The Catlins

After leaving Milford sound we took off and headed south. We went to Invercargill and then through the Catlins. This included the southern most point in NZ (below).

Not sure if you can tell from this picture, but it is a little windy in this part of the world! These trees aren't leaning over so much because it is just windy at the moment. It is so windy they are permanently like this! Lethbridge has nothing on southern NZ...

Funny story... the wind blew my hat off at Slope Point (above) and I had to sprint after it for about half a km before I could catch it. I was very lucky it didn't go over the cliff. Sorry Gunnar! One of the many waterfalls we hiked to in the Catlins...Another look out point with a great view of a beach/bay whose name I can't remember right now!Oh yeah, did you guys know New Zealand has a ton of sheep there? Weird...And finally just after the Catlins we crashed for one night in Dunedin. Here is a picture of a nice little church they have there. A ton of old buildings in this cool little city which both Jillene and I really liked. A lot of character...
Well, we're back in Christchurch now and our New Zealand trip has almost come to an end. We'll be leaving shortly and headed for Bali. Life is tough... Should be a few more entries with NZ in them, but we'll be doing that from the beach! Cheers everyone.

Milford Sound

A few more pics for everyone... A really beautiful spot we went to was Milford Sound. Basically a big bay with mountains that come right out of the ocean. One in particular which is the largest ocean side mountain in the world. Great views, but unfortunately the weather played a little bit of a factor and stole some of its beauty from our pictures.

We were planning on doing a kayaking trip here, but the weather deterred us and we opted for cruise where we could see more in a little less time. Was a bit chilly... As well we were planning a 5 day hike which apparently offers some amazing scenery but again the weather kept us from doing so. A strange winter/spring has apparently played a factor with the snow cap, and thus the Department of Conservation closed down the all major hiking routes in the Milford Sound area preventing us from doing our planned excursion. Oh well, I guess you can't do everything!

The Wild West (NZ)

Below are some of the pics from our adventures in western NZ. How do you like the weather? I don't think we actually saw the sun (below picture of the coast was pretty standard stuff... Here is Jillene in Queenstown by Lake Wakatipu (the adventure/extreme sports capital of NZ). Our health insurance wouldn't cover half of the 'sporting' options given in this well touristed town, so we opted to remain with both feet on the ground.

Whats that... Blue sky? But just for a moment!

And some more mountains as we near Milford Sound. Weather was a bit better here, but only for brief moments. Yet the strange winter/spring lead to the demise of our 5 day hike we had planned. The route we were going to hike was closed due to Avalanche concerns by the Department of Conservation.

The Southern Alps...

Well every part of the trip can't be perfect I suppose, so we can't complain too much. But we were both looking forward to seeing NZ's version of Mountains, but thus far they have neen hiding behind clouds! I guess we should have been prepared for that though, as it sounds like it always rains here... something like 6 meters of rain per year. Anyway, we saw a glacier (barely) but the camera wouldn't pick it up. We also went to see some natural 'ocean powered' blow holes at a place called Pancake Rocks. Below are a couple pictures, but the blow hole picture didn't do it and justice so we haven't included it. You can get an idea of the weather we're dealing with! One the first picture below, see if you can pick out some faces on the rock furthest away. There are many...Another picture taken on our route through the Southern Apls... Tons of waterfalls because of all the rain they get, and some beautiful scenery regardless of the clouds. We just want to see the tops of the mountains though!We're staying in a town right now called Wanaka, where a couple of the below pictures were taken. This is a pretty cool little town we would compare to Canmore. A ski resort town in the winter, and a summer holiday destination in the warmer weather because of the lake.


We'll continue our journey through the mountains and head to Queenstown. Stay there for a bit before heading to Milford Sound. Hope this finds everyone well... Take care.

On the south Island now... Abel Tasman

Shortly after arriving on the south island we spent a couple days in the town of Nelson and prepared ourselves for a 4 day trip (living out of our backpacks) in the Abel Tasman region. We completed a coastal walk with added up to around 50km and then kayaked back to where we started. Was a great little trip and we were both sad when it was over. Below are just a few of the pictures we took...

Here's a couple of the great ocean side/beach views from up above on the coastal track.

We would hike up and down all day. Walking along beaches, and then climb over hills to get to the next beach!
You can barely see me here! In a full size picture it is more clear, but I am having some fun running around on a sand bar/intlet, which fills up with water at high tide, and empties at low tide. Jillene and I got stuck here at high tide (Bark Bay) because I was bound and determined to take a short cut and cross the water and saving some time. Needless to say, after about an hour of me wading through armpit depth water (on me) , fighting the current of the tide coming in, and trying to find a route we were forced to turn back and go around! Jillene never said 'I told you so'... really!

