and along lake and river shores. I woke Hayley when I parked at a place called The Tin Shed, home to natural New Zealand products. We did a little bit of browsing and shopping here with a five percent discount voucher we received from our host this morning. One thing we picked up was a bag of some delicious jelly beans in support of the Children’s Cancer Association. As we continued on our way our taste buds danced to the delightful flavors of the jelly beans.
Crossing the bridge into Ashburton we stopped to visit some friends of our Queenstown hosts at the Bernina Sewing Center. Here we picked up some fabric and scrapbooking materials. We mentioned we were sent by Neil at the Coronet View in Queenstown. She was happy to hear he and his wife were doing well and said she needed to make a trip up to visit them.
After having a quick bite to eat we set out again. With a slight wrong turn and twenty kilometers out of the way and back we were on track for Methven. Arriving at the Bendale Farm Bed & Breakfast we unloaded the car and relaxed. Our hosts, Jean and Michael, provided us with a bottle of Sparkling Rose on ice to congratulate us on our honeymoon. Jean also corresponded for us with our homestay family for tomorrow night, confirming our estimated arrival time and directions to their location. While discussing the beautiful weather we had been having I joked how the thirty-plus degrees we had been having the past three days was far different than the thirty-plus degrees back home in the States. Talking with Jean reminded me of my Grammy Gee, except Jean is not a Red Sox fan, she’s a big rugby fan.
With an early dinner we retired to our room, drank the Sparkling Rose and watched some television before journaling, reading and ipoding. In other words, we have been taking it easy.
Cheers,
Bob and Hayley
Following our morning of wonderful inside scoop on LOTR we hit the road for Methven, our next LOTR adventure. Stopping just a few kilometers up the road from Twizel we checked out the would-be view of Mt. Cook/Aoraki at the other end of Lake Pukaki in the gift shop on a postcard because our real view was clouded over at the other end of the lake. In fact, if you did not know Mt. Cook/Aoraki was there you would not know it existed. Fortunately for us, the icy blue glacial water of Lake Pukaki was highlighted by the sun in the foreground. Before we departed we satisfied a sweet tooth craving with a raspberry ice slushy for Hayley and a cola one for me.
Back on the road for about an hour Hayley dosed back off to sleep while I checked off kilometer after kilometer of more beautiful scenery; traversing over mountain passes, through tree lined farm land and along lake and river shores. I woke Hayley when I parked at a place called The Tin Shed, home to natural New Zealand products. We did a little bit of browsing and shopping here with a five percent discount voucher we received from our host this morning. One thing we picked up was a bag of some delicious jelly beans in support of the Children’s Cancer Association. As we continued on our way our taste buds danced to the delightful flavors of the jelly beans.
Crossing the bridge into Ashburton we stopped to visit some friends of our Queenstown hosts at the Bernina Sewing Center. Here we picked up some fabric and scrapbooking materials. We mentioned we were sent by Neil at the Coronet View in Queenstown. She was happy to hear he and his wife were doing well and said she needed to make a trip up to visit them.
After having a quick bite to eat we set out again. With a slight wrong turn and twenty kilometers out of the way and back we were on track for Methven. Arriving at the Bendale Farm Bed & Breakfast we unloaded the car and relaxed. Our hosts, Jean and Michael, provided us with a bottle of Sparkling Rose on ice to congratulate us on our honeymoon. Jean also corresponded for us with our homestay family for tomorrow night, confirming our estimated arrival time and directions to their location. While discussing the beautiful weather we had been having I joked how the thirty-plus degrees we had been having the past three days was far different than the thirty-plus degrees back home in the States. Talking with Jean reminded me of my Grammy Gee, except Jean is not a Red Sox fan, she’s a big rugby fan.
With an early dinner we retired to our room, drank the Sparkling Rose and watched some television before journaling, reading and ipoding. In other words, we have been taking it easy.
Cheers,
Bob and Hayley
Aoraki – 06 January 2008
Today was to be an uneventful travel day from Te Anau to Twizel. With our self cooked breakfast in our tummies, clean dishes in the drying rack, and our personal belongings loaded in the car we set out for a projected five and a half hours driving time trip. Now of course we knew we were not going to drive straight through. The first two hours we would be backtracking our way to Queenstown. An hour into it Hayley fell asleep, short morning she had, but it was okay because she had already seen the roadsides here, sort of. That is if she saw it on the way down while finishing up her journal entry a couple of days ago.
In Foxton, just east of Queenstown I woke Hayley up when we stopped to refuel the car. Not knowing the landscape and the size and distance between towns along our route I did not want any low fuel surprises. As we ventured into uncharted territory for us Hayley would stay awake the rest of the day.
Driving along the Kawarau River, another popular river to white-water raft in the Queenstown area, we were dazzled by the swimming pool blue-like waters of the river. When we reached a safe spot to pull over and take pictures we did. After two self-made photo stops along the river, including one where we scaled down dirt path and over rocks, we came along a marked lookout spot at the Roaring Meg Rapids. With numerous other tourists stopped here we had one take our picture in front of Roaring Meg. As we were about to leave we could hear a kayaker, without her kayak, screaming for help as she fought to swim toward a shoreline. Another kayaker on the embankment tried to throw her a rope, but that did not work as it pulled him into the water as well. As the troubled kayaker continued down river, the one pulled in swam back to shore and got his kayak. From our vantage point, he was able to catch up to her just as they went out of sight. We tried to make additional stops down river to see if there was anything we could do and help, however we could not gain access to the river in spots we thought they may have ended up. Several kilometers down river we managed to stop and get to a common finishing spot. After close to a half hour wait there we determined and hoped that they had stopped further up river. We are still worried and wish we knew how to find out if she is okay.
With a photo stop at the top of Lindis Pass we miscalculated the time to our targeted food stop in Tarras. It actually was more of a miscalculation of the size of Tarras, as the town pretty much consisted from what we could see of a Shell petrol station, a golf course and a war memorial. It seemed to be one building bigger than Bill, Wyoming. When we realized there was no more to the town we decided to continue on rather than turning around to get food. The downside of continuing on is it was nearly another hour before lunch now because of the missed stop. Wanting a sit-down meal we had to settle on a vineyard café in Omarama, as they were the only place with a sit-down option.
A half hour after lunch we arrived at the Lake Ruataniwha Homestay located in Twizel. Our hosts were out for a going away gathering and had left a note for us on the door apologizing for them not being there to greet us. This was okay with us because we were on a mission to drive another hour and get close with Mt. Cook/Aoraki tonight. The forecast is for rain tonight and tomorrow resulting in poor to no visibility of Mt. Cook’s/Aoraki’s peaks. We have already wrangled with the clouded peaks back when we went to Lake Matheson near the Fox Glacier Village, we did not want to do it again. With our homestay hosts not around we unpacked the car and moved along. Driving along Lake Pukaki to get there we stopped numerous times for some quick snapshots, each time playing with the different foreground elements we had to create various different looks with the same key subject. Reaching the base village we parked at the Sir Edmund Hilary Alpine Centre and took a twenty minute trek uphill along the Glencoe Track to the view point overlooking the village below. It also provided a spectacular, unobstructed view of Mt. Cook/Aoraki, along with a new set of foreground elements.
With clouds rolling over the mountain tops above us we felt satisfied with our shots and decided to head back to Twizel for dinner. Unsure of what we might find we kept our fingers crossed, since it was Sunday and nearly 9pm. We located the mall in the town centre and found a place called Shawty’s where we managed to get in right before closing time. Sitting outside we enjoyed the sounds of children playing on the playground and watched the sky slowly get darker.
With the sun finally going to bed about 10pm we returned to our Homestay for the evening, the rooms are among the bigger ones we’ve had here on tour in New Zealand. It is decorated in a light blue that gives me the sense of being in a seaside cottage or resort, not on a lake at the base of a mountain chain. Hayley loves the REAL towels here, but is not happy to report there are only two television channels. As it turns out, New Zealand only has three over-the-air channels, the rest are on satellite
For a day of driving we did a lot of physical activity hiking to capture our souvenir images of New Zealand. We are very proud to be able to bring these images back home and share them with you all.
Cheer to all,
Bob and Hayley
In Foxton, just east of Queenstown I woke Hayley up when we stopped to refuel the car. Not knowing the landscape and the size and distance between towns along our route I did not want any low fuel surprises. As we ventured into uncharted territory for us Hayley would stay awake the rest of the day.
Driving along the Kawarau River, another popular river to white-water raft in the Queenstown area, we were dazzled by the swimming pool blue-like waters of the river. When we reached a safe spot to pull over and take pictures we did. After two self-made photo stops along the river, including one where we scaled down dirt path and over rocks, we came along a marked lookout spot at the Roaring Meg Rapids. With numerous other tourists stopped here we had one take our picture in front of Roaring Meg. As we were about to leave we could hear a kayaker, without her kayak, screaming for help as she fought to swim toward a shoreline. Another kayaker on the embankment tried to throw her a rope, but that did not work as it pulled him into the water as well. As the troubled kayaker continued down river, the one pulled in swam back to shore and got his kayak. From our vantage point, he was able to catch up to her just as they went out of sight. We tried to make additional stops down river to see if there was anything we could do and help, however we could not gain access to the river in spots we thought they may have ended up. Several kilometers down river we managed to stop and get to a common finishing spot. After close to a half hour wait there we determined and hoped that they had stopped further up river. We are still worried and wish we knew how to find out if she is okay.
With a photo stop at the top of Lindis Pass we miscalculated the time to our targeted food stop in Tarras. It actually was more of a miscalculation of the size of Tarras, as the town pretty much consisted from what we could see of a Shell petrol station, a golf course and a war memorial. It seemed to be one building bigger than Bill, Wyoming. When we realized there was no more to the town we decided to continue on rather than turning around to get food. The downside of continuing on is it was nearly another hour before lunch now because of the missed stop. Wanting a sit-down meal we had to settle on a vineyard café in Omarama, as they were the only place with a sit-down option.
A half hour after lunch we arrived at the Lake Ruataniwha Homestay located in Twizel. Our hosts were out for a going away gathering and had left a note for us on the door apologizing for them not being there to greet us. This was okay with us because we were on a mission to drive another hour and get close with Mt. Cook/Aoraki tonight. The forecast is for rain tonight and tomorrow resulting in poor to no visibility of Mt. Cook’s/Aoraki’s peaks. We have already wrangled with the clouded peaks back when we went to Lake Matheson near the Fox Glacier Village, we did not want to do it again. With our homestay hosts not around we unpacked the car and moved along. Driving along Lake Pukaki to get there we stopped numerous times for some quick snapshots, each time playing with the different foreground elements we had to create various different looks with the same key subject. Reaching the base village we parked at the Sir Edmund Hilary Alpine Centre and took a twenty minute trek uphill along the Glencoe Track to the view point overlooking the village below. It also provided a spectacular, unobstructed view of Mt. Cook/Aoraki, along with a new set of foreground elements.
With clouds rolling over the mountain tops above us we felt satisfied with our shots and decided to head back to Twizel for dinner. Unsure of what we might find we kept our fingers crossed, since it was Sunday and nearly 9pm. We located the mall in the town centre and found a place called Shawty’s where we managed to get in right before closing time. Sitting outside we enjoyed the sounds of children playing on the playground and watched the sky slowly get darker.
With the sun finally going to bed about 10pm we returned to our Homestay for the evening, the rooms are among the bigger ones we’ve had here on tour in New Zealand. It is decorated in a light blue that gives me the sense of being in a seaside cottage or resort, not on a lake at the base of a mountain chain. Hayley loves the REAL towels here, but is not happy to report there are only two television channels. As it turns out, New Zealand only has three over-the-air channels, the rest are on satellite
For a day of driving we did a lot of physical activity hiking to capture our souvenir images of New Zealand. We are very proud to be able to bring these images back home and share them with you all.
Cheer to all,
Bob and Hayley
Doubtful Sound of Silence – 05 January 2008
Waking up to the engines firing up this morning was a welcome in disguise. I say that because as Hayley began to wake I went out on deck to take in some of the beauty of the undisturbed landscape. Not wanting Hayley to miss out on the breathtaking images I captured a few quick shots with my camera. Upon my return to our cabin Hayley was ready for breakfast. Occasionally, while eating breakfast I would pounce to the stern of the Navigator for more gorgeousness. Satisfied with one morning offering, breakfast, I made my way outside with a cup of coffee to enjoy another offering, nature. Aside from the ship’s engines it was a sanctuary of peace.
As we slowly cruised our way around the calm waters of the morning Sound we made our way to the secluded waters at the far reaches of the Hall Arm. It was here the crew of the Navigator put out a request for the entire ship to take part in. We were all asked to turn off any electronical devices; cell phones (which were not working anyway because we were so remotely removed from any reception), video cameras, still cameras, ipods, game boys, etc. In turn, the Navigator would turn off all engines and non-essential equipment. In addition, we were asked to find a place on deck with our choice of a great view. For the next fifteen minutes we were to stay put, remaining silent, not conversing with anyone and just soak in the Sound the way it was meant to be. It was an opportunity of a lifetime, as there will be very few opportunities in today’s world when one can have total silence like this. Being able to hear every bird call, every splash of water cascading down the fiord waterfalls, every leaf rustle in the breeze was just truly amazing. It was a moment that put all troubles, worries, and worlds out of my mind. With Hayley alongside me I felt like I was in Heaven, until the silence was broken. Not by the engines coming back to life, but rather by a few on board tortfeasors that just could not stay put and felt the NEED to talk. When there is total silence the sound of a foot hitting the iron decks of a ship are amplified even louder. Even a whispering conversation sounds more like normal speech. The last half of our fifteen minutes of silence I was stewing because these people ruined my peace. I felt like I was back in Kennebunkport on Wedding Weekend Saturday when my spa appointment got all messed up and the stresses relieved by the massage came back when I became aware of the Spa’s poor timing.
When the engines fired to life I got over the tortfeasors rather quickly. One of the crew members put out an invite to have us join them in the saloon for a sampling of New Zealand crayfish. The smile on Hayley’s face at the thought of getting to sample it carried her in a flash to the saloon faster than the crayfish. One of last night’s crayfish managed to survive a few extra hours until after breakfast this morning when it met its fate, the waiting taste buds of the guests on board served up on toothpicks. In comparing it to a Maine lobster we would say it was slightly saltier, yet not quite as sweet. Nonetheless, it was very delicious.
Although our day had really only begun time-wise when we got back to the wharf at Deep Cove our day was pretty much over. We both took the opportunity to dose on the bus ride back over the Wilmot Pass. With a full memory chip in my camera already from four hours of photos this morning on the Sound I downloaded them to the computer while on the boat crossing Lake Manapouri. Following our motor coach ride back to the Antler Lodge in Te Anau we went to the town centre for a not-so-good bite to eat at The Ranch. The service was not good either, as our tag team of waitresses failed to order my appetizer, I mean my entrée.
After lunch we made a quick stop back at the Lodge to plug in the laptop to charge the battery since I drained the batter while on the Navigator and this morning downloading photos. We then made a short drive south of town toward Manapouri all for the purpose of a single photo. I noticed yesterday while on the Real Journeys bus a sign that just cracked me up and I had to capture it. The sign read “Horse Poo $1 / bag.” And the O’s in poo were made up as the eyes of a smiley face. With laughter rolling our bellies we settled them with some ice cream back in town.
Following a return to the Antler Lodge to pick up the laptop we went to a different internet café where I could use my own laptop. For the next hour and a half Hayley would check emails and surf the net while I remained busy finally posting six days worth of journals to the wedding website and some photos to my FaceBook account. I stopped when the battery alert came up on the laptop signifying I only had about five more minutes.
