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Aussie Merry Christmas!

As we said goodbye to Mikey we caught our early morning flight from Auckland to Sydney. Happy to stretch our legs, we settled down in our spacious hotel room and watched a couple Christmas movies. We set up the tree, open our cake present, and talked with the families back home. Though we brought a little bit of Christmas with us, it’s not quite like home.
Despite knowing the seasons are opposite to ours, it was still bizarre celebrating in sunny warm weather. Families get together, not around a warm fireplace, but a blazing barbie (BBQ, for those who don’t speak Australian). People are wearing Budgie Smugglers (you can figure that one out yourself) and carrying surfboards as they head to the beach with Santa hats everywhere.

So Cheers to all our mates and we wish everyone a warm and happy holiday!

Poor Knights Island

Being avid divers we couldn’t pass up a chance to dive one of Jacque Cousteau’s top 10 dive sites; whether it be one of his top 10 overall or top 10 sub-tropical we don’t know. At 60F we donned almost 14mm of wetsuits to keep us warm for our underwater exploration. Not knowing what to expect for sub-tropical diving we were pleasantly surprised as we entered the water.

We were greeted by hundreds of Trevally Jacks schooling up tiny shrimp for dinner. Once we settled down with our 25 lbs of weight, we explored the encrusted wall and to our delight we were saw numerous nudibranchs (aka sea slugs). Being enthralled by a single nudibranch on a dive we couldn’t believe it when we saw families of them, some as small as a finger nail to almost 4 inches in length. We encountered five different species on our two dives!


During our lunch interval our skipper guided our boat into the largest sea cave in the world. Rikoriko cave received its name from Maori word for dancing light because the reflected light seems to dance across the ceiling of the cave.


The skipper shared a few stories about how the islands became to known as the Poor Knights. One story involved the similarities of the islands to a dessert sailors used to eat while they were at sea with the different colors on the shore line resembling the poor knights desert. The other story comes from the view of the horizon looking like a knight buried above the ground with the head at one end and the feet and shield at the other. Back in those days rich knights were buried underground, while poor ones above. Since, Cook didn’t have any notes on his charts about his reason for naming these islands, nobody knows the real reason behind the name of the Poor Knights Islands.

Sacred Waters and Glowworms

After “extreme” day we decided to explore the other attractions of Rotorua. Being known as the thermal wonderland of New Zealand we couldn’t pass up a trip to Wai-O-Tapu. It is home to the largest area of surface thermal activity of any hydrothermal system in the Taupo Volcanic Zone. Its sights and smells didn’t disappoint with the Lady Know geyser gushing to almost 20m and hydrogen sulfide burning throughout the park.

The Lady Knox geyser sounded impressive erupting like clockwork every day at 10:15am; however, they left out the little detail that they induce the eruption manually. Afterwards we walked around the rest of the thermal wonderland; the Champagne Pool was a highlight boiling at over 74C with a bright orange rim (due to the antimony boiling up) around the edges as well as the many other brightly colored pools due to the different minerals in the ground.

After inhaling as much hydrogen sulfide as we could we headed towards Waitomo home to numerous glowworm caves. We joined a Spellbound tour that took us through the caves filmed by Sir David Attenborough in the “Planet Earth” series. We were surrounded by thousands of luminescent blue specks as our raft traveled deeper inside the cave. It’s amazing how bright these little worms made the cave (although not bright enough for any pictures); however, you can check out their website for some amazing views of these creatures (http://www.glowworm.co.nz/).

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EXTREME!

What are these people running from? They’re not, they’re running to, the most extreme sports New Zealand has to offer. We hoped there would be no extreme eliminations. Adrenalin Junkies unite!

So starting from highest to lowest we began our day with a 12,000 ft skydive. We geared up in our sexy jump suits and harness’s and boarded our matchbox with wings as it climbed to the appropriate elevation. Not really nervous but more excited our pulses quickened as the door opened and our jumpmasters hurled us out into the sky for a 40 second freefall. At 5,000 ft, chutes deployed and we sailed the rest of the way down with a view of lake Taupo and white capped mountains. It was amazing and we had to refrain from screaming “Again, Again!” once we landed.

