Road Trip #1

I'm back from a whirlwind of 3 weeks of exploring the South Island with my partner and his mom while she was visiting us. It was absolutely fantastic! If you have a NZ map handy, you can follow along: Road trip #1 took us from Dunedin up to Christchurch, across Arthur's Pass to the West Coast, up to Punakaiki, down the West Coast through Hokitika, Franz Josef and Fox glaciers, Haast, east across Haast Pass and the Southern Alps, to Wanaka, Queenstown, through Central Otago via Clyde and Alexandra, and back to Dunedin. Phew! Details below.

Christchurch is a hustling-bustling city that seemed a bit overwhelming to us after pokey Dunedin. We explored the beautiful Botanic Gardens, had a delicious dinner, and then spent the entire night listening to drunk kids outside in the central square below our hotel windows. Instead of staying another (sleepless) night, we got our money back and headed west. Arthur's Pass is an incredible drive through braided river valleys and alpine forest. We stopped at Castle Rock where there are hundreds of immense limestone tors that look like ancient city ruins (or a bunch of giant's teeth). We did a short hike through beech forest to a thundering waterfall and spotted the playful Kea, a large, alpine parrot that likes to pull the rubber off your windshield wipers and door seals.

Somewhere along Arthur's Pass

Limestone Tors, Castle Rock, Arthur's Pass

Once across the Pass we headed north to a little coastal settlement called Punakaiki. This area was one of my favorites and I can't wait to go back and explore more! Punakaiki is known for the famous pancake rock formations and they are incredible. Although there are also some amazing hikes through coastal rain forest and even some limestone caves to spelunk around in. We cautiously explored the dark recesses of the caves until I freaked out and decided to turn around. We stayed the night in an amazing cabin tucked into the nikau palms and rain forest and saw our first Wekas! These flightless, Jurassic-looking birds are very curious, one even mooched around in our car boot (trunk), looking for nibbletts!

Pancake Rocks, Punakaiki

Paparoa National Park, Punakaiki

Weka!

We then headed south to Hokitika, which is known for arts and crafts, especially jade carving, and the wild foods festival that serves rose petal beer, wasp larvae ice cream, and huhu grubs. Yum! Hokitika was rather un-inspiring, although we did stay at a very nice beachfront cabin that had great water pressure in the shower (a rare thing in NZ)! The next day we explored ancient Kahikatea and Rimu forest along the beautiful Lake Kaniere just inland from Hokitika. Despite reports of a storm over the Tasman Sea, the weather was incredible and we soaked up the sunshine! We also made a quick stop at Okarito Lagoon, a peaceful estuary that was the setting for the book The Bone People by Keri Hulme.

Lake Kaniere

Okarito Lagoon

It was then onto the glaciers and Southern Alps. Wait, that's "glass-ears" not "glay-sures" if you speak Kiwi (sorry, it still cracks me up). Both Franz Josef and Fox glaciers are incredible, although you can't get too close to them, especially since 2 boys died at Fox glacier earlier this year when they were buried in ice when the glacier calved. Yikes! You can pay top dollar for a guided hike on the glaciers, or have a helicopter land on them, but we settled for independent hikes to wonderful viewing platforms. After a surprisingly good dinner in Fox, we drove on to Haast, a tiny town at the mouth of the Haast River and the furthest South you can drive on the West Coast. It was late when we finally pulled into town and we couldn't believe how dark it was. I mean pitch black! There is absolutely no ambient light from a city to light up the sky and the stars were insane.

Franz Josef Glacier


Fox Glacier

After a short detour through the UNESCO World Heritage Forest near Haast, we left the coast and headed inland on Haast Pass through the Alps. It was another incredibly scenic drive, with waterfalls, ancient forests, rivers and SAND FLIES! The West Coast is known for the pesky sand fly and though we had been fairly lucky so far, we encountered them on Haast Pass. For whatever reason, they liked me and I unwillingly donated my blood to more than a few sand flies. Man, do they itch!! We arrived in the resort town of Wanaka, on the south shores of lake Wanaka. We had some delicious Thai food for dinner and ended the night early in our teeny tiny room (we were beginning to notice a shrinking trend in our accommodations...).

Haast UNESCO World Heritage Park

Fantail Falls, Haast Pass

The next day, after an exhilarating hike up Mount Iron for a 360 degree view of the entire area, we made a quick visit to the quirky Puzzling World. Built by some eccentric man, Puzzling World houses a maze and some illusion rooms just outside Wanaka. We didn't do the maze (it can take up to 2 hours) but we did take some photos in the Roman bathrooms! We drove to Queenstown via the Cardrona Pass through tussock-covered mountains and gold mining country. Once in Queenstown we marveled at the madness of it all and declined to sky dive, bungy jump, sky swing, jet boat, or river raft. Although we plan on doing the Luge at some point. The next day we went on a beautiful hike through beech forest that we had hiked just after New Years. This time we found the historic tunnel that miners built through the mountain rock to access the river better. Good thing we're not claustrophobic!

Roman Bathrooms, Puzzling World, Wanaka

Tussock-covered hills, Cardrona Pass

From Queenstown it was on to Central Otago, which is very much like California's gold-mining country turned wine country. We stopped along the way to watch the bungy jumpers at AJ Hacketts famous bridge and sipped wine and tasted cheeses at Gibbston Valley Winery & Cheesery. We stayed the night in Clyde, a cute little town with historic stone buildings. Our bed and breakfast had a resident dog, a cat and a tiny kitten who was happy to play with me (I miss the family pets back home)! After some scenic drives, purchases from the local fruit stands and a failed attempt to photograph Merino sheep, it was back to Dunedin for some much needed rest (and laundry).
Stay tuned for Road Trip #2!