Back at the lodge I took a nap while Hayley read the paper and watched the local 6pm news. Rested up we went back out for dinner around 7pm to La Toscana. We were very pleased with them two nights ago, we wanted to return. The staff remembered us and asked us how our trip was, that was comforting. Not wanting to take the table by the door and wanting a booth we waited about twenty minutes. Getting hungry we took the first one that became available. It felt like we were in timeout because the table we got had a booth seat on one side and a wall on the other. It was okay though because we got to sit next to each other and not across the table from one another.
After eating the best pizza we have had in New Zealand we returned to the Antler Lodge. With Hayley watching House on her ipod I have been busy recharging all our batteries.
Cheers to all,
Bob and Hayley
Musical Tunes Stuck In Our Heads:
· The Little Drummer Boy
· Rock and Roll All Night – Kiss (DJ Pat, we are thinking of you)
· Titanic Suite – James Horner, if I recall correctly (the part where Leo DeCaprio is at the front of the boat shouting “I’m the king of the world!”
· Gettin’ Jiggy With It – Will Smith
· Footloose – Kenny Loggins (we heard this twice on New Year’s Eve in Wanaka and then saw the video today at lunch).
As we slowly cruised our way around the calm waters of the morning Sound we made our way to the secluded waters at the far reaches of the Hall Arm. It was here the crew of the Navigator put out a request for the entire ship to take part in. We were all asked to turn off any electronical devices; cell phones (which were not working anyway because we were so remotely removed from any reception), video cameras, still cameras, ipods, game boys, etc. In turn, the Navigator would turn off all engines and non-essential equipment. In addition, we were asked to find a place on deck with our choice of a great view. For the next fifteen minutes we were to stay put, remaining silent, not conversing with anyone and just soak in the Sound the way it was meant to be. It was an opportunity of a lifetime, as there will be very few opportunities in today’s world when one can have total silence like this. Being able to hear every bird call, every splash of water cascading down the fiord waterfalls, every leaf rustle in the breeze was just truly amazing. It was a moment that put all troubles, worries, and worlds out of my mind. With Hayley alongside me I felt like I was in Heaven, until the silence was broken. Not by the engines coming back to life, but rather by a few on board tortfeasors that just could not stay put and felt the NEED to talk. When there is total silence the sound of a foot hitting the iron decks of a ship are amplified even louder. Even a whispering conversation sounds more like normal speech. The last half of our fifteen minutes of silence I was stewing because these people ruined my peace. I felt like I was back in Kennebunkport on Wedding Weekend Saturday when my spa appointment got all messed up and the stresses relieved by the massage came back when I became aware of the Spa’s poor timing.
When the engines fired to life I got over the tortfeasors rather quickly. One of the crew members put out an invite to have us join them in the saloon for a sampling of New Zealand crayfish. The smile on Hayley’s face at the thought of getting to sample it carried her in a flash to the saloon faster than the crayfish. One of last night’s crayfish managed to survive a few extra hours until after breakfast this morning when it met its fate, the waiting taste buds of the guests on board served up on toothpicks. In comparing it to a Maine lobster we would say it was slightly saltier, yet not quite as sweet. Nonetheless, it was very delicious.
Although our day had really only begun time-wise when we got back to the wharf at Deep Cove our day was pretty much over. We both took the opportunity to dose on the bus ride back over the Wilmot Pass. With a full memory chip in my camera already from four hours of photos this morning on the Sound I downloaded them to the computer while on the boat crossing Lake Manapouri. Following our motor coach ride back to the Antler Lodge in Te Anau we went to the town centre for a not-so-good bite to eat at The Ranch. The service was not good either, as our tag team of waitresses failed to order my appetizer, I mean my entrée.
After lunch we made a quick stop back at the Lodge to plug in the laptop to charge the battery since I drained the batter while on the Navigator and this morning downloading photos. We then made a short drive south of town toward Manapouri all for the purpose of a single photo. I noticed yesterday while on the Real Journeys bus a sign that just cracked me up and I had to capture it. The sign read “Horse Poo $1 / bag.” And the O’s in poo were made up as the eyes of a smiley face. With laughter rolling our bellies we settled them with some ice cream back in town.
Following a return to the Antler Lodge to pick up the laptop we went to a different internet café where I could use my own laptop. For the next hour and a half Hayley would check emails and surf the net while I remained busy finally posting six days worth of journals to the wedding website and some photos to my FaceBook account. I stopped when the battery alert came up on the laptop signifying I only had about five more minutes.
Back at the lodge I took a nap while Hayley read the paper and watched the local 6pm news. Rested up we went back out for dinner around 7pm to La Toscana. We were very pleased with them two nights ago, we wanted to return. The staff remembered us and asked us how our trip was, that was comforting. Not wanting to take the table by the door and wanting a booth we waited about twenty minutes. Getting hungry we took the first one that became available. It felt like we were in timeout because the table we got had a booth seat on one side and a wall on the other. It was okay though because we got to sit next to each other and not across the table from one another.
After eating the best pizza we have had in New Zealand we returned to the Antler Lodge. With Hayley watching House on her ipod I have been busy recharging all our batteries.
Cheers to all,
Bob and Hayley
Musical Tunes Stuck In Our Heads:
· The Little Drummer Boy
· Rock and Roll All Night – Kiss (DJ Pat, we are thinking of you)
· Titanic Suite – James Horner, if I recall correctly (the part where Leo DeCaprio is at the front of the boat shouting “I’m the king of the world!”
· Gettin’ Jiggy With It – Will Smith
· Footloose – Kenny Loggins (we heard this twice on New Year’s Eve in Wanaka and then saw the video today at lunch).
At Fiords’ End…and Back Again – 04 January 2008
Oh what a beautiful morning,
Oh what a beautiful day.
Hayley and I got to sleep in,
And she got to make her own eggs.
Oh what a beautiful day!
Can I say we love the Antler Lodge Bed & Breakfast? If I haven’t said it already, we love it here. A great bed for sleep, make your own hot breakfast, and best of all, they will watch over our rental car while we are on our Real Journeys overnight cruise on Doubtful Sound. With our bags packed in the car, except for an overnight bag, the breakfast dishes I washed drying in the rack, I handed over our room and car keys to our host Helen. Hayley and I then walked to the end of the driveway to await our bus for Doubtful Sound. While standing at the end of the drive with my backpack on I had flashbacks to when I was a kid waiting for the school bus, kicking rocks around to pass the time. It was great. At 1130am, right on the scheduled nose, the bus pulled around the corner.
Following our twenty minute ride down to Manapouri, not too far from where some of the “Dead Marshes” scenes were shot for LOTR, we exchanged our voucher for boarding cards and awaited our first boat to cross Lake Manapouri. While waiting we were graced with the sound of a teenage girl playing the bagpipes for any change people wished to throw her way. At first it was cool, then it became annoying, mainly because she could not hold a tune and she kept stopping and starting.
Putting an end to the bagpipes we boarded one of two boats that took us across Lake Manapouri, to where an hour boat ride later we arrived and boarded two motor coaches. In the comfort of our motor coach seats spent another hour traversing up one side and down another of the Wilmot Pass, stopping at one point for a photo opportunity high above Doubtful Sound. The road we traveled on Wilmot Pass is often referred to as the most expensive road in New Zealand. The twenty-two kilometer road was built back in the 1960s at a cost of two dollars per centimeter. The purpose of the road was to bring in building supplies and necessary equipment for an underwater power station set up where we first loaded onto the motor coaches.
Having completed the Wilmot Pass we boarded the Fiordland Navigator, our home nearly the next twenty hours. We assembled in the saloon (dining hall) and were given a safety briefing. One of the safety issues demonstrated was how to put on our life jackets in the event of an emergency. We were told that in the event we forget the demonstration “there are instructions on the life jacket itself and there are pictures for the Australians.” We were also introduced to the staff. For you Love Boat fans, our bartender was named Isaac, however he looked more like Doc. Our Julie and Gopher were Jayne and Ben. After depositing our overnight bag in our cabin our journey on Doubtful Sound was underway. Doubtful Sound, by the way, is actually not a sound, but rather a fiord. It was incorrectly named by the English when first discovered because the word fiord did not exist in the English language at the time, silly English people. Weather-wise, we made out like bandits. Typically, Doubtful Sound receives rain two out of every three days throughout the year. In store for us today was a beautifully blue sky, no clouds whatsoever. Making our way along the open decks, Hayley and I began to go crazy taking pictures and video, before stopping in the dining hall to find complimentary, fresh-baked muffins.
By mid-afternoon the Navigator came to a stop, lowered some small motor boats and took us out around the sound. This gave us an opportunity to get up close with nature along the shore line embankments and ask questions in smaller groups. For some, the motor boats were not enough fitness so they opted for the kayaking. Even still, that was not enough for some. Others decided to take a dip in the eleven degree temperature water. There many shocked and exhilarated faces. They really appeared to have enjoyed themselves. With everyone back on board we gathered in the dining room for some hot soup to warm up.
Making our way to the mouth of the Sound while Hayley and I were on the Observation Deck at the front of the ship, a big wave hit the bow and sent a giant spray of sea water up and over the railings. The mad scramble of people was evidence many got soaked. This included Hayley, me, and our cameras. For the second day in a row I was dashing for the bar, not for a drink, but for napkins to wipe the camera clean, the only thing worse than the fresh water of yesterday’s splash is today’s sea water splash. With the taste of sea salt still fresh in our mouths we cleaned our cameras and made our way back up top. Looking west to the Tasman Sea it appeared from our vantage point we were heading for the edge of the world and going to fall off, because as all of us explorers know, the world is flat. Upon greeting the Tasman Sea we spied some sea lions basking in the sun on some rocks.
When we turned back inland Hayley burst into song with “Heave, ho, all together. Hoist the colors high….” As she sang the three sails began to unfurl and catch the wind. With a few tacks back and forth along the waterway we located a sheltered arm of the Sound for us to dine. While making our way below deck the canvas was drawn in.
After dinner we made our way back out on deck to catch the last few glimpses of the sunset on the fiord peaks. While drifting toward our anchor point for the evening we came across a local fisherman. In response to my question if he had caught anything he reached into a yellow bucket and pulled out two very large crayfish, New Zealand rock lobsters. Moments later, the crayfish were on board our vessel, our crew traded some cheesecake for the crayfish. People gathered at the back of the ship to get a look and a photo of the crustaceans. Little did they know they were getting a honeymooner in their photos too. This was due to me, the Maine boy, not being afraid to stick my hand in and hold the spiny-shelled critter of the sea. One thing that made this crayfish different from a Maine lobster is it does not have the big front claws like those on the Maine lobster.
At nearly 10:30pm the last glimmer of light finally went away. Before Hayley and I would call it a night we made our way to the top deck of the Navigator, where there was minimal light, and we just sat there in peace gazing at the stars. Away from all the city lights it is amazing how many more stars you can see. I had the sudden urge to make the jump to light speed and have all those stars come whooshing towards us, but the Navigator’s technology was not that advanced. Oh well.
Retiring to our room to go to sleep I felt like I was stepping into the bedroom of Rob and Laura Petrie on The Dick Van Dyke Show. There were two single beds in the room, one on the left, one on the right. Now that I have caught up with the day it is time for sleep. The main engines will be playing reveille about 630am warning us of a half hour to breakfast.
Cheers,
Bob and Hayley
Food Facts:
· Ranch dressing does not exist here in New Zealand
· Ordering ketchup will get you tomato sauce
· Water is served up in a wine bottle-like jug and an empty glass
· The Road Kill Café serves up possum, not skunk here
Oh what a beautiful day.
Hayley and I got to sleep in,
And she got to make her own eggs.
Oh what a beautiful day!
Can I say we love the Antler Lodge Bed & Breakfast? If I haven’t said it already, we love it here. A great bed for sleep, make your own hot breakfast, and best of all, they will watch over our rental car while we are on our Real Journeys overnight cruise on Doubtful Sound. With our bags packed in the car, except for an overnight bag, the breakfast dishes I washed drying in the rack, I handed over our room and car keys to our host Helen. Hayley and I then walked to the end of the driveway to await our bus for Doubtful Sound. While standing at the end of the drive with my backpack on I had flashbacks to when I was a kid waiting for the school bus, kicking rocks around to pass the time. It was great. At 1130am, right on the scheduled nose, the bus pulled around the corner.
Following our twenty minute ride down to Manapouri, not too far from where some of the “Dead Marshes” scenes were shot for LOTR, we exchanged our voucher for boarding cards and awaited our first boat to cross Lake Manapouri. While waiting we were graced with the sound of a teenage girl playing the bagpipes for any change people wished to throw her way. At first it was cool, then it became annoying, mainly because she could not hold a tune and she kept stopping and starting.
Putting an end to the bagpipes we boarded one of two boats that took us across Lake Manapouri, to where an hour boat ride later we arrived and boarded two motor coaches. In the comfort of our motor coach seats spent another hour traversing up one side and down another of the Wilmot Pass, stopping at one point for a photo opportunity high above Doubtful Sound. The road we traveled on Wilmot Pass is often referred to as the most expensive road in New Zealand. The twenty-two kilometer road was built back in the 1960s at a cost of two dollars per centimeter. The purpose of the road was to bring in building supplies and necessary equipment for an underwater power station set up where we first loaded onto the motor coaches.
Having completed the Wilmot Pass we boarded the Fiordland Navigator, our home nearly the next twenty hours. We assembled in the saloon (dining hall) and were given a safety briefing. One of the safety issues demonstrated was how to put on our life jackets in the event of an emergency. We were told that in the event we forget the demonstration “there are instructions on the life jacket itself and there are pictures for the Australians.” We were also introduced to the staff. For you Love Boat fans, our bartender was named Isaac, however he looked more like Doc. Our Julie and Gopher were Jayne and Ben. After depositing our overnight bag in our cabin our journey on Doubtful Sound was underway. Doubtful Sound, by the way, is actually not a sound, but rather a fiord. It was incorrectly named by the English when first discovered because the word fiord did not exist in the English language at the time, silly English people. Weather-wise, we made out like bandits. Typically, Doubtful Sound receives rain two out of every three days throughout the year. In store for us today was a beautifully blue sky, no clouds whatsoever. Making our way along the open decks, Hayley and I began to go crazy taking pictures and video, before stopping in the dining hall to find complimentary, fresh-baked muffins.
By mid-afternoon the Navigator came to a stop, lowered some small motor boats and took us out around the sound. This gave us an opportunity to get up close with nature along the shore line embankments and ask questions in smaller groups. For some, the motor boats were not enough fitness so they opted for the kayaking. Even still, that was not enough for some. Others decided to take a dip in the eleven degree temperature water. There many shocked and exhilarated faces. They really appeared to have enjoyed themselves. With everyone back on board we gathered in the dining room for some hot soup to warm up.
Making our way to the mouth of the Sound while Hayley and I were on the Observation Deck at the front of the ship, a big wave hit the bow and sent a giant spray of sea water up and over the railings. The mad scramble of people was evidence many got soaked. This included Hayley, me, and our cameras. For the second day in a row I was dashing for the bar, not for a drink, but for napkins to wipe the camera clean, the only thing worse than the fresh water of yesterday’s splash is today’s sea water splash. With the taste of sea salt still fresh in our mouths we cleaned our cameras and made our way back up top. Looking west to the Tasman Sea it appeared from our vantage point we were heading for the edge of the world and going to fall off, because as all of us explorers know, the world is flat. Upon greeting the Tasman Sea we spied some sea lions basking in the sun on some rocks.
When we turned back inland Hayley burst into song with “Heave, ho, all together. Hoist the colors high….” As she sang the three sails began to unfurl and catch the wind. With a few tacks back and forth along the waterway we located a sheltered arm of the Sound for us to dine. While making our way below deck the canvas was drawn in.