Finally, on our way back we did some kayaking and got to see things like Split Apple Rock up close. Kayaking was alot of fun, all on its own and the scenery was just a bonus. We also saw some seals which I enjoy a ton, but bore Jillene! On the way back kayaking we ran into a nice little head wind which extended our trip. We had some nice size waves coming at us and made it all the more fun for the both of us!

Oh yeah, GUNNAR ~ You'be probably noticed that I seem to be wearing your hat in a few of these pictures. Now I know it followed me to Costa Rica, and then to Ontario, and now somehow made it with me to New Zealand. We'll sorry about that buddy, it is just that I thought it would like to be reunited with you when we get to Bali! Hope you don't mind. I still consider it your hat even thought it has been shaped to fit my head... and just so you know, everyone loves it! :)

Like I said before... we were both terribly sorry when this trip ended. Was too much fun irregardless of the cold nights sleeping on hard ground with the worlds worst sleeping bags. The days more than made up for it. But the trip must go on and we headed to the southern alps next...

Rest of the North Island...

Well, were still going and on the south island now... but we'll share with you some of what we saw on the north island. After the blow holes in Rotorua, we headed for the Waitimo Caves. Below are a couple pictures, 1 of the cave itself and then obviously the 2 of us. Caves were great and we saw a ton of glowworms and a plethora of staligtites and staligmites! Or something like that...

Next we went to Torraigno National Park (I am pretty sure that is spelled wrong!) where we did a full day hike to a lake at the base of the volcano also shown. The day we were there, there was a little eruption in the volcano behind the one shown. 1 of the 3 in the area. The wind (where we climbed to) were 95km/hr, but they seemed alot stronger than that! Jillene was knocked down twice, and I myself nearly as well. It was bloody strong and cold! At the same park there was a river which had some amazing white water and cool gorges. Below is one of the pictures with me standing by a smaller falls leading into the gorge. Also, one of the many waterfalls we have seen...

On the way to Wellington we stayed in a Town which neither Jillene or I can remember the name! We'll need to look at a map... Anyway, the highlight of the town was this. I giant 'pillow' in the campground we stayed at which was used as a trampoline. I amazed the entire town with my death defying acrobatics! Too much fun...

We spent a day and a half in Wellington, while wating for our ferry to the south island. Enjoyed a few beers downtown and some good greasy food! Below is an old cable car we took to the top of a hill in Wellington to see the botanic gardens and take in a pretty view of the city.

Thats it for the north island! South island here we come... (or already are actually).

New Zealand Here We Are!

Well we arrived in NZ after 48hrs of layovers and flying. Our longest flight was 14hrs. We didn't waste much time spending only 1 day and 1 night in Auckland (big cities aren't our thing). Walked the harbour, had our first seafood dinner, bought our camping gear and we were on our way. Below is a picture of one of the falls we have hiked to. These are the Whangarei falls.Next came the Bay of Islands. Absolutely beautiful. We took a tour which allowed us to see tons of dolphins, and see a land mark 'Hole in the Rock' (which we actually drove through with the catameran we were on).
90 mile beach came next which took us to Cape Regina (most northern lite house in NZ), and we did a little sand dune tobagganing to boot! At Cape Regina you can actually see where the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean meet.
Here is Jillene in front of he worlds largest Kauri tree. It is estimated to be over 2000 years old and this picture doesn't do it any justice at all!The Coromandel Penninsula provided some stunning views as well. Below is a view from above at a lookout, and pictures from Cathedral Cove. We have too many pictures to include on the blog as we have seen so many gorgeous sites, and done so many hikes already. Noteable sites not caught on film include Hot Water Beach where we braved the rain to dig holes at low tide to find hot thermal water coming out of the sand, and 'Boom Netting' where we are essentially dragged in the ocean beside a boat in a huge net. Absolutely rediculous...! :)

Where we are now! Rotorua, and the highight here is more Geothermic Activity! Yay! We spend our days lounging in naturally heated 'hot mineral pools', exploring parks with bubbling ponds, and mud pools. Also, our first geyser as seen below! We can't forget the constant sulphuric smell of rotten eggs either...
Next we're off to Waitomo caves to play with glow worms, so stay tuned for more. Miss you all, and feel free to drop us a line if and when you can.