Next, was our 43 m bungee jumping! After getting our leg straps secured we hopped aboard the crane and one by one reluctantly threw ourselves off. Not as fun as skydiving, and a little bit scarier, but being invented here we couldn’t pass it up and now we can check it off our list.


Once the blood return to the rest of our bodies, we ended the day with some Zorbing. Zorbing was also created in New Zealand so a must do. In a nut shell, a Zorb is a giant hamster ball and you’re the hamster. You jump into the little entrance of the bubble, add a little water, and start rolling yourself down a hill.

We had our extreme day and lived to tell about it! Now for a nap.

Don’t…. get…. eliminated!

Mt. Doom and the Devil’s Staircase

Tongariro Alpine crossing is said to be one of New Zealand most famous one day hikes encompassing a 19.4km excursion beginning with an ascent up the Devil’s Staircase up above the cloud cover leading to spectacular views of volcanoes, craters, thermal vents, and brilliant blue pools. It also has its claim to fame as many of the Lord of the Rings clips were filmed here. The volcano Mt. Ngauruhoe was actually Mt. Doom.

At five past nine we just made it onto the last bus to the crossing and since the hike takes most 6 – 8 hours we were a bit concerned we wouldn’t make it on the final bus back at 5pm. But we impressed ourselves and completed the hike in 5hrs 20min, but we sure felt it the next day with jumbo blisters and sore legs.

Abel Tasman National Park

We settled in Motueka for 2 days (the longest in one place for New Zealand) to explore the beautiful beaches and seals around Abel Tasman National Park. While shopping at the food market for the upcoming days, we bumped into some Kiwis we had met in India and we’re invited to dinner the next night.

With hit and miss weather we got lucky in the morning and rented sea kayaks to take in the scenery. Only having been flat water kayaking it took us a bit to get our bearing with the choppy waves and wind but we finally figured out how to use the rudder and life was so much easier. During our three hour adventure we picnicked on the white sandy beaches and had some seal visitors while paddling around some of the islands. After finishing the “Mad Mile” we made it Anchorage Bay to drop of our gear and start our 12 km hike back to our car through the tropical forest along the shoreline. Later, we enjoyed good company and a delicious home cooked meal.

For a more up close and personal experience we signed up for a seal swim the next day further up the national park. We swam with a couple seals but most seemed pretty content just sleeping on the rocks. That sounded pretty good to us too, so after slipping out of our seal suits we basked in the sun on a beach.

Flipping with Flipper

As our first attempt to swim with dolphins in Akaroa didn’t work out so well; we decided to give it another go in Kaikoura where the pods can be found in the hundreds. Words can’t describe how amazing this place was. Imagine pods of 500 wild Dusky dolphins playing around on clear flat seas and a bright sunny day. We didn’t believe until we were face to face with dolphins everywhere. As soon as we left the boat groups of 1 to 10 dolphins would swim past. It was our job to entertain the dolphins in any way we could. We must have looked and sounded so ridiculous to the dolphins and the crew, squawking and squealing, Jason even sang some Christmas songs, but it worked and they came within inches of you. If you made eye contact and swam in circles they would swim around with you too, but the humans got dizzy after awhile and had to stop.

We don’t know who was more curious us or them. After our hour swim in 50 degree water we got the chance to view these dolphins from the surface. The Dusky dolphins are the most acrobatic of the cetaceans, repeatedly demonstrating jumps, flops, and impressive back flips. The record for a Dusky dolphin jumping consecutively is 47 times!


After swimming around we dried off and found some more wildlife at the seal colony in the harbor back on shore. We might try to swim with them next.

Ice, Ice, Baby….