After dinner we made our way back out on deck to catch the last few glimpses of the sunset on the fiord peaks. While drifting toward our anchor point for the evening we came across a local fisherman. In response to my question if he had caught anything he reached into a yellow bucket and pulled out two very large crayfish, New Zealand rock lobsters. Moments later, the crayfish were on board our vessel, our crew traded some cheesecake for the crayfish. People gathered at the back of the ship to get a look and a photo of the crustaceans. Little did they know they were getting a honeymooner in their photos too. This was due to me, the Maine boy, not being afraid to stick my hand in and hold the spiny-shelled critter of the sea. One thing that made this crayfish different from a Maine lobster is it does not have the big front claws like those on the Maine lobster.
At nearly 10:30pm the last glimmer of light finally went away. Before Hayley and I would call it a night we made our way to the top deck of the Navigator, where there was minimal light, and we just sat there in peace gazing at the stars. Away from all the city lights it is amazing how many more stars you can see. I had the sudden urge to make the jump to light speed and have all those stars come whooshing towards us, but the Navigator’s technology was not that advanced. Oh well.
Retiring to our room to go to sleep I felt like I was stepping into the bedroom of Rob and Laura Petrie on The Dick Van Dyke Show. There were two single beds in the room, one on the left, one on the right. Now that I have caught up with the day it is time for sleep. The main engines will be playing reveille about 630am warning us of a half hour to breakfast.
Cheers,
Bob and Hayley
Food Facts:
· Ranch dressing does not exist here in New Zealand
· Ordering ketchup will get you tomato sauce
· Water is served up in a wine bottle-like jug and an empty glass
· The Road Kill Café serves up possum, not skunk here
Disney-worms – 03 January 2008
It was a wet morning in Queenstown. While we ate breakfast and packed up the car there was a slow and gentle rain falling. However, by the time we checked out and made our way down the hill from the lovely Coronet View Bed and Breakfast the rain had subsided. Our first stop of the day was only about five minutes away. Yesterday, while on the bus to the Queenstown Rafting base station I spied a fabric store. Remembering how to get there we stop this morning to check over their selection. After some tough decisions on what to get we were on the road for Te Anau.
Surprisingly enough, Hayley did not sleep during the car ride. Instead, she stayed awake working to finish up the Middle Earth Magic journal entry. As we rolled into Te Anau she clicked save and was done. Yea! Now we just need to find some internet to post our entries. I think we are almost a week behind in getting them online. The internet has been sparse lately. Once parked in Te Anau we entered the Pop Inn Café for some lunch. To our disappointing surprise, the milkshakes once again were like flavored milk instead of a thick icy consistency. Insert sad faces here.
Across the street from the café we checked in for our day’s scheduled adventure, the Te Anau Glowworm Caves with the company Real Journeys. While awaiting the Luminosa, our catamaran ride across Lake Te Anau to the caves, I also confirmed our pick up at the Antler Lodge for tomorrow’s overnight trip to Doubtful Sound. On board the Luminosa we became aware Lake Te Anau is the largest lake on the South Island and the second largest lake in New Zealand in terms of surface area, second to Lake Taupo on the North Island. Lake Te Anau is also the third deepest in New Zealand. As we disembarked we entered the Cavern House where we got a brief overview of the glowworm life cycle. Unlike the first time we heard the glowworm life cycle back up in the Waitomo Caves, this time we were able to pay attention and have video visuals presented to us to demonstrate what was being said. Breaking into small groups of about ten to twelve people we made our way into the cave. Walking along elevated metal grated passageways the roar of water rushed beneath our feet. Before reaching the Glowworm Grotto we stopped to see some glowworms up close and admire a very powerful underground waterfall. Above the falls our guide boarded us on a small vessel, turned out the lights, then by pre-laid rope pulled us into the grotto. With only the sound of the waterfall behind us we sat in total darkness gazing above at the cavern ceiling. The site was amazingly like laying out under the stars as the glowworm fishing lines were emitting a star like luminance. The slow tranquil drift through the cave reminded us of a being on a ride at Disney World.
Back on the Luminosa we began the ride on the sun deck to obtain unobstructed video and still images. At one point the catamaran splashed into the wake of another boat and sent water spraying up on the sun deck. I felt as if every drop landed on my left side, drenching me and my video camera. No, this was one instance when I was not practicing “safe camera” and did not have my camera condom on. Needing to act quickly, I moved below deck and got the camera dried. On my way underneath I happened to pass some older woman. Behind me, she stopped Hayley and asked her what aftershave I used because she liked it.
Upon our return to dry land we took some photos then perused the shops along the lake front. With nothing exciting to buy we decided to check into tonight’s Bed and Breakfast, the Antler Lodge. Our host, Helen, met us in the driveway and showed us around. When Helen showed us we would be making our own breakfast I thought Hayley was going to go through the roof, not in anger, but rather in delight because she was on cloud nine. It meant we did not have to get up bright and early. Also, we did not have to have breakfast with total strangers and she would get to have her eggs HER way. At the conclusion of our tour, while unpacking the car we heard a siren sound off, reminiscent of a tornado or air raid siren. Funny thing was there was not a cloud in the sky, nor were there any planes. Talking with our host, she explained it sounds off when the fire brigade heads out for an emergency. Helen also told us of when how when she first heard them here in New Zealand it brought back memories of when she used to live in Israel. With the fire brigade heading out, I took a nap in the very comfortable reclining chair, feet resting upon the ottoman. Hayley opted to watch some television.
Rested up it was dinner time. Realizing how much we had been craving Italian last night we opted to do it again, only this time at a restaurant called La Toscana here in Te Anau. I had the ravioli, Hayley a pizza. She did share a slice of the pizza with me. It took me back to the days of living in Hampden and eating A & A Pizza, a taste I had not had in nearly two decades.
Leaving the Italian behind us it was now time for some internet. We located a place called Wash & Surf, a Laundromat with internet. The computers were set up in an adjacent room to the laundry room. They had coin operation boxes, charging a dollar per ten minutes of internet time. We were both satisfied in that we were able to check emails, however, there was no way for me to connect with my laptop and there were no USB ports for a flash drive. Therefore, I was unable to post journal entries or upload photos to FaceBook. With a half hour of internet time to whet the appetite we called it an evening. Having travelled so far south and west, our return to the lodge for the evening at 10pm was still under the remaining light of the setting sun. It was not until after 1015pm it became black outside.
Cheers,
Bob and Hayley
Points to ponder:
· America’s Most Wanted on New Zealand TV
· Appetizers are drinks, entrees are the appetizers, and mains are the entrees
Surprisingly enough, Hayley did not sleep during the car ride. Instead, she stayed awake working to finish up the Middle Earth Magic journal entry. As we rolled into Te Anau she clicked save and was done. Yea! Now we just need to find some internet to post our entries. I think we are almost a week behind in getting them online. The internet has been sparse lately. Once parked in Te Anau we entered the Pop Inn Café for some lunch. To our disappointing surprise, the milkshakes once again were like flavored milk instead of a thick icy consistency. Insert sad faces here.
Across the street from the café we checked in for our day’s scheduled adventure, the Te Anau Glowworm Caves with the company Real Journeys. While awaiting the Luminosa, our catamaran ride across Lake Te Anau to the caves, I also confirmed our pick up at the Antler Lodge for tomorrow’s overnight trip to Doubtful Sound. On board the Luminosa we became aware Lake Te Anau is the largest lake on the South Island and the second largest lake in New Zealand in terms of surface area, second to Lake Taupo on the North Island. Lake Te Anau is also the third deepest in New Zealand. As we disembarked we entered the Cavern House where we got a brief overview of the glowworm life cycle. Unlike the first time we heard the glowworm life cycle back up in the Waitomo Caves, this time we were able to pay attention and have video visuals presented to us to demonstrate what was being said. Breaking into small groups of about ten to twelve people we made our way into the cave. Walking along elevated metal grated passageways the roar of water rushed beneath our feet. Before reaching the Glowworm Grotto we stopped to see some glowworms up close and admire a very powerful underground waterfall. Above the falls our guide boarded us on a small vessel, turned out the lights, then by pre-laid rope pulled us into the grotto. With only the sound of the waterfall behind us we sat in total darkness gazing above at the cavern ceiling. The site was amazingly like laying out under the stars as the glowworm fishing lines were emitting a star like luminance. The slow tranquil drift through the cave reminded us of a being on a ride at Disney World.
Back on the Luminosa we began the ride on the sun deck to obtain unobstructed video and still images. At one point the catamaran splashed into the wake of another boat and sent water spraying up on the sun deck. I felt as if every drop landed on my left side, drenching me and my video camera. No, this was one instance when I was not practicing “safe camera” and did not have my camera condom on. Needing to act quickly, I moved below deck and got the camera dried. On my way underneath I happened to pass some older woman. Behind me, she stopped Hayley and asked her what aftershave I used because she liked it.
Upon our return to dry land we took some photos then perused the shops along the lake front. With nothing exciting to buy we decided to check into tonight’s Bed and Breakfast, the Antler Lodge. Our host, Helen, met us in the driveway and showed us around. When Helen showed us we would be making our own breakfast I thought Hayley was going to go through the roof, not in anger, but rather in delight because she was on cloud nine. It meant we did not have to get up bright and early. Also, we did not have to have breakfast with total strangers and she would get to have her eggs HER way. At the conclusion of our tour, while unpacking the car we heard a siren sound off, reminiscent of a tornado or air raid siren. Funny thing was there was not a cloud in the sky, nor were there any planes. Talking with our host, she explained it sounds off when the fire brigade heads out for an emergency. Helen also told us of when how when she first heard them here in New Zealand it brought back memories of when she used to live in Israel. With the fire brigade heading out, I took a nap in the very comfortable reclining chair, feet resting upon the ottoman. Hayley opted to watch some television.
Rested up it was dinner time. Realizing how much we had been craving Italian last night we opted to do it again, only this time at a restaurant called La Toscana here in Te Anau. I had the ravioli, Hayley a pizza. She did share a slice of the pizza with me. It took me back to the days of living in Hampden and eating A & A Pizza, a taste I had not had in nearly two decades.
Leaving the Italian behind us it was now time for some internet. We located a place called Wash & Surf, a Laundromat with internet. The computers were set up in an adjacent room to the laundry room. They had coin operation boxes, charging a dollar per ten minutes of internet time. We were both satisfied in that we were able to check emails, however, there was no way for me to connect with my laptop and there were no USB ports for a flash drive. Therefore, I was unable to post journal entries or upload photos to FaceBook. With a half hour of internet time to whet the appetite we called it an evening. Having travelled so far south and west, our return to the lodge for the evening at 10pm was still under the remaining light of the setting sun. It was not until after 1015pm it became black outside.
Cheers,
Bob and Hayley
Points to ponder:
· America’s Most Wanted on New Zealand TV
· Appetizers are drinks, entrees are the appetizers, and mains are the entrees
Weather Shotover - 02 January 2008
This was a morning I just did not want to wake up to my alarms. All the fun we have been having I think is catching up to me. Fear not however, I woke up and got Hayley moving too. With our time schedule we mapped out last night we managed to move it along like clockwork. After having our hot breakfast upstairs prepared by our hosts, Neil and his wife, here at the Coronet View Bed & Breakfast we climbed into the car and rolled our way to the parking garage down the road a few blocks.
Once parked we had a short five minute walk to our check-in spot across the street from The Station here in Queenstown. We checked in for our White Water Rafting adventure, boarded a bus for a ten minute ride up to the base camp of Queenstown Rafting. It was here we retrieved our wetsuits, booties, overcoat, helmet and life jackets. Once changed it was back on the bus for a ride I think was close to an hour. It was not the distance that made the ride so long, it was the slow speed of the fully-loaded bus climbing a mountain side and descending down the other side. In addition, the one lane gravel road, known as Skipper’s Canyon Road, did not lend itself to a high rate of speed, even if you were in a faster moving vehicle. The road way was an old mining road built back in the 1850’s during the gold mining days of the Shotover River. There were no guard rails along the route and it made for an adrenalin rush of fear as the bus inched its way to the edges to make the nearly 180 degree turns. Andy, one of the guides, throughout the bus ride gave us a history lesson of Skipper’s Canyon Road and the surrounding area, along with some great and wonderful jokes Hayley and I both thought our dads would love.
Nestled safely at the end of Skipper’s Canyon Road we received our safety briefing and broke up into our rafting groups. Hayley and I joined forces with Chris, Catherine, Glenn, Anna and our guide, Gabi. Gabi was truly awesome. She gave us a history lesson of gold mining along the river as we drifted. She engaged us all in great conversation and remembered everyone’s names. Best of all, she kept us safe, while commanding us when necessary so as we did not flip the raft and no one fell out. We went over rapids known as the Miners’ Revenge, Squeeze, Toilet, Jaws, Pinball, Oh Shit, and Cascade. While passing over Squeeze we managed to take on a bit of water, nearly filling the raft and sinking us, yet we stayed afloat. Then, over Oh Shit we got caught in the surf at the bottom and it took Gabi’s experience to navigate our way out and prevent us from flipping the raft sending us all into the cold water. There were seven rafts that day in our group; five got caught in the surf at Oh Shit. At the conclusion of the rafting we stripped ourselves of the borrowed gear and took a brief shower off of the river muck. Then, before we hopped back on the bus into town we helped ourselves to a cup of soup and some coffee.
Back in Queenstown Hayley and I needed to go back to the car in the garage and get my backpack with our gear for our flight to Milford Sound. Still in our swimwear from rafting, and wanting to get into dry clothes, we each took turns changing in the car. In dry, clean clothes we made our way to The Station where we were to check in for the Milford Sound Fly and Cruise trip. At the check in counter the clerk called ahead to confirm the adventure was still on, but due to the poor weather conditions we would be unable to make the trip. Although the weather in Queenstown was beautiful, Milford Sound was being inundated with rain. This was no surprise to us. When we booked yesterday we were told it was a possibility it might night happen.
With a wide open afternoon and a town to explore we had no worries on how to fill the time. First, we found a café we thought would delight our taste buds, only to be disappointed. Food fact, the milkshakes here seem to be more like flavored milk. The one highlight of the café was Hayley got to hear the theme song to House playing overhead. The funny thing is that I recognized it before she, she was so into her disappointing soup.
Following lunch it was my turn to be happy. We skipped right along to Starbucks for dessert, me with my triple venti three pump peppermint mocha non-fat with whip and Hayley with her tall hot chocolate in a grande cup filled the rest of the way with whipped cream. With our slice of Americana in hand we ventured around town browsing through many shops. One shop we visited was www.LordoftheRingsnz.com, where they had numerous LOTR things on sale, in addition to numerous artifacts and artwork of and from the movies on display on loan from private collectors. It was like Hayley had gone to Middle Earth Heaven. We got to see an armored headwear collection for the different armies, Aragorn’s sword and Arwen’s dress, among many other things. Another shop we visited had an art gallery located on the second floor. Admiring the art work we found three artists that tickled our fancy, Joshua Robins, Susan Waderman and a third I now forget. Unfortunately I would have to win Powerball to afford some of the pieces. There was one piece in the gallery, not by one of our three favorites, that was selling for $37000. Following a few more stops in some additional stores and the melting of my credit card, we made our way back to the car with bags in hand so we could return to the Bed and Breakfast.
Relaxing back at the Coronet View we took a few pictures of some beautiful lenticular clouds hovering over the mountain peaks in the Queenstown area. Some of the clouds were taking on a stereotypical UFO shape, very cool to see. Fleeing these alien spaceships we made our way back into town to dine at Fatz Cat Italian Ristorante. Here we unearthed our hidden cravings. With all the food troubles we had been having, it was great to forget them, if only for a moment, while we waltzed our way through our plates of spaghetti.
As the evening has come to a close, Hayley has been doing laundry and I have been trying to keep up with the journals.
