Going Out in Style

My parents once told me that if I ended up spending two years in New Zealand, they would try to come visit. New Zealand has become another home to me, and considering that it's not a place one can easily visit from North America, I was happy to give Mom and Dad a reason to make the trip. After a couple weeks spent zipping around the North Island and catching up with friends in Wellington, I flew to Christchurch to meet my parents after their trans-Pacific flight odyssey.

We only had two weeks to spend in the country together, unfortunately, so planning an itinerary was challenging. A number of compromises had to be made, especially as Dad was limited by some pretty serious sciatica aggravated by hours spent sitting in airplanes. Having just finished a meditative solo trip around the North Island, I had to adjust quickly to travelling not just as a group, but as a family. It had been just under a year since I'd even seen my parents, and now I was partly their tour guide as well as their son. And that's not to mention that I was still in the process of moving two years' worth of belongings back to North America. I had spent the previous year establishing a comfort zone in Arthur's Pass, and now I was emphatically out of it. With all that being said (or written), our trip went fantastically.

After meeting up in Christchurch airport and “uplifting” our rental car, we made a quick stop for some lunch and I drove us up to Arthur's Pass in the rain. We spent three nights there. I did my best to tie up loose ends while showing Mom and Dad around and introducing them to the people who shaped my time in the mountains. Mom, who hikes frequently back in Northern Ontario, quickly made the adjustment to hiking in the Southern Alps. Dad's sciatica kept him off the trails, but he learned more about local history in three days than I had in a year (thanks to John Charles).

We could have easily spent more time in Arthur's Pass, but our time was limited and there was more to see. So on Monday (Mom's birthday), I left the village that had been my home for the last time. We stopped in Greymouth to go to the post office, then in Hokitika to do some gift shopping, and then at the TreetopsWalk just south of Hokitika. I had hoped for another stop at the Bushmans Centre in Pukekura – my last chance at a possum pie! - but, being the low season, it was already closed. We ended that drive in Franz Josef, where we spent two nights. In addition to hiking, we arranged some more involved medical care for Dad in Fox Glacier and had medicine delivered via InterCity bus that would suffice for the rest of the trip.

After Franz Josef, we drove to Haast, where I had my last sight of the Tasman Sea, and then through the Haast Pass to Wanaka. It's easy to like Wanaka, and Mom and Dad certainly did. I made sure to go to Cinema Paradiso one more time – Dad and I watched The Company You Keep, but the film isn't really what matters when you go to Cinema Paradiso. It's the cookies. Mom kept hiking, and I took off on my own to walk up Isthmus Peak, on the isthmus between Lakes Wanaka and Hawea. It was a greater challenge than I thought, but well worth the views.

Our next destination was Lake Tekapo, the one spot on our journey that I had not visited. The drive over Lindis Pass was beautiful, but MacKenzie Country was the real stunner. After stopping in Omarama for lunch, we drove through Twizel and made a stop at the southern end of Lake Pukaki. It was a clear day, and Mt. Cook was visible at the other end. After tearing ourselves away from the great view, we continued on to Lake Tekapo. I've said it before and it's still true: New Zealand keeps finding new ways to amaze me. The scenery along that whole stretch of road was jaw-droppingly gorgeous. We spent two nights in Tekapo, taking tons of photos, marvelling at how the view across the lake was just as good by the light of the moon, and hiking up Mt. John.

Our longest drive on the South Island was between Tekapo and Kaikoura. We took the “inland scenic route” along highway 72 to Darfield, which was still mostly farmland, and made an afternoon stop in Christchurch. The red zone cordon had recently been reduced downtown, so I had my first sight of Christchurch Cathedral. I also introduced Mom and Dad to the Re:Start Mall, which was buzzing with activity. But we had to move on to Kaikoura, and stayed there two nights. After visiting the seal colony, Mom and I walked the Kaikoura Peninsula track and met up with Dad for a picnic in South Bay. We also spent some time arranging the logistics for the rest of our trip, as we were to return the rental car to Picton.

On the drive up to Picton, we stopped at the Ohau Point seal colony. Have I mentioned how New Zealand keeps finding new ways to amaze me? Like something out of an animated children's movie, we walked up a small stream from the ocean to a waterfall, at the bottom of which was a pool teeming with seal pups. Inland from the coastal seal colony, it was essentially a “seal daycare” where the parents leave their pups while they go fishing. Dad took a video (see below). There are no words to accurately describe it – simply one of the coolest things I've ever seen.

Our ferry from Picton was delayed by rough weather on the Cook Strait, but it was sunny in Picton. I made one last visit to the Village Bakkerij with Dad, then we all enjoyed the view of the waterfront while waiting for the boat to arrive. This strait crossing was my fourth, and the roughest one yet. I spent it lying down with my hat over my eyes to spare myself the sight of waves crashing over the side and other passengers losing their lunches. That kept me shipshape, and my biggest complaint was actually that we didn't get to arrive in Wellington in daylight.

