New Zealand

Well since Sarah apparently isn’t going to update the blog like she said she was, that means your stuck with my monotone description of our trip to New Zealand. If you get bored, remember, blame Sarah. On Saturday we jumped on the plane at DIA and started our long journey to Middle Earth, er, I mean, New Zealand. We flew from Denver to L.A., then L.A. to Auckland, NZ, then another plane from Auckland to Queenstown. I would say that the flight into Queenstown was beautiful, but I wouldn’t know because Sarah insisted that it was her turn to sit at the window then she promptly fell asleep… After we arrive at our hotel, we shower and head out front to wait for our wine tour bus to arrive. We get picked up and start driving around town picking up the other folks, and we quickly realize that we’re on a tour of all Americans. Oh well, so much for learning other cultures. Our first stop is the Gibston Vally Winery in the, well, Gibston Valley. They give us a quick tour of their vineyard and wine cave and then we grab lunch at their restaurant. I was very impressed with their wines and it got me excited to continue the tour. The next stop was the Peregrine Vineyard, named after the falcon. They had a cool modern building and fantastic wine. It was here that Sarah found her favorite wine, the super sweet Riesling. The third winery was completely forgettable and lastly we headed to the Amisfield Winery. Their wines were fantastic and it was a wonderful way to cap off the day. After a quick photo op with our tour group, we jumped on the bus and headed back into Queenstown for dinner. The next morning we got up bright and early, packed out bags, and headed to the bus stop to grab a ride to the Routeburn Trek trail head. The first day of the Routeburn was fairly flat and easy through the woods, eventually ending in a very large valley. Our campsite was possible one of the most beautiful that I’ve ever camped in. We have a perfect view up two intersecting valleys, and our campsite was right next to the Routeburn river. Since it only took us about 2.5 hours to get to our campsite, we talked to a local and found a 5 hours side trip to do that follows the North Fork of the Routeburn river up a valley. The next day was the most strenuous of the trek. After leaving camp we quickly ascended a few thousand meters and entered the alpine zone above treeline. From there we climbed even high up to a pass, and then traversed across the mountain before descending down to our next campsite. At the pass, there was a small hut that you could stop at and rest, and also a side trail that headed to the summit of the neighboring mountain. The views were amazing and we ended up meeting another young couple from Denver… Weird… Our camp that night was next to this high alpine lake that was a beautiful, clear blue, and if it was warmer I probably could have gone swimming. As it was though, I couldn’t even get up the courage to bath (Sarah did though, because she’s immune to the cold). The last day was through a gently rolling forest and down out of the valley to one of the main roads where we had to wait for the next bus. One of the things that amazed me about this hike is how much moss there was. Other places I’ve been, I’ve seen moss hanging from trees, or a little bit on a rock or two, or on the base of a tree. In these forests though, it was everywhere. Every rock, every inch of ground, and every branch of every tree was covered in moss. You couldn’t see a single piece of rock, dirt, or bark anywhere. From there we took another bus to Milford Sound to do some sea kayaking. The day we arrived there it was pretty clear and calm, but that night it started to rain. In most places, rain would suck, but not Milford Sound. When it’s clear out, Milford Sound has two permanent waterfalls that you can boat to. When it rains however, there are literally hundreds. First thing in the morning we jumped on a boat with our kayaks and they dropped us off out at the oceans. We then proceeded over the next 6 hours to kayak back to the end of the sound, enjoying all of those hundreds of waterfalls. There we tons of different boat tours through the sound that most people do, but I think the only way to experience Milford Sound is in the kayak. We got right up next to each waterfall, next to the seals, got soaking wet and had a blast. That evening we caught our next bus to Te Anau where we jumped on a boat which took us to a cave tour on the other side of Lake Te Anau. The very next day we were back on the bus and headed to the trail head for the Keppler Trek. For our first day of hiking we had small drizzle that followed us, and as soon as we climbed above tree line we were hit with a crazy wind. Luckily we were only exposed for about 45 minutes before making it to the hut we were staying at. After drying off and warming up, Sarah and I grabbed out headlamps and head over to the Keppler Cave. We were told there was a cave that you could go in and explore on your own, so we were thinking it would be this small, short cave that was only 100 yards long or something. We wander into the dark entrance, turn on our headlamps, and start walking/crawling through the cave. We had to climb over rocks, through small holes, and the cave kept going, and going, and going. After about and hour we finally make it to the end of the cave and start heading back. I’ve been on many cave tours in my day, and this was by far the coolest one ever. No guides, no maps or directions, you just had to find your own way. When we got back to the hut we heard from the ranger that we went 2km down into the mountain. Totally cool. The second day was by far the coolest of the trek. After a short climb you basically followed a dozen ridgelines between peaks as you make your way across the Keppler range. At the end of the day you make a quick descent into a valley where we made camp and relaxed more with some friends we met along the way. The third day of the Keppler was another gentle walk, descending out of the mountains where we caught another bus and headed back up to Queenstown. The next few days were more relaxing for us. We staying in a hotel in Queenstown, and drove around the countryside, stopping at wineries and small towns along the way. We eventually make our way out to the town of Dunedin on the east coast where we take a tour of the Cadbury factory and the only castle in New Zealand. On our last day in town, we got up early and headed over to the A.J. Hackett Bungee Center. After signing some waivers and weighing in, we jumped in a large van and headed out to the Nevis Highwire Bungee Jump. The Nevis is the third tallest bungee in the world at 440 ft. The jump platform is a gondola looking thing, permanently suspended out over the Nevis Valley. To get there, you take this small, open-air tram thing that only fits about six people. After getting out to the gondola, they starting fitting you with equipment and line you up from heaviest to lightest. The floor of the tram is made of glass so as each person jumps, you can watch them fall. I was probably the 6th person to go that day and I’d have to say it was the coolest thing I’ve ever done. You reach terminal velocity in about 2.5 seconds, then have 3 seconds of free fall, then it takes 2.5 seconds to slow back down. Then you bounce a few times before they start hauling you back up. Before we left for New Zealand, I watch a bunch of videos of people doing the bungee, and every time I would feel sick to my stomach. Oddly though, when I got there in the gondola, I was numb and didn’t even feel afraid. I walked out on the little 1’x1’ platform, and just jumped. Sarah on the other hand, was freaked out. The first time they gave her the countdown, at zero, she just screamed and didn’t jump. The nice bungee man had to give her the pep talked and she did it on the second try. I think I was more scared watching her than when I did it myself. Overall, New Zealand was amazing, and I’d love to go back there someday to see the rest of the country. Until then, I have a computer full of pictures and a basement full of Pinot Noir. Here are the pictures on Flickr, and here is a video of someone else doing the Nevis Highwire.