Cheers to all,
Bobby & Hayley
Once parked we had a short five minute walk to our check-in spot across the street from The Station here in Queenstown. We checked in for our White Water Rafting adventure, boarded a bus for a ten minute ride up to the base camp of Queenstown Rafting. It was here we retrieved our wetsuits, booties, overcoat, helmet and life jackets. Once changed it was back on the bus for a ride I think was close to an hour. It was not the distance that made the ride so long, it was the slow speed of the fully-loaded bus climbing a mountain side and descending down the other side. In addition, the one lane gravel road, known as Skipper’s Canyon Road, did not lend itself to a high rate of speed, even if you were in a faster moving vehicle. The road way was an old mining road built back in the 1850’s during the gold mining days of the Shotover River. There were no guard rails along the route and it made for an adrenalin rush of fear as the bus inched its way to the edges to make the nearly 180 degree turns. Andy, one of the guides, throughout the bus ride gave us a history lesson of Skipper’s Canyon Road and the surrounding area, along with some great and wonderful jokes Hayley and I both thought our dads would love.
Nestled safely at the end of Skipper’s Canyon Road we received our safety briefing and broke up into our rafting groups. Hayley and I joined forces with Chris, Catherine, Glenn, Anna and our guide, Gabi. Gabi was truly awesome. She gave us a history lesson of gold mining along the river as we drifted. She engaged us all in great conversation and remembered everyone’s names. Best of all, she kept us safe, while commanding us when necessary so as we did not flip the raft and no one fell out. We went over rapids known as the Miners’ Revenge, Squeeze, Toilet, Jaws, Pinball, Oh Shit, and Cascade. While passing over Squeeze we managed to take on a bit of water, nearly filling the raft and sinking us, yet we stayed afloat. Then, over Oh Shit we got caught in the surf at the bottom and it took Gabi’s experience to navigate our way out and prevent us from flipping the raft sending us all into the cold water. There were seven rafts that day in our group; five got caught in the surf at Oh Shit. At the conclusion of the rafting we stripped ourselves of the borrowed gear and took a brief shower off of the river muck. Then, before we hopped back on the bus into town we helped ourselves to a cup of soup and some coffee.
Back in Queenstown Hayley and I needed to go back to the car in the garage and get my backpack with our gear for our flight to Milford Sound. Still in our swimwear from rafting, and wanting to get into dry clothes, we each took turns changing in the car. In dry, clean clothes we made our way to The Station where we were to check in for the Milford Sound Fly and Cruise trip. At the check in counter the clerk called ahead to confirm the adventure was still on, but due to the poor weather conditions we would be unable to make the trip. Although the weather in Queenstown was beautiful, Milford Sound was being inundated with rain. This was no surprise to us. When we booked yesterday we were told it was a possibility it might night happen.
With a wide open afternoon and a town to explore we had no worries on how to fill the time. First, we found a café we thought would delight our taste buds, only to be disappointed. Food fact, the milkshakes here seem to be more like flavored milk. The one highlight of the café was Hayley got to hear the theme song to House playing overhead. The funny thing is that I recognized it before she, she was so into her disappointing soup.
Following lunch it was my turn to be happy. We skipped right along to Starbucks for dessert, me with my triple venti three pump peppermint mocha non-fat with whip and Hayley with her tall hot chocolate in a grande cup filled the rest of the way with whipped cream. With our slice of Americana in hand we ventured around town browsing through many shops. One shop we visited was www.LordoftheRingsnz.com, where they had numerous LOTR things on sale, in addition to numerous artifacts and artwork of and from the movies on display on loan from private collectors. It was like Hayley had gone to Middle Earth Heaven. We got to see an armored headwear collection for the different armies, Aragorn’s sword and Arwen’s dress, among many other things. Another shop we visited had an art gallery located on the second floor. Admiring the art work we found three artists that tickled our fancy, Joshua Robins, Susan Waderman and a third I now forget. Unfortunately I would have to win Powerball to afford some of the pieces. There was one piece in the gallery, not by one of our three favorites, that was selling for $37000. Following a few more stops in some additional stores and the melting of my credit card, we made our way back to the car with bags in hand so we could return to the Bed and Breakfast.
Relaxing back at the Coronet View we took a few pictures of some beautiful lenticular clouds hovering over the mountain peaks in the Queenstown area. Some of the clouds were taking on a stereotypical UFO shape, very cool to see. Fleeing these alien spaceships we made our way back into town to dine at Fatz Cat Italian Ristorante. Here we unearthed our hidden cravings. With all the food troubles we had been having, it was great to forget them, if only for a moment, while we waltzed our way through our plates of spaghetti.
As the evening has come to a close, Hayley has been doing laundry and I have been trying to keep up with the journals.
Cheers to all,
Bobby & Hayley
Heavy Misses – 01 January 2008
Following a good night’s rest we arose and had the best breakfast of the year. Of course, it at the time was the only breakfast of the year, however, certainly our best breakfast since being in New Zealand. Bed and Breakfast with cooked to order fresh food is a true delight, and made Hayley a happy camper with the bacon cooked crispy and in the style to her liking.
Upon packing our bags and loading the car we were off to Glenorchy so Hayley could do the Ride of the Rings. Making our way on the Cardona Valley Road (SH 89) we floated along the Cardona River until we climbed our way through the Crown Range Road, peaking at Mt. Scott then ever so gradually scaling our way back down into Arrow Junction. The slow serpent of roadway down the mountain side was reminiscent to me of the turns on Lombard Street in San Francisco, only on a much bigger scale and more beautiful – from what I could see in the few glimpses I managed while steering and breaking. Finally reaching SH6 at the bottom we made our way through Queenstown and continued onward for Glenorchy.
As we waved goodbye to Queenstown, Hayley’s seat went back, ear plugs went in and she dreamt her way off to sleep. Meanwhile, I continued to plug forward, stopping to take a few pictures periodically of the Thomson and Humboldt Mountains, along the upper reaches of Lake Wakatipu.
Descending down into Glenorchy gradually Hayley came back alive. We arrived at Dart Stables, home to “The Ride of the Rings.” We were a bit early for our 130pm gathering so we ventured into town, what little one it is, and stopped for a bite to eat at the Glenorchy Café. What a surprise that was since Hayley was able to get real lemonade, well sort of. This was lemonade, only it had carbonation, but nonetheless it was lemonade, not Sprite. With satisfied tummies we returned to Dart Stables only to find out we were early. I had misread the information in our itinerary. Our 130pm time slot was for us to be picked up back in Queenstown, we did not need to be here at Dart Stables until 215pm. It was okay however. We managed to get Hayley checked in, purchase a t-shirt and then relax a bit before she was to ride off. As a bonus, we were able to have stopping power along the way to and from Glenorchy for our “5 Minute Photo Stops.” While waiting and conversing with Stephanie, the woman that checked Hayley in, we found out she was from New Jersey. I asked her what got her to move to New Zealand. She told us she was touring South America then came to New Zealand. While here she ran out of money and got a job. Six months later she is still in country and loving it. A LOTRs side note is her nickname is “The Hobbit” because she looks like one when riding on a horse.
The rest of the Ring Riders arrived, checked in and they all, Hayley included, boarded a bus to Paradise where they would collect their horses. Hayley will fill in the details of the Ring adventure. As for me, I did not make the trip because in the health interest of the horses there is a maximum weight limit and I exceeded it. No worries here though. I made a trip down to the waterfront, walked out on some exposed land in the lake and was able to capture some beautiful images of the surrounding mountains along the water. Afterward, I took a forty minute tramp out to the lagoon and snagged some more gorgeous pictures of the mountains. Returning from my walk, I returned to the Glenorchy centre of town and refueled the car, grabbed a cool liquid beverage and made my way back to Dart Stables to wait upon my Princess’s return. While waiting I downloaded last night’s fireworks and today’s adventure photos into the computer.
Upon Hayley’s return we made our way back to Queenstown and checked into the Coronet View Bed & Breakfast. Following the unloading of the car I made a call to our adventure vendor on January 3 to confirm our reservation on the Te Anau Glowworm Caves tour. Amy on the other end confirmed our spots and assured us that the ground and transports taken will be more solid than those we used up in Waitomo. While still on the phone with Amy I was also able to check our status on the Doubtful Sound Overnight Cruise the following day. Bonus information we received is that for the Doubtful Sound trip we will be picked up at our bed and breakfast in the morning. Woohoo!!!
With confirmations in ear it was time for dinner so we headed into the center of town. While driving around looking for a parking spot I took the liberty to scout out additional parking locales for tomorrow morning. Also, while doing this my eyes lit right up when I spotted a Starbucks. I had not seen one since Auckland last year. Can you tell I have been missing a good caffeine kick? Once the car was finally parked, on our way to finding a restaurant we happened upon the spot we need to check in at for tomorrow’s adventures. While Hayley looked through the gift shop I confirmed at the counter we were set for our white water rafting trip and our skydive. All set for the 815am meeting to white water raft the Shotover River. One potential issue with the skydive, weight. I had to walk down the road five shops and weigh in to see if I was under the max. Yup, you guessed it. Although it was only by five kilograms, I was overweight. Once again, yet another honeymoon event I was unable to do due to my love for some good food. I broke the news to Hayley that I would not be able to jump. After a brief discussion, she decided not to make the jump either. In the absence of the skydive we rescheduled our afternoon to fly and cruise Milford Sound instead. With tomorrow’s plans now in order we located the Beefeater Steakhouse, recommended by our B & B hosts. Here we dined on what Hayley considered her best meal yet, a filet mignon. She was doing the “Snoopy” Dance as those taste buds came alive.
Following dinner we retired for the evening to the confines of our B&B room where I now sit typing. It is nearly bed time now and I need to get my backpack ready for tomorrow’s excursions.
Cheers,
Bob & Hayley
Upon packing our bags and loading the car we were off to Glenorchy so Hayley could do the Ride of the Rings. Making our way on the Cardona Valley Road (SH 89) we floated along the Cardona River until we climbed our way through the Crown Range Road, peaking at Mt. Scott then ever so gradually scaling our way back down into Arrow Junction. The slow serpent of roadway down the mountain side was reminiscent to me of the turns on Lombard Street in San Francisco, only on a much bigger scale and more beautiful – from what I could see in the few glimpses I managed while steering and breaking. Finally reaching SH6 at the bottom we made our way through Queenstown and continued onward for Glenorchy.
As we waved goodbye to Queenstown, Hayley’s seat went back, ear plugs went in and she dreamt her way off to sleep. Meanwhile, I continued to plug forward, stopping to take a few pictures periodically of the Thomson and Humboldt Mountains, along the upper reaches of Lake Wakatipu.
Descending down into Glenorchy gradually Hayley came back alive. We arrived at Dart Stables, home to “The Ride of the Rings.” We were a bit early for our 130pm gathering so we ventured into town, what little one it is, and stopped for a bite to eat at the Glenorchy Café. What a surprise that was since Hayley was able to get real lemonade, well sort of. This was lemonade, only it had carbonation, but nonetheless it was lemonade, not Sprite. With satisfied tummies we returned to Dart Stables only to find out we were early. I had misread the information in our itinerary. Our 130pm time slot was for us to be picked up back in Queenstown, we did not need to be here at Dart Stables until 215pm. It was okay however. We managed to get Hayley checked in, purchase a t-shirt and then relax a bit before she was to ride off. As a bonus, we were able to have stopping power along the way to and from Glenorchy for our “5 Minute Photo Stops.” While waiting and conversing with Stephanie, the woman that checked Hayley in, we found out she was from New Jersey. I asked her what got her to move to New Zealand. She told us she was touring South America then came to New Zealand. While here she ran out of money and got a job. Six months later she is still in country and loving it. A LOTRs side note is her nickname is “The Hobbit” because she looks like one when riding on a horse.
The rest of the Ring Riders arrived, checked in and they all, Hayley included, boarded a bus to Paradise where they would collect their horses. Hayley will fill in the details of the Ring adventure. As for me, I did not make the trip because in the health interest of the horses there is a maximum weight limit and I exceeded it. No worries here though. I made a trip down to the waterfront, walked out on some exposed land in the lake and was able to capture some beautiful images of the surrounding mountains along the water. Afterward, I took a forty minute tramp out to the lagoon and snagged some more gorgeous pictures of the mountains. Returning from my walk, I returned to the Glenorchy centre of town and refueled the car, grabbed a cool liquid beverage and made my way back to Dart Stables to wait upon my Princess’s return. While waiting I downloaded last night’s fireworks and today’s adventure photos into the computer.
Upon Hayley’s return we made our way back to Queenstown and checked into the Coronet View Bed & Breakfast. Following the unloading of the car I made a call to our adventure vendor on January 3 to confirm our reservation on the Te Anau Glowworm Caves tour. Amy on the other end confirmed our spots and assured us that the ground and transports taken will be more solid than those we used up in Waitomo. While still on the phone with Amy I was also able to check our status on the Doubtful Sound Overnight Cruise the following day. Bonus information we received is that for the Doubtful Sound trip we will be picked up at our bed and breakfast in the morning. Woohoo!!!
With confirmations in ear it was time for dinner so we headed into the center of town. While driving around looking for a parking spot I took the liberty to scout out additional parking locales for tomorrow morning. Also, while doing this my eyes lit right up when I spotted a Starbucks. I had not seen one since Auckland last year. Can you tell I have been missing a good caffeine kick? Once the car was finally parked, on our way to finding a restaurant we happened upon the spot we need to check in at for tomorrow’s adventures. While Hayley looked through the gift shop I confirmed at the counter we were set for our white water rafting trip and our skydive. All set for the 815am meeting to white water raft the Shotover River. One potential issue with the skydive, weight. I had to walk down the road five shops and weigh in to see if I was under the max. Yup, you guessed it. Although it was only by five kilograms, I was overweight. Once again, yet another honeymoon event I was unable to do due to my love for some good food. I broke the news to Hayley that I would not be able to jump. After a brief discussion, she decided not to make the jump either. In the absence of the skydive we rescheduled our afternoon to fly and cruise Milford Sound instead. With tomorrow’s plans now in order we located the Beefeater Steakhouse, recommended by our B & B hosts. Here we dined on what Hayley considered her best meal yet, a filet mignon. She was doing the “Snoopy” Dance as those taste buds came alive.
Following dinner we retired for the evening to the confines of our B&B room where I now sit typing. It is nearly bed time now and I need to get my backpack ready for tomorrow’s excursions.
Cheers,
Bob & Hayley
Reflecting Fox – 31 December 2007
Aw, the last day of the year. Wow what a year it has been. Quitting my job, moving out to Oklahoma, getting married, completely starting a new life it feels. This honeymoon has been a tremendous way to finish off a truly wonderful year.
Beginning the final day of the year, we arose at 530am, with the car packed and on the road by 615am. Ten minutes later we were parked at the Lake Matheson car park and by foot making our way to Reflection Island. Our arrival at the island was met with cloud covered peaks, which does not make for “The Shot” we went out to obtain. No worries were in our minds, as we had nearly an hour available to us to burn off the obstructions. We shared the island with two women that actually arrived at the island prior to us. We passed the time with a little bit of chit-chat and a few glimmers of hope in the clouds. Only minutes before our absolute cut-off time did the clouds part. After the peaks poked through and reflected into our optical image makers of choice Hayley and I trekked back to have breakfast at the Lake Matheson Café.
