Click on an image to view it full
size
Big Trip Report Number 11 - Mon, 10 Feb 2003
Kia-Ora from New Zealand - land of fiords, bungy-jumping, and hobbits. Yes
this is Middle Earth! Curiously enough Kiwis (ie New Zealanders) are very fond
of going barefoot. Some of them are definitely hobbits in disguise.
From afar you may think that NZ and Australia are indistinguishable. However
this is far from the case. For example, in Australia there are a plethora of
natural dangers - much of the wildlife can kill you (8 of the world's 10 most
poisonous snakes live there). But in NZ the wildlife is about as benign as the
UK, so the Kiwis have taken it upon themselves to fill this gap with a myriad
of death-defying adrenalin activities like: bungy-jumping (highest in the world
at 134m) - fly-by-wire (you are tethered to a rocket which zooms around a circuit
tethered to a wire - zorbing (rolling down a mountainside inside a huge inflatable
ball. This place is Disneyland for the X-games set! We decided to forgo the
insanity mentioned above, but did participate in (and enjoy) some other hair-raising
activities:
- Skydiving - despite his previous fear of heights Jack jumped out of a plane
at 12,000ft, with 45secs of freefall before the chute opened.
- Paragliding - as Sue had already skydived she ran off the side of a mountain
attached to a parasail - it took nearly 30mins to land - almost like flying.
- Rockclimbing - shimmying up 20m rock faces challenged both our strength and
fear of heights.
- Riversurfing - boogie boarding down class III white water/ aka going in a
washing machine spin cycle.
- Caving - A 100m (300ft) abseil into a spectacular underground cave system,
then making our way out through an underground river - swimming, jumping and
climbing; with our pathway lit by blue glowworms.
Click on an image to view it full
size |
|||
|
|
|
|
Aside from the adrenalin stuff, we spent loads of time out in the spectacular
NZ countryside. The variety from Nordic fiords to tropical rainforests is immense.
- The biggest highlight was the Milford Track, a 4 day 66km thru- hike in Fiordland
at the bottom of the South Island. We had to carry everything on our backs through
the fabulous scenery, which was tiring but there was a real satisfying sense
of achievement when it was done.
- We also did several other incredible day hikes. The most amazing was the Tongariro
Crossing on the North Island. This is a highly geothermic, volcanic area, which
was used as Mordor in Lord of the Rings. We hiked past snow-capped peaks spewing
sulphurous steam and lakes of otherworldly green hues. We also spent a day hiking
on the Fox Glacier - a huge ice cube - the formations and crevasses were amazing,
but our enjoyment was dampened by the incessant freezing rain.
Click on an image to view it full
size |
||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
However we can't complain about the weather, as overall it has been excellent
- only 3 days of rain in a month. Back to the list of activities:
- Kayaking in Marlborough Sound at the top of the South Island
- Sailing in Auckland harbour, great fun, but we were not quite fast enough
to contend for the America's Cup. The final is in mid-February and we saw Team
NZ and Alinghi boats practicing - they are incredibly space-age. It is an event
that barely registers in the rest of the world, but the Kiwis are obsessed with
sailing.
- In Rotorua, a 'hotbed' of geothermal activity (groan!). We saw spouting geysers,
pools of boiling,burping mud and spectacularly colored steaming mineral lakes.
The only downside was the permeating smell of rotten eggs. This area is also
rich in Maori culture. We attended a cultural show where the Maoris performed
a fearsome Haka (wardance), with tattooed faces, bulging eyes and tongues it
certainly scared us.
So another great month of experiences, but as has been the case throughout this
trip it has just whetted our appetite to come back for more.
Click on an image to view
it full size |
|||
 |
 |
 |
 |