Out of the Office

I have been out of the office, so to speak, traveling around the South Island with my partner and his mom. We've already had a fantastic 8 day trip up to Christchurch, across Arthur's Pass to the West Coast, down through coastal rain forest and glaciers, and through Haast Pass to Queenstown and Central Otago. We leave for a 7 day trip tomorrow to Lake Te Anau, Milford Sound, Stewart Island, and the Catlins. I will update the blog with all our adventures when we get back. Big thanks to all my devoted readers!

Ode to my House

Summer seems to have ended, marked by 4 days of cold rain. Dunedin houses are not well built and most are uninsulated, making for a chilly, damp house. Here is an ode to our own house...

Oh House!

My cold, cold house!
You welcome in the Arctic winds
With paper-thin plywood walls and no insulation
Doors with breezy gaps and windows that rattle
A house with one heat source that only warms the living room
leaving the bedrooms freezing

My ridiculous, impractical house!
Without a vent for a clothes dryer
or an electrical outlet in the bathroom
With a stovetop positioned in a corner that requires advanced yoga to use
A house that once locked from the inside, can only be unlocked with keys
making a quick escape impossible

My cheap, unattractive house!
With textured wallpaper in appalling colors
Curtains from unwanted fabric in the remnant pile
Gaps and uneven lines in the woodwork
A house with shoddy cabinets, plastic counter tops, unsecured faucets and mismatching carpet

Oh House!

An incompetent contractor built you
without using levels, T-squares, or chalk lines
He was not aware that kitchen cabinets and refrigerator doors need to fully open
in order to function properly
An incompetent contractor who forgot to put the bathroom doors back on their hinges
Who left behind pipes that drip, wood scraps in the backyard
and carpet tacks sticking up through the carpet for bare feet to find

Oh dreadful House!
I see your mates all over Dunedin

Screw the Cork

FYI: 90% of New Zealand wines and most Australian wines have screw tops. If you bring a bottle of wine with a cork to a dinner party here, but sure to bring your own corkscrew too, 'cause some kitchens don't have them!

Chinese Democracy in New Zealand?

Yes, Chinese Democracy is alive and well in New Zealand, in the form of the latest album from Guns n’ Roses, that is!

Remember Guns n’ Roses, those long-haired, bandanna-wearing rockers who welcomed you to the jungle back in 1987…? Well, Axel Rose has certainly found an enthusiastic and dedicated audience in Kiwis. In fact, from what I’ve heard, Guns n’ Roses appear to be an institution in New Zealand. The airwaves are crammed with songs from Chinese Democracy, and on any given Friday night, pubs are wallpapered with Axle’s voice screeching out Sweet Child Of Mine.

Now I like Guns n’ Roses every once in awhile, but it still strikes me as odd that out of all the great American rock bands, Guns n’ Roses would be so incredibly popular here in New Zealand. It’s almost as bizarre as David Hasselhoff’s über popularity in Germany. Almost.

Black Paua!

Paua (pronounced pow-a) is Maori for abalone and the black paua is the most abundant here in New Zealand. The black paua was a staple in the Maori diet and the shell was prized as a treasure. Today you can often find paua shells washed up on the beach and carved paua jewelry is very popular tourist souvenir.

I grew up eating abalone, thanks to my dad and uncles, and I absolutely love it, so I am excited to catch, er, pry some off the rocks at some point. In our area the legal limit is 10 paua per person, per day and they must be at least 5 inches long.

If you’ve never had abalone, you are missing out. Abalone is like nothing you’ve ever tasted! When cooking it, I prefer to thinly slice it, dredge it in some egg and herbed breadcrumbs, and then lightly pan fry it in butter and olive oil. BBQ abalone is delicious, especially dipped in garlic-herb butter, and abalone chowder is amazing too. Next time you have the opportunity to eat fresh abalone (don’t even think about that canned crap), go for it!

Red Red WIne

OK, lets talk about New Zealand wine (finally). Everyone knows that New Zealand makes excellent Sauvignon Blancs and Chardonnays. Go to your local supermarket in the States and you’ll see heaps of these Kiwi wines on the shelves. Personally, I’m not much of a white wine drinker and I absolutely loathe buttery-oaky Chardonnay. But I do like the sweeter whites and there are some delicious Rieslings, Gewürztraminers, and late harvest wines here. I plan on drinking lots of them, of course.

I can’t really say the same for New Zealand reds, yet. Pinot Noir is made and celebrated around the South Island, but so far I haven’t found any that I like. The Pinots I’ve had have been really dry and minerally. This is probably due to the fact that I can’t afford the good Pinots….

I tend to favor big reds, like juicy Zinfandels, smoky Merlots, and bold Cabernets. However, Zinfandel is a California thing and the reds I buy here are from Australia. With a warmer climate, Australian reds tend to be very similar to California reds. I did find a Ravenswood Zinfandel in a wine merchant shop here in Dunedin. Of course I didn’t buy it, it was triple the price you would pay in the U.S. and I’m trying to expand my wine horizons while I’m here.

Although, choosing a wine from the crowded shelves at the market can be a bit overwhelming. There are so many wines from New Zealand and Australia and I don’t recognize any of them! Actually, that’s not true. I know Yellow Tail quite well, and yes, I have bought it here in a state of petrifying panic at having to quickly choose a bottle from so many unfamiliar and unheard of wineries. But this only happens if my partner is shopping with me……

In the face of such adversity, I have adopted a system of choosing a bottle according to its label (after the price of course). Kiwis and Aussies are not stuffy or pretentious about their label art and there are some cool labels to be found here! So far my method has met with reasonable success. I am hoping to get out to some wineries in the next month for tastings so I can find some truly great New Zealand wines.