Following breakfast we returned to the hotel to check out then walked across the parking lot and checked-in for the Fox Glacier Heli-hike. At 9am, we boarded a bus to travel down the road to the helipad where we unloaded, got boots for the rest of the group, went over ground rules, broke into groups then boarded our choppers. After a few flybys of the glacier we touched down on Victoria’s Flat, obtained our walking sticks and donned our crampons. We hiked around the glacier, into caves and tunnels, over crevasses, cracks and streams. Our tour guide from Argentina, Pablo, was a bit difficult to understand – it was evident English was not his first language. He often got ahead and did not wait much for the back of the pack. At one point while hurrying to catch up, Hayley fell face first, cutting her hand on the glacier. It was a minor skin abrasion and cleaned up easily. With a plan in place for Hayley to flight in the front of the helicopter on the ride back to take photos there was one small problem. The guy loading us into the helicopter was the only one unaware of it and filled the front with others before Hayley. Therefore our helicopter flight photos are not the best they could have been. Now please do not take the negativity of this paragraph as a bad thing. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and truly appreciate the time we spent on the glacier. We look forward to doing it again.
With feet on stable ground we changed into dry comfortable clothes, dined on delicious pancakes with bacon, bananas and maple syrup. While waiting on the food to cook I called to confirm Hayley’s Ride of the Rings for tomorrow. Afterward we refueled the car then hit the road. Our first stop was only about five kilometers away to get a full-on straight shot of the Fox Glacier. Then it was back on the road for a couple shots at Knight’s Point along the Tasman before our turn inland.
With Hayley asleep I crossed the Haast Pass, and then into the Southern Alps. The early morning wake up and the hours spent upon the glacier were catching up to me. I had to pull off the road and take a twenty minute power nap before we could continue our way towards Wanaka. Following a brief photo stop at the Cameron Flat we made our way along Lakes Wanaka and Hawea.
Finally arriving at Te Wanaka Lodge we unloaded the car after a tour of the lodge by the receptionist. With exhaustion looming we set out on foot to find sustenance. We were referred to a pizza and pasta place that sounded great, but on arrival we found a sign stating they were closed due to technical difficulties. After visiting another pizza shop and it too was closed we settled for some bar food as everything else was closed or by reservation only due to it being New Year’s Eve.
Hunger subdued we made our way back to the lodge. I downloaded the day’s photos, while Hayley got watching Pretty Woman on the tele. At the conclusion of the movie we had just under a half hour to the end of 2007. With the lack of New Year’s coverage on the tube we got changed and made our way down to the lake front to welcome in 2008. With fireworks over the lake and a kiss, 2008 was underway.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Cheers,
Bob and Hayley
Beginning the final day of the year, we arose at 530am, with the car packed and on the road by 615am. Ten minutes later we were parked at the Lake Matheson car park and by foot making our way to Reflection Island. Our arrival at the island was met with cloud covered peaks, which does not make for “The Shot” we went out to obtain. No worries were in our minds, as we had nearly an hour available to us to burn off the obstructions. We shared the island with two women that actually arrived at the island prior to us. We passed the time with a little bit of chit-chat and a few glimmers of hope in the clouds. Only minutes before our absolute cut-off time did the clouds part. After the peaks poked through and reflected into our optical image makers of choice Hayley and I trekked back to have breakfast at the Lake Matheson Café.
Following breakfast we returned to the hotel to check out then walked across the parking lot and checked-in for the Fox Glacier Heli-hike. At 9am, we boarded a bus to travel down the road to the helipad where we unloaded, got boots for the rest of the group, went over ground rules, broke into groups then boarded our choppers. After a few flybys of the glacier we touched down on Victoria’s Flat, obtained our walking sticks and donned our crampons. We hiked around the glacier, into caves and tunnels, over crevasses, cracks and streams. Our tour guide from Argentina, Pablo, was a bit difficult to understand – it was evident English was not his first language. He often got ahead and did not wait much for the back of the pack. At one point while hurrying to catch up, Hayley fell face first, cutting her hand on the glacier. It was a minor skin abrasion and cleaned up easily. With a plan in place for Hayley to flight in the front of the helicopter on the ride back to take photos there was one small problem. The guy loading us into the helicopter was the only one unaware of it and filled the front with others before Hayley. Therefore our helicopter flight photos are not the best they could have been. Now please do not take the negativity of this paragraph as a bad thing. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and truly appreciate the time we spent on the glacier. We look forward to doing it again.
With feet on stable ground we changed into dry comfortable clothes, dined on delicious pancakes with bacon, bananas and maple syrup. While waiting on the food to cook I called to confirm Hayley’s Ride of the Rings for tomorrow. Afterward we refueled the car then hit the road. Our first stop was only about five kilometers away to get a full-on straight shot of the Fox Glacier. Then it was back on the road for a couple shots at Knight’s Point along the Tasman before our turn inland.
With Hayley asleep I crossed the Haast Pass, and then into the Southern Alps. The early morning wake up and the hours spent upon the glacier were catching up to me. I had to pull off the road and take a twenty minute power nap before we could continue our way towards Wanaka. Following a brief photo stop at the Cameron Flat we made our way along Lakes Wanaka and Hawea.
Finally arriving at Te Wanaka Lodge we unloaded the car after a tour of the lodge by the receptionist. With exhaustion looming we set out on foot to find sustenance. We were referred to a pizza and pasta place that sounded great, but on arrival we found a sign stating they were closed due to technical difficulties. After visiting another pizza shop and it too was closed we settled for some bar food as everything else was closed or by reservation only due to it being New Year’s Eve.
Hunger subdued we made our way back to the lodge. I downloaded the day’s photos, while Hayley got watching Pretty Woman on the tele. At the conclusion of the movie we had just under a half hour to the end of 2007. With the lack of New Year’s coverage on the tube we got changed and made our way down to the lake front to welcome in 2008. With fireworks over the lake and a kiss, 2008 was underway.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Cheers,
Bob and Hayley
Glacial Pancakes – 30 December 2007
Today got underway with us having breakfast with our hosts and their other guests. The cereal and toast were not enough; therefore we packed up and went for additional breakfast at the Wild Coast Café. Without any Lord of the Rings events on tap today, yet wanting to keep it in our minds, one might call it second breakfast in honor of Merry and Pippen.
After second breakfast we switched from Lord of the Rings to BBC’s Walking with Dinosaurs. Across the road from the cafe was the Pancake Rock and Blowhole entrance. This actually was our third stop on the Walking with Dinosaurs tour (Orakei Korako and the rainforest on the other side of the swing bridge near the Rivendell film location we visited in Wellington were the first two). At the conclusion of our trek we visited the Visitor Centre and Crafts buildings to shop for postcards and anything else that may scream “BUY ME!” Only the postcards jumped into Hayley’s hands.
More than an hour later than expected we hit the road for the Fox Glacier Village. We made a brief refueling stop in Greymouth where I utilized a four cent per litre discount coupon given to us by Diane, our host at the Nikau Palms. She gets them when grocery shopping, yet does not drive enough to use them. Therefore she passes them on to her guests.
Hayley as usual took a nap, while I weaved our way up, down and around the winding coast of the South Island. With Hayley fast asleep she missed two awe-inspiring sites. With the sky overcast, mountain tops were not visible. At least until a hole in the clouds opened up to reveal snow capped peaks. I do not know which ones they were, however they were breathtaking. Just as soon as the peaks appeared they vanished. The opening was only there for a brief moment like that of a hole in the offensive line during a running play in football. About a half hour later down the road another brief clearing of the lower cloud cover dissipated to reveal yet another snowcapped peak. This one I was able to identify as Mt. Adam.
As I was crawling through a town at 50 kilometers per hour Hayley woke enough to ask for a pee break just as we were passing the 100 sign heading out of town. She managed to open her eyes in time to see the 100 and then told me to never mind as she realized we were leaving the town. I let her go back to sleep and woke her up as the Franz Josef Glacier came into view. Just as she opened her eyes, it disappeared. When we got into the Franz Josef Glacier Village we made a toilet break. Feeling we should buy something from the store we stopped at, we each had a yummy chocolate-covered vanilla raspberry ice cream bar.
With relieved bladders we decided we had the time for a glacial detour. Instead of following State Highway Six we made a left turn onto a dirt road for a scenic ten minute drive to the car park for the Franz Josef Glacier. While on the drive up to the car park Hayley’s camera batteries kicked the bucket. I remembered she had another set of rechargeable batteries and suggested she swap them out. This allowed her to take an additional four photos before they died. With all of Hayley’s batteries down for the count my camera was the only way for us to capture the essence of the Franz Josef Glacier. Satisfied with the images we had gathered we forged onward to the Fox Glacier Village. The final stretch run to our destination, sixteen kilometers of winding road up, down and around, was a dreadful one, as the clouds above grew dark enough to begin dumping rain down upon us. Wanting to just get off the road, the rain made our slow drive even slower. Needless to say, it SUCKED!!!
Having checked into the resort hotel and made our way to the room it is easy to say we were disappointed. It sounded better than it looked. By far this was our least favorite. We received less than expected customer service at check-in and with our follow-up questions, the room was small, the shower curtain stuck to you while showering, there was no place to put anything in the bathroom, there was no place to sit in the room or put your luggage for that matter. The one upside was a guest laundry room.
Following the unloading of the car it was time for food. Since we did not have a lunch we were hungry. We found a place that served up a buffet-like meal that was not all you could eat but did a pretty good job of filling us up. It included what I would say was the second best dessert here in NZ, a pavlova. It was sugar and egg white whipped up then baked, placed on a bed of raspberry sauce then topped with slices of an orange and kiwi fruit, perhaps actually the third best since I had the crème bruelle twice back in Wellington.
As we pulled out of the restaurant we spied the location for tomorrow’s heli-hike. Wanting to be sure it was the proper place and to confirm they still had us down for 9am we parked the car and went in. With confirmation of our check-in time we browsed the gift shop (pre-shopping to save time tomorrow) where I bought a few t-shirts, a book of 1001 things to see in NZ, and a letter opener. After the credit card melted I swapped sides of the street to get disposable batteries for Hayley’s camera so she may take pictures while the rechargeable ones get there overnight dose of juice.
With full bellies settling it was time to walk off the meal and do some scouting for the next morning’s prized photo shoot. We made our way to the car park at Lake Matheson and hiked the half hour to Reflection Island to time out our travels. Due to the cloud cover of the evening Mt. Cook and Mt. Tasman were not visible. In the morning we plan to rise with the sun before breakfast and make the trek again in order to get shots of Mt. Cook and Mt. Tasman reflecting off the mirror-like lake. It is one of the most famous and photographed images in the World, and we want to take it ourselves. Surprisingly, Hayley is all for getting up early to make the shot happen. Sure we could do it tomorrow after our heli-hike of the Fox Glacier, but the lighting is best in the early morning when the sun is shining on the mountains from the east as we gaze upon them from the north.
After returning to the car we made our way back to the hotel. Hayley did a load of jeans in the laundry, we took turns showering, we channel surfed our grand total of TWO channels on television (there were actually three, but the third had the same thing on as one of the TWO), and I wrote up a journal. When the dryer stopped spinning and the dry clothes were back in our room it was time for bed.
Cheers,
Bob & Hayley
After second breakfast we switched from Lord of the Rings to BBC’s Walking with Dinosaurs. Across the road from the cafe was the Pancake Rock and Blowhole entrance. This actually was our third stop on the Walking with Dinosaurs tour (Orakei Korako and the rainforest on the other side of the swing bridge near the Rivendell film location we visited in Wellington were the first two). At the conclusion of our trek we visited the Visitor Centre and Crafts buildings to shop for postcards and anything else that may scream “BUY ME!” Only the postcards jumped into Hayley’s hands.
More than an hour later than expected we hit the road for the Fox Glacier Village. We made a brief refueling stop in Greymouth where I utilized a four cent per litre discount coupon given to us by Diane, our host at the Nikau Palms. She gets them when grocery shopping, yet does not drive enough to use them. Therefore she passes them on to her guests.
Hayley as usual took a nap, while I weaved our way up, down and around the winding coast of the South Island. With Hayley fast asleep she missed two awe-inspiring sites. With the sky overcast, mountain tops were not visible. At least until a hole in the clouds opened up to reveal snow capped peaks. I do not know which ones they were, however they were breathtaking. Just as soon as the peaks appeared they vanished. The opening was only there for a brief moment like that of a hole in the offensive line during a running play in football. About a half hour later down the road another brief clearing of the lower cloud cover dissipated to reveal yet another snowcapped peak. This one I was able to identify as Mt. Adam.
As I was crawling through a town at 50 kilometers per hour Hayley woke enough to ask for a pee break just as we were passing the 100 sign heading out of town. She managed to open her eyes in time to see the 100 and then told me to never mind as she realized we were leaving the town. I let her go back to sleep and woke her up as the Franz Josef Glacier came into view. Just as she opened her eyes, it disappeared. When we got into the Franz Josef Glacier Village we made a toilet break. Feeling we should buy something from the store we stopped at, we each had a yummy chocolate-covered vanilla raspberry ice cream bar.
With relieved bladders we decided we had the time for a glacial detour. Instead of following State Highway Six we made a left turn onto a dirt road for a scenic ten minute drive to the car park for the Franz Josef Glacier. While on the drive up to the car park Hayley’s camera batteries kicked the bucket. I remembered she had another set of rechargeable batteries and suggested she swap them out. This allowed her to take an additional four photos before they died. With all of Hayley’s batteries down for the count my camera was the only way for us to capture the essence of the Franz Josef Glacier. Satisfied with the images we had gathered we forged onward to the Fox Glacier Village. The final stretch run to our destination, sixteen kilometers of winding road up, down and around, was a dreadful one, as the clouds above grew dark enough to begin dumping rain down upon us. Wanting to just get off the road, the rain made our slow drive even slower. Needless to say, it SUCKED!!!
Having checked into the resort hotel and made our way to the room it is easy to say we were disappointed. It sounded better than it looked. By far this was our least favorite. We received less than expected customer service at check-in and with our follow-up questions, the room was small, the shower curtain stuck to you while showering, there was no place to put anything in the bathroom, there was no place to sit in the room or put your luggage for that matter. The one upside was a guest laundry room.
Following the unloading of the car it was time for food. Since we did not have a lunch we were hungry. We found a place that served up a buffet-like meal that was not all you could eat but did a pretty good job of filling us up. It included what I would say was the second best dessert here in NZ, a pavlova. It was sugar and egg white whipped up then baked, placed on a bed of raspberry sauce then topped with slices of an orange and kiwi fruit, perhaps actually the third best since I had the crème bruelle twice back in Wellington.
As we pulled out of the restaurant we spied the location for tomorrow’s heli-hike. Wanting to be sure it was the proper place and to confirm they still had us down for 9am we parked the car and went in. With confirmation of our check-in time we browsed the gift shop (pre-shopping to save time tomorrow) where I bought a few t-shirts, a book of 1001 things to see in NZ, and a letter opener. After the credit card melted I swapped sides of the street to get disposable batteries for Hayley’s camera so she may take pictures while the rechargeable ones get there overnight dose of juice.
With full bellies settling it was time to walk off the meal and do some scouting for the next morning’s prized photo shoot. We made our way to the car park at Lake Matheson and hiked the half hour to Reflection Island to time out our travels. Due to the cloud cover of the evening Mt. Cook and Mt. Tasman were not visible. In the morning we plan to rise with the sun before breakfast and make the trek again in order to get shots of Mt. Cook and Mt. Tasman reflecting off the mirror-like lake. It is one of the most famous and photographed images in the World, and we want to take it ourselves. Surprisingly, Hayley is all for getting up early to make the shot happen. Sure we could do it tomorrow after our heli-hike of the Fox Glacier, but the lighting is best in the early morning when the sun is shining on the mountains from the east as we gaze upon them from the north.
After returning to the car we made our way back to the hotel. Hayley did a load of jeans in the laundry, we took turns showering, we channel surfed our grand total of TWO channels on television (there were actually three, but the third had the same thing on as one of the TWO), and I wrote up a journal. When the dryer stopped spinning and the dry clothes were back in our room it was time for bed.