We spent three nights in Wellington being tourists, dining out, and catching up with friends. On our last day there, Mom and Dad made their own bus tour of the city using the transit network while I did the last of my packing. Then we had a Wellington evening that could have been straight out of the Lonely Planet guidebook: dinner at KK Malaysian, a theatre production at Downstage Theatre, and gelato from Kaffee Eis for dessert. I hope it wasn't my last time in Wellington, but at least that was a great way to finish if it was.

As renting a car was the cheapest way for us to get to Auckland (we left it too late to buy plane tickets), we spent our last full day in New Zealand on the road. It's a long drive, but we have a family history that includes plenty of those. And I was thrilled that Mom and Dad were able to see some of the North Island too. We followed SH1 from Wellington to Auckland through Taupo, and although we bypassed Hamilton, it was almost exactly the same route I followed on the bus my first day in the country. After finding our hotel near the airport, I spent my last night in the country watching rugby at the pub downstairs. Again, if that was my last time in New Zealand – and I hope it wasn't – it's not a bad way to go out. 

Dad walking in the treetops.

Saying goodbye to the Tasman Sea at Haast Beach.

Lake Hawea from Isthmus Peak.

That's Mt. Cook on the left.

At Lake Tekapo.

Lake Tekapo.

Christchurch Cathedral.

Mom and I at Ohau Point seal colony.

Ohau Point. See video below...

Ruapehu.

Dad and I at Lake Taupo.

The Great Green and Blue North

When I extended my stay in New Zealand, my new visa tied me to my job in Arthur's Pass. As a result, my mobility was slightly more limited than it had been under my working holiday visa. I had left most of the North Island unexplored when I ventured South, intending to revisit it later. When I stopped work at the end of April, over a month before my visa expired, I finally kept that promise to myself.

My plan was to tour the North Island in a rented campervan. It would allow me greater mobility than the bus network, and the ability to create my own itinerary as I went. Luckily, May is the beginning of the low season for tourism in New Zealand, and quite a few rental companies offer relocation deals as they prepare for the summer's onslaught of tourists. I managed to find such a deal through Spaceships Rentals, the terms of which were pretty simple: if I picked up the van in Christchurch and returned it to Auckland, I could have it for as many days as I wanted at 50% off. Not bad. I did have to pay for the ferry, which costs significantly more with a vehicle, and $30/day for insurance, simply because of some complications with my finances.

I rented the van for 16 days, and spent much of my time driving. It had been two years since I'd driven any motorized vehicle, and I was content to be behind the wheel in one of the world's most beautiful countries for hours at a stretch. My van was equipped with a gas cooker and a bed, so my only concerns were food, fuel, and finding places to park overnight. The last was the greatest challenge, not for lack of space but for the legal uncertainty surrounding overnight parking. Some New Zealanders have an extreme mistrust of “freedom campers” - tourists who attempt to travel the country while paying for as little as possible. I am not one of those, I just believe that driving around with a bed in the back of my van is pointless if I still have to pay for somewhere to sleep. But I managed to avoid paying much, either by finding free places or staying at the reasonably-priced Department of Conservation sites. And once or twice I treated myself to a night at a campground for the better facilities, location, and added security.

Blessed with good weather, I drove just over 3800 kilometres in 16 days, and have now seen pretty much every part of the North Island except Wairarapa and Wanganui. Here's a few of the highlights:

Highway 35 north of Gisborne is a series of bays with plenty of freedom camping and countless spectacular views. Whale Rider was filmed in this area. I passed through as the sun was going down, unfortunately, but what I saw was incredible. That drive also took me to the East Cape, where I was one of the first people to see the sun rise on May 4. The sunrise was blocked by cloud, but the drive back as the sun rose along the hills was a treat.

The climb to the low peak of Mt. Taranaki was short but strenuous. I think it was the first time I've stood on an active volcano. The small town of Okato on the Taranaki coast was a nice place to stop for a bite, and New Plymouth is probably the most underrated urban centre I've been to in the entire country.

Northland was surprisingly awesome. It's much bigger than I realized and I missed plenty of things. What I did see in my brief visit included the Waipoua Forest, which holds the largest trees in the country; Cape Reinga, where the Tasman meets the Pacific; Waitangi, where the treaty that began the country was signed; and Whangarei, another underrated urban centre. The biggest surprise, however, was Hokianga Harbour. I had to pull over when I got my first glimpse of it – stunning.

The whole trip was great and I would have happily continued it for the rest of the month. But I returned the van to Auckland, flew to Wellington for a three-day visit, and then flew to Christchurch to meet my parents, which is where the next phase of my departure from New Zealand began.