It has been raining for two days straight and we had our fingers crossed it would let up when we arrived in Franz Josef for glacier hiking. Unfortunately, you can’t have it all and the weather continued as it pleased. The water crossing to the glacier was too strong to pass so we viewed the Franz Josef Glacier from across the way in our ponchos, soaked from the thighs down, not too cold at least. With some time to kill we drove back down the road to check out Fox Glacier hoping we could sneak across to that one, but it was closed as well. Even though we didn’t get to walk on a glacier we still saw some beautiful views. Maybe next time glaciers… Check it! Da Da Dun Dun Dun Da Dun Dun

Fiordland National Park – Milford Sounds

The Fiordland National Park receives an astonishing 7m of rainfall a year, and our visit was with no exception. Gloomy and sodden, the glacier cliffs hide in the low forming clouds as hundreds of waterfalls appear out of the crevices down the snowy sides. It stayed this way for most of the day so we made the most of it in our turtle shell until the rain cleared in the evening. With the precipitation gone we walked down the forest trails to the harbor for sunset while karate chopping the swarms of midges along the way.

It was a beautiful day in the morning without a cloud in the sky so we decided to explore Milford Sound a little more aboard a fiord cruise. The area had been carved out by glaciers over millions of years and was one of the last places in New Zealand to be discovered because the narrow passages looked solid from afar. Down the channel we sailed into one of the permanent waterfalls (not recommended for electronics) and caught a glimpse of seals snoozing on the rocks.


It’s on the road again back on shore for our next destination, Franz Josef Glacier.

Shake your tail feathers

Oamaru is home to yellow-eyed and the little-blue (fairy) penguin colonies making our total three out of the eighteen species of penguins we’ve seen in the wild. At first there was only one little yellow eye guy hiding up on the cliff in the brush. Don’t know how they get up there, must be funny to watch though. That must be why they come to shore around night to nest so the other animals don’t laugh as they waddle there little tails up the rocky crags.


Our next stop was the little-blue penguin colony which is home to almost 250 pairs of tiny penguins no taller than 30cm and weighing about 1kg. They spend their days at sea fishing and return at dusk to their homes on shore. We got to watch as groups of 20 or 30 penguins slowly made their way up the boulders to their nest boxes across the road. Well save you that joke. It was quite entertaining watching them cautiously wobble across the road as quickly as their tiny webbed feet would take them.

After our penguin extravaganza we made our way to Mt. Cook, the highest mountain on New Zealand. No, we didn’t attempt to snow covered summit of the 3800m mountain, but rather went for a nice stroll along Hooker Valley to one of the local glaciers. The river at the bottom of the valley was a rush of electric blue from the glacier run off. We were lucky to hike when we did because the weather started to turn as night fell. Our little “Michelangelo TMNT” shock in the gale force winds; we felt sorry for the unfortunate campers in their tents.

Home Sweet Van

After a week in a cabin with a kitchen and bathroom, we get to enjoy three weeks in a midget minivan as we drive across New Zealand. The VW Caddy comes fully equipped with a mini fridge, mp3 player, and a comfy fold down bed. We lovingly call it “Michelangelo TMNT” as it is our bright orange home that resembles a turtle shell.

Our first stop takes us to Akaroa for some beautiful scenery and a chance to swim with the smallest dolphins in the world, Hector’s dolphins. Passing through the lush green winding roads atop the mountains we begin to feel like we are at Middle Earth, like Lord of the Rings. Supposedly parts of the trilogy were shot around here. Atop the mountain sides fluffy sheep dot the slopes that form into a valley and surround the bays.

In the morning we prepared ourselves for the 50 degree water that we would soon be swimming in with the dolphins. Trying not to think about it we waddled down the pier in our “snug” wetsuits and boarded the vessel for the two hour quest for Hector’s dolphins. In the end we were unsuccessful, though not completely disappointed that we didn’t have to get in the water. Hopefully we can see them again as there are a few other places in New Zealand.