Cheers,
Bob & Hayley
Interislander – 29 December 2007
Good morning to all! I am checking in while on the Interislander Ferry, as we cross Cook Strait on our way to the South Island today. To make up for me being a slave-driver this morning and cracking the whip to get us out of the Bed & Breakfast and on our way, once aboard the Ferry I splurged to upgrade us so we could rest comfortably on the three hour journey across the water. We are in the Kaitaki Plus Lounge where there is complimentary food and beverage, free internet access (wired and wireless), couches to relax on, and best of all—no kids making noise.
This morning was a bit rushed. After waking and getting the car packed up we had breakfast upstairs with our host Diane. Hayley signed the guest book for us and then we made our way down the hillside. After pulling a u-turn we were in the backed up traffic getting to the Ferry. Having left the B&B later then I really wanted, didn’t want to be rude to our host and skip breakfast; I did not leave us much time to get to the Ferry Terminal. After numerous thumpings of my leg on the car floorboard we made it to the Rental Car Return Car Park. We got the last spot in the caged area. After unloading the car and trekking our way along the long, uneven parking surface we made our way to a long line waiting to check in. Surprisingly, it moved rather quickly. At the counter we tagged our bags and said goodbye to them until we got to the other side, then with boarding passes in hand made our way up the gangway and on board the Kaitaki Ferry.
Hayley was impressed with the Ferry. She claims it way exceeded her expectations. After walking through the Food Court, Recliner Lounge, and the Sun Deck there really appeared to be no safe and comfortable place to sit. It was also quite noisy with all the kids running around. Upon entering the Ferry I took note of the Kaitaki Plus Lounge and now decided to enquire the cost for an upgrade to enter. With a reasonable financial transaction we were inside to where we now relax. Hayley has been on the ship’s computer checking her emails, while I have been on my laptop taking the time to upload photos from the past three days to my FaceBook account. You may log in and check them out if you have a FaceBook account.
I look out the window now and see that we are approaching land again. I will sign off for now and hope to continue once we arrive at tonight’s lodging location, the Kally House. It is near the Pancake Rocks and Blowhole along the Tasman Coast.
We are now on dry land. Following our disembarkation from the Kaitaki we made our way to baggage claim and proceeded to wait for nearly a half hour for our luggage to come up. It was no surprise to me, considering the Kaitaki capacity is 1750. That my friend is a lot of luggage to unload. With all bags in hand we rolled our way over to the car hire line. A short wait later I was at the counter to get the rental, however I was unable to obtain a GPS system. All the GPS systems had been rented out. I made a visit to all the other car hires at the Picton Terminal and had no luck in a GPS acquisition. I broke the news to Hayley we were going to have to do the South Island old school, utilizing paper atlases and maps on the itinerary. With that news we gathered our belongings and the car and headed south on State Highway 1.
With Hayley getting more acclimated with the atlas she discovered Blenhiem was the last big town for nearly two hours. This became our first stop, just twenty minutes down the road from Picton. Here we dined on the wonderfully delightful food of an American business world re-known as KFC. About forty five minutes later we were back on the road cruising through the vineyards in the Wairua River Valley. Once passing through Renwick I was pretty comfortable with the directions for some time. Therefore I turned off my human GPS named Hayley and let her put her seat back and take a nap.
Nearing the Tasman Sea almost two hours later I brought Hayley back to life so she would not miss the gorgeous scenery. Once we were on the Tasman coast we delighted ourselves in numerous photo stops. These stops took longer than planned, thus we opted to bypass the Pancake Rocks in Punakaiki today and push forward to Barrytown to check into our Bed and Breakfast for the night, The Kally House.
Upon our arrival at the Kally House our host greeted us and gave us the complete tour of the place. A tour was very welcomed, as the place was enormous and simply magnificent. At the conclusion of the tour our host called ahead and made dinner reservations for us at Darcy’s Buffalo Bar & Grill down the road about one kilometer. After settling in, Hayley ventured into the flower gardens along the driveway and took flower photos, while I looked at the next day’s itinerary. Shortly before 730pm we were off to Darcy’s for the best steak we had had here in NZ.
After a return to the Kally House to get sweatshirts we walked to the beach to view the sunset. The walk was a much longer walk than anticipated and the sky was too cloudy for a gorgeous sunset, yet it was still decent nonetheless. We soaked it in and enjoyed our romantic evening. Back in our room we changed into our house clothes and relaxed on the couch. It was not long after we found some zzz’s for the night.
Cheers,
Bob & Hayley
This morning was a bit rushed. After waking and getting the car packed up we had breakfast upstairs with our host Diane. Hayley signed the guest book for us and then we made our way down the hillside. After pulling a u-turn we were in the backed up traffic getting to the Ferry. Having left the B&B later then I really wanted, didn’t want to be rude to our host and skip breakfast; I did not leave us much time to get to the Ferry Terminal. After numerous thumpings of my leg on the car floorboard we made it to the Rental Car Return Car Park. We got the last spot in the caged area. After unloading the car and trekking our way along the long, uneven parking surface we made our way to a long line waiting to check in. Surprisingly, it moved rather quickly. At the counter we tagged our bags and said goodbye to them until we got to the other side, then with boarding passes in hand made our way up the gangway and on board the Kaitaki Ferry.
Hayley was impressed with the Ferry. She claims it way exceeded her expectations. After walking through the Food Court, Recliner Lounge, and the Sun Deck there really appeared to be no safe and comfortable place to sit. It was also quite noisy with all the kids running around. Upon entering the Ferry I took note of the Kaitaki Plus Lounge and now decided to enquire the cost for an upgrade to enter. With a reasonable financial transaction we were inside to where we now relax. Hayley has been on the ship’s computer checking her emails, while I have been on my laptop taking the time to upload photos from the past three days to my FaceBook account. You may log in and check them out if you have a FaceBook account.
I look out the window now and see that we are approaching land again. I will sign off for now and hope to continue once we arrive at tonight’s lodging location, the Kally House. It is near the Pancake Rocks and Blowhole along the Tasman Coast.
We are now on dry land. Following our disembarkation from the Kaitaki we made our way to baggage claim and proceeded to wait for nearly a half hour for our luggage to come up. It was no surprise to me, considering the Kaitaki capacity is 1750. That my friend is a lot of luggage to unload. With all bags in hand we rolled our way over to the car hire line. A short wait later I was at the counter to get the rental, however I was unable to obtain a GPS system. All the GPS systems had been rented out. I made a visit to all the other car hires at the Picton Terminal and had no luck in a GPS acquisition. I broke the news to Hayley we were going to have to do the South Island old school, utilizing paper atlases and maps on the itinerary. With that news we gathered our belongings and the car and headed south on State Highway 1.
With Hayley getting more acclimated with the atlas she discovered Blenhiem was the last big town for nearly two hours. This became our first stop, just twenty minutes down the road from Picton. Here we dined on the wonderfully delightful food of an American business world re-known as KFC. About forty five minutes later we were back on the road cruising through the vineyards in the Wairua River Valley. Once passing through Renwick I was pretty comfortable with the directions for some time. Therefore I turned off my human GPS named Hayley and let her put her seat back and take a nap.
Nearing the Tasman Sea almost two hours later I brought Hayley back to life so she would not miss the gorgeous scenery. Once we were on the Tasman coast we delighted ourselves in numerous photo stops. These stops took longer than planned, thus we opted to bypass the Pancake Rocks in Punakaiki today and push forward to Barrytown to check into our Bed and Breakfast for the night, The Kally House.
Upon our arrival at the Kally House our host greeted us and gave us the complete tour of the place. A tour was very welcomed, as the place was enormous and simply magnificent. At the conclusion of the tour our host called ahead and made dinner reservations for us at Darcy’s Buffalo Bar & Grill down the road about one kilometer. After settling in, Hayley ventured into the flower gardens along the driveway and took flower photos, while I looked at the next day’s itinerary. Shortly before 730pm we were off to Darcy’s for the best steak we had had here in NZ.
After a return to the Kally House to get sweatshirts we walked to the beach to view the sunset. The walk was a much longer walk than anticipated and the sky was too cloudy for a gorgeous sunset, yet it was still decent nonetheless. We soaked it in and enjoyed our romantic evening. Back in our room we changed into our house clothes and relaxed on the couch. It was not long after we found some zzz’s for the night.
Cheers,
Bob & Hayley
Middle Earth Magic - 28 December 2007
Our day began with a delicious breakfast here at the B & B, which included scrambled eggs, toast, bacon, a roasted tomato, and a variety of cereal choices. I came to find that most cereals in New Zealand do closely resemble American brand cereals. I found a cereal that seemed to be as close as possible to our Raisin Bran, and I was content to eat that along with my hot breakfast.
At about a quarter after 9, our tour van arrived to pick us up and we departed for our tour of Middle Earth filming locations with 4 other people. We met a couple from Sweden who were also on holiday (the woman didn’t care much for LOTR, but her husband was a big fan). We also met a very interesting couple from Maryland who liked the movies but were truly fans of Tolkien’s books. The guy was a physics professor and his wife was a linguistics professor. They were very intellectual, so it was fun to get into a conversation with him about the state of the environment and environmental ethics. (I know my dad would enjoy shooting the breeze with him.) Finally, we met our awesome tour guide, Todd, who is a professional actor, part-time tour guide and a ton of fun. He acted in a couple episodes of Xena, he acted in Kind Kong (another Peter Jackson film), and he played two roles in LOTR – a courier to Lord Denothol (you can see him over Faramir’s shoulder in the scene where Denothol admits he would prefer Faramir to have died and Boramir to have lived) and Warrior #1 who rode atop the elephant that Legolas single-handedly brought down (because Legolas is awesome like that!).
We began our journey by driving to the summit of Mt. Victoria, where we could get the lay of the land. It was quite windy, wet, and dreary at first! Todd gave us a little history of the city of Wellington, most of which I don’t remember, honestly. I do recall that Wellington is much like San Francisco. The houses are built in a similar style because the roads are just as steep and hilly. Wellington also gets earthquakes all the time, usually small ones, since the city lies on 3 major fault lines and several smaller ones. Todd also pointed out the rugby stadium where Peter Jackson got about 35,000 people to make Orc sounds, stamp their feet, and chant ‘Death! Death!’. He would later use the recorded sounds for some of the battle scenes in the trilogy. This was a very cool factoid, but being the huge fan that I am and having watched all the DVD extras/documentaries included with the films, I already knew about that. Yeah, I know, I’m a dork, but it was great to be on a small, more personal tour of Middle Earth with other LOTR dorks like me! Bobby and I would both have an awesome time by the end of the day and this would definitely turn out to be a very enjoyable, worthwhile tour that we highly recommend to others.
After our visit to Mt. Victoria we drove back down the road to Buckland Forest, where we saw lots and lots of really creepy-looking pine trees. (They’re worse that the creepy trees at El Dorado Lake!) The leaves on this type of pine don’t appear until very close to the top, so the trees kind of look black and creepy and dead (even though they’re alive of course). Todd pointed out where the hobbits had rolled down the hill after getting caught on the neighbor’s farm and where they fell onto the road below where they discovered mushrooms. Soon, Frodo yelled to “Get off the road!” (This was where Jackson used a Hitchcock camera technique). Todd showed where they then hid from the Ring Wraiths. The tree they hid under was digitally created, since it had to fit all 4 hobbits. However, the two hero trees immediately behind the road were real, and I soon recognized them after Todd showed us a picture of the movie scene. Finally, on our way back to the van, Todd pointed out a spot where Aragorn and Theoden stood and watched the Rohan army.
After a lengthy drive we arrived at Harcourt Park where we enjoyed our choice of morning tea or coffee and yummy biscuits. Since I don’t drink either one, Todd graciously offered some hot chocolate which I was happy to drink (even thought it was disappointing). We then walked along a trail where Todd pointed out the Gardens of Isengard (where Gandalf and Saruman walked together discussing the fate of the world). He showed us where they filmed the scenes of the Orcs Felling the Trees. Only two trees were actually cut down, because Jackson used different angles and different extras to make it seem like different trees in each shot. Todd also gave us a quick story that he called ‘Ode to a Leaf Wrangler’ : Jackson didn’t like that the leaves of the trees were too small according to how Tolkein had described them, so the poor tree wrangler had to wire on thousands of leaves onto the two trees they used for the shots. Unfortunately, several of these wired-on leaves would fall off each time the trees were fell, requiring them to be reattached and requiring many hours of labor. Finally, Todd pointed out where Gandalf rode on Shadowfax to see Saruman (a lush green field in the same park).
Todd also said that Jackson was the best director he’d ever worked with. He apparently really helped Todd as an actor to get oriented and to visualize what would be done with special effects. Also, Todd said that he’s extremely down to earth and friendly (a Kiwi trait) and “would talk to the lowliest extra and the biggest star in exactly the same tone of voice”. Jackson also had a strong personality, as Todd recounted in a great little story: A few weeks before Return of the King was due to be released in theaters, New Line Cinema still hadn’t received their final copy of it from Jackson. Naturally, they were frantically wondering where it was. Jackson called them and said that he wanted to change the contract, because he felt that Weta Workshop had really created some of the characters of the movies and deserved rights to these characters. New Line kind of chuckled and said “That’s not how we do things in Hollywood, Peter”. Jackson simply replied with, “Well, welcome to Jacksonville.” and hung up the phone. Of course, he would later get the concession he wanted.
Once we finished up at the park we snaked our way up to the summit of another mountain along state highway 2. The speed limit is 100 km/hr in some spots and 10 km/hr in other spots – it was a fun ride! We snaked our way back down from the summit, eventually arriving at Fernside Farm, a private sheep farm. This was the site of Lothlorien and the famous White Bridge over a beautiful lake. The shore of this lake is where Galadrien waved goodbye to the fellowship as they continued on their journey.
The White Bridge is the only remaining “prop” since it was there to begin with. The bridge is quite different from the one seen in the movie, though. It was embellished quite a bit for the filming, to look much more magical and beautiful. In fact, Jackson had both sides of the bridge beautified even though only one side would be used for filming – he wanted the actors to really feel like they were in Lothlorien, not just on another movie set.
This lake was also used in the opening scenes of Return of the King, where Smeagol and Deagol were fishing. Deagol would find the ring, Smeagol would fight and kill him for it, and Smeagol would begin his descent into Gollum. We got to stand on the piece of land where Smeagol strangled Deagol – this was soooo cool!!
Next, we drove to a nearby town and had lunch at Lady Featherston Café. I had a yummy ham sandwich that was absolutely huge. I also got some yummy hot cocoa – New Zealanders don’t mess around with their cocoa and I like that! Bobby enjoyed a flat white and we all just sat and chatted while we ate until it was time to head off to Rivendell.
I think Bobby and I had some high expectations for what we would see at Rivendell, but it was actually a little disappointing. The forest where it was filmed didn’t closely resemble the Rivendell seen in the movies and we had to really stretch our imaginations to envision the sets that used to be there. Nonetheless, it was still a very beautiful forest and had a pretty river running through it. This river was actually where they filmed Aragorn washing ashore after he’d taken a nasty fall off a cliff and was assumed dead.
When we first arrived at the area, we could choose from two pathways to explore. We began by going to the right and crossing the swingbridge over the river, which I wasn’t so crazy about. Bobby seemed to enjoy it though, so I took a cute photo of him crossing the bridge where he looks kind of like Indiana Jones (especially with his bucket hat on with the sides snapped up). Once safely across, we explored a forest of native trees and ferns which helped inspire the design of TreeBeard and the Ents. It was easy to see the resemblance here, since many of the trees had a flaky bark and a deep root system like the Ents did. After crossing the swingbridge again and heading over to the pathway on the left, we explored “Rivendell proper”. This included, most prominently, the set for Frodo’s bedroom where he recovered from being stabbed by a Black Rider on Weathertop. Of course, since the set was no longer there (it was just a small field with greenery and trees around) we just had to take Todd’s word for it. We walked around this area for a little while, where Todd also pointed out the spot where the council of Rivendell met and the fellowship was formed. It was fun listening to him explain the logistics of this scene – the hobbits and the dwarves had to look shorter than everyone else, so they had to actually cut a hole in the floor of the set for John Rhys-Davis (who played Gimli) to stand in! Of course they also did some tricks with the camera and with actor doubles.
Finally, before we left, Todd showed us a picture of the scene where Frodo walks outside his room and looks out at the beautiful and magical Rivendell around him. The room was a set created by Weta Workshop, the beautiful Elvin-looking village in the background is actually a painting, and the numerous waterfalls in the far background was actually a photograph from Milford Sound (here in the southwest area of the South Island). However, the 60-foot tall waterfall in the foreground was actually created onsite. It was quite expensive, since the water had to be trucked in and trucked back out, but it was worthwhile since the waterfall was featured in several shots.
After wrapping up at Rivendell, we made the drive back into town and dropped off the Swedish couple, who had to return their rental car before 5pm. Next we made a quick stop in the town of Miramar, where we drove past Weta Workshop (aka Campground Studios). Of course we couldn’t go inside, but we did see some cool sound stages and green screens just outside the building. We also passed an old theatre that Jackson had bought when the trilogy was finished. He hopes to fix it up and turn it into an LOTR museum one day, but this could only happen if the Tolkien family allows it.
After dropping off the other couple, Todd dropped us off at the B & B. We thanked him for a great day and a great tour and just settled down in our room for a bit. Though it is a little small, it’s a very cozy room with a great big window showing off the gorgeous view of Wellington. The TV only had a couple channels, as is standard in NZ hotels, but I got to watch Home Improvement and The Nanny before we left for dinner.
We actually went back to the same Bistro we had dinner at last night. We toyed with the idea of going downtown to The Green Parrot, which was Viggo Mortenson’s favorite steak joint, but we just lacked the energy to drive down there, find parking, etc. So, we went back to the Bistro right down the road and had delicious meals again. I had the salmon again while Bobby opted for the chicken breast. This time though, I got the scallops for an appetizer – excuse me, entrée – instead of the “chowder” I had gotten the previous night (which was actually a bisque). Halfway through the meal it occurred to Bobby that he could get the delicious crème brulee dessert again! This time we both got the crème brulee and it really was pretty fantastic.
The night ended with packing, Bobby working out our schedule for the next day, and some computer time before bed.
Hope you all enjoyed this super-long journal! Thanks for reading and we’ll catch you later!
Love, Hayley and Bobby
At about a quarter after 9, our tour van arrived to pick us up and we departed for our tour of Middle Earth filming locations with 4 other people. We met a couple from Sweden who were also on holiday (the woman didn’t care much for LOTR, but her husband was a big fan). We also met a very interesting couple from Maryland who liked the movies but were truly fans of Tolkien’s books. The guy was a physics professor and his wife was a linguistics professor. They were very intellectual, so it was fun to get into a conversation with him about the state of the environment and environmental ethics. (I know my dad would enjoy shooting the breeze with him.) Finally, we met our awesome tour guide, Todd, who is a professional actor, part-time tour guide and a ton of fun. He acted in a couple episodes of Xena, he acted in Kind Kong (another Peter Jackson film), and he played two roles in LOTR – a courier to Lord Denothol (you can see him over Faramir’s shoulder in the scene where Denothol admits he would prefer Faramir to have died and Boramir to have lived) and Warrior #1 who rode atop the elephant that Legolas single-handedly brought down (because Legolas is awesome like that!).
We began our journey by driving to the summit of Mt. Victoria, where we could get the lay of the land. It was quite windy, wet, and dreary at first! Todd gave us a little history of the city of Wellington, most of which I don’t remember, honestly. I do recall that Wellington is much like San Francisco. The houses are built in a similar style because the roads are just as steep and hilly. Wellington also gets earthquakes all the time, usually small ones, since the city lies on 3 major fault lines and several smaller ones. Todd also pointed out the rugby stadium where Peter Jackson got about 35,000 people to make Orc sounds, stamp their feet, and chant ‘Death! Death!’. He would later use the recorded sounds for some of the battle scenes in the trilogy. This was a very cool factoid, but being the huge fan that I am and having watched all the DVD extras/documentaries included with the films, I already knew about that. Yeah, I know, I’m a dork, but it was great to be on a small, more personal tour of Middle Earth with other LOTR dorks like me! Bobby and I would both have an awesome time by the end of the day and this would definitely turn out to be a very enjoyable, worthwhile tour that we highly recommend to others.
After our visit to Mt. Victoria we drove back down the road to Buckland Forest, where we saw lots and lots of really creepy-looking pine trees. (They’re worse that the creepy trees at El Dorado Lake!) The leaves on this type of pine don’t appear until very close to the top, so the trees kind of look black and creepy and dead (even though they’re alive of course). Todd pointed out where the hobbits had rolled down the hill after getting caught on the neighbor’s farm and where they fell onto the road below where they discovered mushrooms. Soon, Frodo yelled to “Get off the road!” (This was where Jackson used a Hitchcock camera technique). Todd showed where they then hid from the Ring Wraiths. The tree they hid under was digitally created, since it had to fit all 4 hobbits. However, the two hero trees immediately behind the road were real, and I soon recognized them after Todd showed us a picture of the movie scene. Finally, on our way back to the van, Todd pointed out a spot where Aragorn and Theoden stood and watched the Rohan army.
After a lengthy drive we arrived at Harcourt Park where we enjoyed our choice of morning tea or coffee and yummy biscuits. Since I don’t drink either one, Todd graciously offered some hot chocolate which I was happy to drink (even thought it was disappointing). We then walked along a trail where Todd pointed out the Gardens of Isengard (where Gandalf and Saruman walked together discussing the fate of the world). He showed us where they filmed the scenes of the Orcs Felling the Trees. Only two trees were actually cut down, because Jackson used different angles and different extras to make it seem like different trees in each shot. Todd also gave us a quick story that he called ‘Ode to a Leaf Wrangler’ : Jackson didn’t like that the leaves of the trees were too small according to how Tolkein had described them, so the poor tree wrangler had to wire on thousands of leaves onto the two trees they used for the shots. Unfortunately, several of these wired-on leaves would fall off each time the trees were fell, requiring them to be reattached and requiring many hours of labor. Finally, Todd pointed out where Gandalf rode on Shadowfax to see Saruman (a lush green field in the same park).
Todd also said that Jackson was the best director he’d ever worked with. He apparently really helped Todd as an actor to get oriented and to visualize what would be done with special effects. Also, Todd said that he’s extremely down to earth and friendly (a Kiwi trait) and “would talk to the lowliest extra and the biggest star in exactly the same tone of voice”. Jackson also had a strong personality, as Todd recounted in a great little story: A few weeks before Return of the King was due to be released in theaters, New Line Cinema still hadn’t received their final copy of it from Jackson. Naturally, they were frantically wondering where it was. Jackson called them and said that he wanted to change the contract, because he felt that Weta Workshop had really created some of the characters of the movies and deserved rights to these characters. New Line kind of chuckled and said “That’s not how we do things in Hollywood, Peter”. Jackson simply replied with, “Well, welcome to Jacksonville.” and hung up the phone. Of course, he would later get the concession he wanted.
Once we finished up at the park we snaked our way up to the summit of another mountain along state highway 2. The speed limit is 100 km/hr in some spots and 10 km/hr in other spots – it was a fun ride! We snaked our way back down from the summit, eventually arriving at Fernside Farm, a private sheep farm. This was the site of Lothlorien and the famous White Bridge over a beautiful lake. The shore of this lake is where Galadrien waved goodbye to the fellowship as they continued on their journey.
The White Bridge is the only remaining “prop” since it was there to begin with. The bridge is quite different from the one seen in the movie, though. It was embellished quite a bit for the filming, to look much more magical and beautiful. In fact, Jackson had both sides of the bridge beautified even though only one side would be used for filming – he wanted the actors to really feel like they were in Lothlorien, not just on another movie set.
This lake was also used in the opening scenes of Return of the King, where Smeagol and Deagol were fishing. Deagol would find the ring, Smeagol would fight and kill him for it, and Smeagol would begin his descent into Gollum. We got to stand on the piece of land where Smeagol strangled Deagol – this was soooo cool!!
Next, we drove to a nearby town and had lunch at Lady Featherston Café. I had a yummy ham sandwich that was absolutely huge. I also got some yummy hot cocoa – New Zealanders don’t mess around with their cocoa and I like that! Bobby enjoyed a flat white and we all just sat and chatted while we ate until it was time to head off to Rivendell.
I think Bobby and I had some high expectations for what we would see at Rivendell, but it was actually a little disappointing. The forest where it was filmed didn’t closely resemble the Rivendell seen in the movies and we had to really stretch our imaginations to envision the sets that used to be there. Nonetheless, it was still a very beautiful forest and had a pretty river running through it. This river was actually where they filmed Aragorn washing ashore after he’d taken a nasty fall off a cliff and was assumed dead.
When we first arrived at the area, we could choose from two pathways to explore. We began by going to the right and crossing the swingbridge over the river, which I wasn’t so crazy about. Bobby seemed to enjoy it though, so I took a cute photo of him crossing the bridge where he looks kind of like Indiana Jones (especially with his bucket hat on with the sides snapped up). Once safely across, we explored a forest of native trees and ferns which helped inspire the design of TreeBeard and the Ents. It was easy to see the resemblance here, since many of the trees had a flaky bark and a deep root system like the Ents did. After crossing the swingbridge again and heading over to the pathway on the left, we explored “Rivendell proper”. This included, most prominently, the set for Frodo’s bedroom where he recovered from being stabbed by a Black Rider on Weathertop. Of course, since the set was no longer there (it was just a small field with greenery and trees around) we just had to take Todd’s word for it. We walked around this area for a little while, where Todd also pointed out the spot where the council of Rivendell met and the fellowship was formed. It was fun listening to him explain the logistics of this scene – the hobbits and the dwarves had to look shorter than everyone else, so they had to actually cut a hole in the floor of the set for John Rhys-Davis (who played Gimli) to stand in! Of course they also did some tricks with the camera and with actor doubles.
Finally, before we left, Todd showed us a picture of the scene where Frodo walks outside his room and looks out at the beautiful and magical Rivendell around him. The room was a set created by Weta Workshop, the beautiful Elvin-looking village in the background is actually a painting, and the numerous waterfalls in the far background was actually a photograph from Milford Sound (here in the southwest area of the South Island). However, the 60-foot tall waterfall in the foreground was actually created onsite. It was quite expensive, since the water had to be trucked in and trucked back out, but it was worthwhile since the waterfall was featured in several shots.
After wrapping up at Rivendell, we made the drive back into town and dropped off the Swedish couple, who had to return their rental car before 5pm. Next we made a quick stop in the town of Miramar, where we drove past Weta Workshop (aka Campground Studios). Of course we couldn’t go inside, but we did see some cool sound stages and green screens just outside the building. We also passed an old theatre that Jackson had bought when the trilogy was finished. He hopes to fix it up and turn it into an LOTR museum one day, but this could only happen if the Tolkien family allows it.
After dropping off the other couple, Todd dropped us off at the B & B. We thanked him for a great day and a great tour and just settled down in our room for a bit. Though it is a little small, it’s a very cozy room with a great big window showing off the gorgeous view of Wellington. The TV only had a couple channels, as is standard in NZ hotels, but I got to watch Home Improvement and The Nanny before we left for dinner.
We actually went back to the same Bistro we had dinner at last night. We toyed with the idea of going downtown to The Green Parrot, which was Viggo Mortenson’s favorite steak joint, but we just lacked the energy to drive down there, find parking, etc. So, we went back to the Bistro right down the road and had delicious meals again. I had the salmon again while Bobby opted for the chicken breast. This time though, I got the scallops for an appetizer – excuse me, entrée – instead of the “chowder” I had gotten the previous night (which was actually a bisque). Halfway through the meal it occurred to Bobby that he could get the delicious crème brulee dessert again! This time we both got the crème brulee and it really was pretty fantastic.
The night ended with packing, Bobby working out our schedule for the next day, and some computer time before bed.
Hope you all enjoyed this super-long journal! Thanks for reading and we’ll catch you later!
Love, Hayley and Bobby
Volcanic Run - 27 December 2007
It is now two days after Christmas and while you at home in the States rushed out for the Day After Christmas Sales on the 26th, Hayley and I have packed up and moved down to Wellington, the southern tip of the North Island.
Our day began with another beautiful breakfast in our room followed up by me posting the previous days’ journal entries. Although we take the time to type these up every day, we do not always have internet access. That is why numerous entries get posted on the same day.
After loading up the car, while leaving the motel, we spotted two teenage boys out in the park flying a kite. There was nothing really special about them. It just struck me that back in the U.S. it is not often you would see two teenage boys out flying a kite. They usually are up to some mischief. Waving goodbye we made our way down the east side to Lake Taupo until we arrived at Turangi where we would refuel the car, and ourselves with a brief snack.
Shortly after hitting the pavement again we made our first of many “five minute photo stops.” The first stop was just after we entered the Tongariro National Park to take photos of Lake Taupo looking north towards Taupo. In attempts to get ahead of the tour bus that was there we scurried back into the car and made our way along the north leg of the Volcanic Loop. With clearer skies today were able to see the peaks of the volcanoes, something we were unable to do the past two days. Now, although we could have made the shorter straight route to Wellington, with the better weather we opted for the more scenic drive. It would prove to be well worth it. We did make one photo stop that lasted longer than the “five minutes.” At this vantage point we were able to get clear shots of all three volcanic peaks, Mt. Tongariro, Mt. Ngauruhoe and Mt. Ruapehu, without any signs of civilization – no roads, cars, power lines, etc. I shot video of the peaks while Hayley took numerous photos. I took some photos, including some self portraits of me and the volcanoes. Two items of interest are Mt. Ngauruhoe portrayed Mt. Doom in Lord of the Rings, while the views from Mt. Tongariro portray Mordor in the Lord of the Rings. When the tour bus arrived at this location we decided it was time to move along. A few short minutes later, as I was driving, I looked down in my side view mirror and was just blown away with the beauty of Mt. Doom, err…I mean Mt. Ngauruhoe. After a few more photo stops, as we made our way down the west side of the National Park, we attempted to get a scenic flight from an operator along the roadway. However, the earliest he would be able to take us was three hours away and we just did not have that much excess time. Therefore we said cheers and continued along our way. With a turn toward the east, as we made our way along the south side, we were greeted with a sign I passed and just had to make a u-turn back so we could get a picture. It made me chuckle because the speed limit signs here are circular in nature and have a “target-like” appearance. This particular sign showed a sample sign and read “It’s not a target.” I was simply amused. With more wonderful photo opportunities of Mt. Ruapehu and some glorious farmland in the foreground we had to make a few more stops.
Along about 130pm we began to make our way south and saw the last of the volcanoes in the rear view mirror. Getting hungry we made a stop at the Flat Hills Café. This was a blessing considering Hayley had just found our location on the map and discovered we left the last big blip on the map for about an hour only moments ago. Here we had a delectably delightful lunch. I enjoyed a helping of shepherds’ pie while Hayley found heaven in a simple ham, cheese, tomato and mushroom sandwich. Afterward we made our way over to the gift shop and found a few small gifts to bring home. One prize find was a small plastic personalized license plate. The specialty of this plate is that it had Hayley’s name spelt correctly. We mentioned this to the cashier and came to know that that is how it is spelt here in New Zealand. Trying to find anything with this spelling in the States is very difficult.
With the day moving along, we felt so should we. Within about twenty minutes Hayley fell asleep and would proceed to sleep for about an hour and a half, missing out on lots of flat land. While she was sleeping I kept myself entertained driving by staying with a silver Toyota pick-up that was transporting a motorbike in the flat bed. I managed to keep with the Toyota throughout numerous passing zones, big rigs, and traffic lights for the whole time Hayley was asleep. I finally let the pick-up go when I woke Hayley just as the Tasman Sea came into site. Before she went to sleep she did tell me to wake her if there was anything worth photographing. The view of the Tasman was brief before we made our way back inland a bit and down into Wellington.
After passing our Bed and Breakfast accidentally, we turned around and arrived at our home for the next two nights. As we walked up the driveway, we were greeted by our hosts, Diane and Bill. Diane gave us a tour of the B & B and then gave us food recommendations for dinner. Upon depositing the contents of the car inside, we took off for dinner at the Tinakori Bistro. It was here we discovered chowder is more like a bisque, delighted ourselves on venison and salmon, then finished with the best dessert I have had since we arrived in New Zealand – a vanilla and raspberry crème bruelle. It was to die for. With our taste buds dancing in delight we made our way back to the Nikau Palms Bed & Breakfast for a night of sleep. Tomorrow we spend the day tramping around the Wellington area visiting numerous Lord of the Rings film locations.
Cheers,
Bob & Hayley
Today’s Fast Fact: Numerous Kiwis refer to Australia as the “Third Island.”
Our day began with another beautiful breakfast in our room followed up by me posting the previous days’ journal entries. Although we take the time to type these up every day, we do not always have internet access. That is why numerous entries get posted on the same day.
After loading up the car, while leaving the motel, we spotted two teenage boys out in the park flying a kite. There was nothing really special about them. It just struck me that back in the U.S. it is not often you would see two teenage boys out flying a kite. They usually are up to some mischief. Waving goodbye we made our way down the east side to Lake Taupo until we arrived at Turangi where we would refuel the car, and ourselves with a brief snack.
Shortly after hitting the pavement again we made our first of many “five minute photo stops.” The first stop was just after we entered the Tongariro National Park to take photos of Lake Taupo looking north towards Taupo. In attempts to get ahead of the tour bus that was there we scurried back into the car and made our way along the north leg of the Volcanic Loop. With clearer skies today were able to see the peaks of the volcanoes, something we were unable to do the past two days. Now, although we could have made the shorter straight route to Wellington, with the better weather we opted for the more scenic drive. It would prove to be well worth it. We did make one photo stop that lasted longer than the “five minutes.” At this vantage point we were able to get clear shots of all three volcanic peaks, Mt. Tongariro, Mt. Ngauruhoe and Mt. Ruapehu, without any signs of civilization – no roads, cars, power lines, etc. I shot video of the peaks while Hayley took numerous photos. I took some photos, including some self portraits of me and the volcanoes. Two items of interest are Mt. Ngauruhoe portrayed Mt. Doom in Lord of the Rings, while the views from Mt. Tongariro portray Mordor in the Lord of the Rings. When the tour bus arrived at this location we decided it was time to move along. A few short minutes later, as I was driving, I looked down in my side view mirror and was just blown away with the beauty of Mt. Doom, err…I mean Mt. Ngauruhoe. After a few more photo stops, as we made our way down the west side of the National Park, we attempted to get a scenic flight from an operator along the roadway. However, the earliest he would be able to take us was three hours away and we just did not have that much excess time. Therefore we said cheers and continued along our way. With a turn toward the east, as we made our way along the south side, we were greeted with a sign I passed and just had to make a u-turn back so we could get a picture. It made me chuckle because the speed limit signs here are circular in nature and have a “target-like” appearance. This particular sign showed a sample sign and read “It’s not a target.” I was simply amused. With more wonderful photo opportunities of Mt. Ruapehu and some glorious farmland in the foreground we had to make a few more stops.
Along about 130pm we began to make our way south and saw the last of the volcanoes in the rear view mirror. Getting hungry we made a stop at the Flat Hills Café. This was a blessing considering Hayley had just found our location on the map and discovered we left the last big blip on the map for about an hour only moments ago. Here we had a delectably delightful lunch. I enjoyed a helping of shepherds’ pie while Hayley found heaven in a simple ham, cheese, tomato and mushroom sandwich. Afterward we made our way over to the gift shop and found a few small gifts to bring home. One prize find was a small plastic personalized license plate. The specialty of this plate is that it had Hayley’s name spelt correctly. We mentioned this to the cashier and came to know that that is how it is spelt here in New Zealand. Trying to find anything with this spelling in the States is very difficult.
With the day moving along, we felt so should we. Within about twenty minutes Hayley fell asleep and would proceed to sleep for about an hour and a half, missing out on lots of flat land. While she was sleeping I kept myself entertained driving by staying with a silver Toyota pick-up that was transporting a motorbike in the flat bed. I managed to keep with the Toyota throughout numerous passing zones, big rigs, and traffic lights for the whole time Hayley was asleep. I finally let the pick-up go when I woke Hayley just as the Tasman Sea came into site. Before she went to sleep she did tell me to wake her if there was anything worth photographing. The view of the Tasman was brief before we made our way back inland a bit and down into Wellington.
After passing our Bed and Breakfast accidentally, we turned around and arrived at our home for the next two nights. As we walked up the driveway, we were greeted by our hosts, Diane and Bill. Diane gave us a tour of the B & B and then gave us food recommendations for dinner. Upon depositing the contents of the car inside, we took off for dinner at the Tinakori Bistro. It was here we discovered chowder is more like a bisque, delighted ourselves on venison and salmon, then finished with the best dessert I have had since we arrived in New Zealand – a vanilla and raspberry crème bruelle. It was to die for. With our taste buds dancing in delight we made our way back to the Nikau Palms Bed & Breakfast for a night of sleep. Tomorrow we spend the day tramping around the Wellington area visiting numerous Lord of the Rings film locations.
Cheers,
Bob & Hayley
Today’s Fast Fact: Numerous Kiwis refer to Australia as the “Third Island.”
A Day of Busts - 26 December 2007
Ah, Boxing Day, the day after Christmas. It’s a Public Holiday here in New Zealand. That translates into more closed businesses and restaurants, but fear not – Hayley and I still managed to find things to do today. After having room serviced breakfast we embarked on our day of adventure.
It worked out well that we cancelled our initial plans days ago to not hike the Tongariro Crossing. The peaks were covered in clouds and the weather down below was not much better, well, depending on what time of day it was and where we were. As you may remember, we opted to do a Floatplane ride over the Volcanic region and the Tongariro Crossing. Bust number one came when we arrived at Taupo’s Floatplane down on the lake. Due to the weather, our flight plan was closed and the forecast did not show any openings later in the day for us to follow through on them. This did not come as a shock to me. In my prior research of the Tongariro Crossing I had read numerous accounts of people having to make multiple trips here before they could finally make the Crossing a success because of the weather. As a fall back we took a slight refund of our cost and chose to take the half hour flight over Lake Taupo, Huka Falls and the Craters of the Moon. This was very cool. Riding up front in the co-pilot’s seat I sat taking video, as Hayley snapped away on the still images from the seat behind me. After touching back down on the lake surface we docked and returned to the hotel. Our planned adventures of the day were over.
Just as we returned to the motel the clouds got dark and opened up, dumping rain. About forty-five minutes after our return to the motel we headed back out, to beautiful blue skies. The only sign of rain were a few puddles on the asphalt. Our first stop would be back to the Floatplane to videotape the next flight’s take-off for our honeymoon video. The flight was due for 1130am. The patrons arrived about 1135am and by 1140am they were still milling around trying to decide who would actually do the flying. As a result of their not being punctual we took on bust number two. Not really being sure how long it would take to travel we had to depart for our next stop, the Huka Falls River Cruise, unable to videotape the take-off of the plane. We arrived way early for the Cruise, so early we had time to watch the opening of the Aratiatia Dam and the release of the water feeding the Aratiatia Rapids. After watching the dam release we faced bust number three. Because we were the only two people signed up for the 1230pm cruise it was not cost efficient for the operator to run the cruise, thus no trip, thus bust three. He did offer to make room for us on the guaranteed 230pm and 430pm cruises. We told the operator we may be back and then headed into town for some lunch.
Our intention was to have lunch at a place called “S.O.B.” and tantalize the taste buds with New Zealand’s take on the buffalo wing and steaks, however, due to it being Boxing Day, it was closed – bust number four. As we drove around in search of another place to eat we have not already visited we could see the oncoming monsoon crossing the lake. We quickly found a spot to park and made a dash for cover to ponder our food options. No luck. The rain and wind hit us, drenching us in just seconds, before we could find shelter of a restaurant. The next food option we desired became bust number five as The Clubhouse was closed. At least this bust provided us some shelter from the wind and rain temporarily before it began to let up and we could make our way two doors down to a sports pub.
Minutes after entering the sports pub the skies outside were blue and clouds only existed to the south over the volcanoes. After our meal we exited to the pub in time to make another dash for the car in yet again, another wave of clouds, wind and rain rapidly approaching across the lake. We returned to the motel briefly for me to change into dry clothes because my drenched ones were rapidly reducing my body temperature and making me uncomfortable.
With dry clothes on, we ventured back out to see if we could not replace the fried power converter. The barkeep at the pub suggested we try The Warehouse (we associated it to New Zealand’s version of Wal-Mart). The rain was still falling as we parked at The Warehouse, although lightly thankfully since we had to park in the last spot that was furthest from the entrance to the store. Inside, we were unable to locate a power converter of any kind. They had an adapter, similar to the one we are using on the power strip, but no luck on the converter. Then, it was like a light bulb went on in my noggin, I thought, if the main reason we need a power converter is to plug in the straightening iron, why not just buy a new straightening iron for the remaining two weeks? As luck would have it, they would be on sale, thirty percent off. The end result is it was cheaper than what a power converter would have cost and Hayley can have her straight hair. Yay!!!
With our purchase in hand we made our way back to the car, once again under clear blue skies with the only clouds visible to the south over the volcanoes. We returned home to the motel, Hayley took a nap, I did a few loads of laundry and downloaded the day’s pictures from our cameras. While working on the computer I heard a sound that sounded like that of someone crinkling up a plastic bag. The only problem was that Hayley was asleep in the bedroom, the television was off and the windows were closed. I turned and looked out the window to see a rare occurrence, HAIL was pelting the window. That’s right, I said hail. It was small, perhaps a hair under pea-sized, but nonetheless it was hailing here in New Zealand. Wow, storm chasing while on the honeymoon. I quickly set down the computer and grabbed my video camera. It lasted for several minutes, accumulating in some areas. Unfortunately it was a day too late to make it a White Christmas. Ha ha. Regardless, it was a sight to see and kind of ironic since today I wore my “Tornado Chaser” t-shirt.
Hayley has since awoken from her nap, taken a shower, watched half of Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl on television and is now breaking in the straightening iron while I have finished my laundry and typed up today’s excursions. It is time for me to make my way out and pick up some dinner and let Hayley get her internet time.
Cheers,
Bobby and Hayley
It worked out well that we cancelled our initial plans days ago to not hike the Tongariro Crossing. The peaks were covered in clouds and the weather down below was not much better, well, depending on what time of day it was and where we were. As you may remember, we opted to do a Floatplane ride over the Volcanic region and the Tongariro Crossing. Bust number one came when we arrived at Taupo’s Floatplane down on the lake. Due to the weather, our flight plan was closed and the forecast did not show any openings later in the day for us to follow through on them. This did not come as a shock to me. In my prior research of the Tongariro Crossing I had read numerous accounts of people having to make multiple trips here before they could finally make the Crossing a success because of the weather. As a fall back we took a slight refund of our cost and chose to take the half hour flight over Lake Taupo, Huka Falls and the Craters of the Moon. This was very cool. Riding up front in the co-pilot’s seat I sat taking video, as Hayley snapped away on the still images from the seat behind me. After touching back down on the lake surface we docked and returned to the hotel. Our planned adventures of the day were over.
Just as we returned to the motel the clouds got dark and opened up, dumping rain. About forty-five minutes after our return to the motel we headed back out, to beautiful blue skies. The only sign of rain were a few puddles on the asphalt. Our first stop would be back to the Floatplane to videotape the next flight’s take-off for our honeymoon video. The flight was due for 1130am. The patrons arrived about 1135am and by 1140am they were still milling around trying to decide who would actually do the flying. As a result of their not being punctual we took on bust number two. Not really being sure how long it would take to travel we had to depart for our next stop, the Huka Falls River Cruise, unable to videotape the take-off of the plane. We arrived way early for the Cruise, so early we had time to watch the opening of the Aratiatia Dam and the release of the water feeding the Aratiatia Rapids. After watching the dam release we faced bust number three. Because we were the only two people signed up for the 1230pm cruise it was not cost efficient for the operator to run the cruise, thus no trip, thus bust three. He did offer to make room for us on the guaranteed 230pm and 430pm cruises. We told the operator we may be back and then headed into town for some lunch.
Our intention was to have lunch at a place called “S.O.B.” and tantalize the taste buds with New Zealand’s take on the buffalo wing and steaks, however, due to it being Boxing Day, it was closed – bust number four. As we drove around in search of another place to eat we have not already visited we could see the oncoming monsoon crossing the lake. We quickly found a spot to park and made a dash for cover to ponder our food options. No luck. The rain and wind hit us, drenching us in just seconds, before we could find shelter of a restaurant. The next food option we desired became bust number five as The Clubhouse was closed. At least this bust provided us some shelter from the wind and rain temporarily before it began to let up and we could make our way two doors down to a sports pub.
Minutes after entering the sports pub the skies outside were blue and clouds only existed to the south over the volcanoes. After our meal we exited to the pub in time to make another dash for the car in yet again, another wave of clouds, wind and rain rapidly approaching across the lake. We returned to the motel briefly for me to change into dry clothes because my drenched ones were rapidly reducing my body temperature and making me uncomfortable.
With dry clothes on, we ventured back out to see if we could not replace the fried power converter. The barkeep at the pub suggested we try The Warehouse (we associated it to New Zealand’s version of Wal-Mart). The rain was still falling as we parked at The Warehouse, although lightly thankfully since we had to park in the last spot that was furthest from the entrance to the store. Inside, we were unable to locate a power converter of any kind. They had an adapter, similar to the one we are using on the power strip, but no luck on the converter. Then, it was like a light bulb went on in my noggin, I thought, if the main reason we need a power converter is to plug in the straightening iron, why not just buy a new straightening iron for the remaining two weeks? As luck would have it, they would be on sale, thirty percent off. The end result is it was cheaper than what a power converter would have cost and Hayley can have her straight hair. Yay!!!
With our purchase in hand we made our way back to the car, once again under clear blue skies with the only clouds visible to the south over the volcanoes. We returned home to the motel, Hayley took a nap, I did a few loads of laundry and downloaded the day’s pictures from our cameras. While working on the computer I heard a sound that sounded like that of someone crinkling up a plastic bag. The only problem was that Hayley was asleep in the bedroom, the television was off and the windows were closed. I turned and looked out the window to see a rare occurrence, HAIL was pelting the window. That’s right, I said hail. It was small, perhaps a hair under pea-sized, but nonetheless it was hailing here in New Zealand. Wow, storm chasing while on the honeymoon. I quickly set down the computer and grabbed my video camera. It lasted for several minutes, accumulating in some areas. Unfortunately it was a day too late to make it a White Christmas. Ha ha. Regardless, it was a sight to see and kind of ironic since today I wore my “Tornado Chaser” t-shirt.
Hayley has since awoken from her nap, taken a shower, watched half of Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl on television and is now breaking in the straightening iron while I have finished my laundry and typed up today’s excursions. It is time for me to make my way out and pick up some dinner and let Hayley get her internet time.
Cheers,
Bobby and Hayley
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