Pukerua Bay, home of Peter Jackson and Olivia Blaza-Forest.

Palmerston North, where the city centre needs to warn people off bringing heavy livestock vehicles in.

Lake Tutira in Hawke's Bay.

Driftwood surf shack in Hawke's Bay.

Looking back at East Cape Lighthouse after sunrise.

Mt. Ruapehu as seen from the Forgotten World Highway.

Mt. Taranaki and cows.

Hokianga Harbour.

Sunset at Cape Reinga.

Welcome to Waitangi!

What's Ahead

My time in New Zealand is coming to an end. Although it has begun to feel like home in some ways, I have avoided settling in too much because I have always known that I would be here temporarily. It has been a difficult balance. I am happy to be leaving to begin new adventures, but I will be leaving behind a unique location and group of people that have become special to me. Now, about those new adventures...

I have spent the majority of my time in New Zealand on the South Island, and the majority of that time in Arthur's Pass. My visa expires at the beginning of June, so I have arranged for May to be a month of travel. For the first two weeks, I am planning a whirlwind tour of the North Island in a rental vehicle. I haven't seen much of the North Island and having my own vehicle will allow me to see what I want quickly. In my time here, I have also enjoyed the generosity of many people willing to pick up hitchhikers, so I intend to return that favour. I haven't driven a vehicle since June 2011, and I've never driven on the left, so watch out if you're nearby!

On the 17th of May, I will fly from Wellington to Christchurch, where my parents will have arrived 30 minutes before me. When I extended my stay in this country, Mom and Dad said they would aim to come visit before I left, and now they are. Because New Zealand is so far away for most of my friends and family, it feels a bit like I've dropped off the planet. Living overseas is a difficult experience to share with someone who has never been where you have, so being able to show my parents what's so great about this country will be a privilege. We are intending to spend most of our time on the South Island before passing back through Wellington on our way out of the country.

When I finally do leave New Zealand for the foreseeable future, I will not be going home immediately. My father was once a Peace Corps volunteer on the island of Saipan in Micronesia, and has not returned for over 40 years. As the planning for my parents' visit to New Zealand developed, it became obvious that this was the best chance he would get to return, and I to see it for the first time. So when I leave Auckland, it will be for Sydney, Tokyo, or Seoul...I can't remember. I'm letting Dad organize that part of the trip. We're just hoping Kim Jong-Un's recent bluster doesn't cause any problems.

On the way back to North America, we will briefly stop in Honolulu to adjust to the time change (great excuse, isn't it?) and add Hawaii to my list of states visited, which already includes Alaska, if you were wondering. Then we will return to Toronto and from there to North Bay, where I expect the exhaustion of all this travel to keep me comfortably in bed for a while.

But wait, there's more! Once I've recovered from crossing the Pacific and North America, I am intending to make a visit to my hometown of Northampton, Massachusetts for the first time in three and a half years. Even more ambitiously, I intend to fly over to Europe to visit friends I haven't seen in almost as long. After a family reunion in August, I think I will have been able to catch up with almost anyone I've ever known. Which is good, because in September I will be upping sticks and moving again. But that's for the next post to describe.

Thanks for reading this far - here's some photos I didn't include in the last post.

 

Saving, Shooting, and Sleeping Away

The past month and a half have seen several staff changes at work and two especially busy weekends - Easter and the Wild Foods Festival in Hokitika, which some may recall I attended last year. It brings plenty of business through Arthur's Pass, as we are directly on the way from Christchurch to Hokitika and the Wild Foods Festival draws tons of people. I've been picking up plenty of extra hours for various reasons, and when I leave New Zealand in two months, I will have a significant amount of money saved.

There have also been several adventures of note lately. Although Arthur's Pass has a squash court which doubles as a basketball court, there is rarely anyone else with whom to shoot around, and I haven't played on a full team since 2011. As soon as I realized that I would be in Arthur's Pass for a while, I sent an email to the Greymouth Basketball Club to see about playing with them. Almost a year after I sent that first email, and several aborted attempts to participate, I finally did it. I took the bus down from the mountains, stayed the night at a hostel, and played basketball for two hours. Despite being either a league or a club (or maybe both), it really felt like a big pickup session. I played in two games, and as usual, found myself in the middle of the pack in terms of talent. Teams are required to be mixed, and plenty of people clearly played very casually, but there were several formidable talents as well. I think I saw more mullets on a basketball court than I've ever seen before (two), and several people used rugby-style passes - a reversal of when I learned to play rugby and adapted my basketball skills for the same purpose. It's unlikely I'll be able to return because of my work schedule and the hassle of spending a night in Greymouth for a couple hours of basketball, but it was gratifying to follow through on an idea I'd had for a long time.

It also took me a long time to spend a night in one of the many tramping huts in this area, which are a frequent topic of conversation that I bluff my way through. A friend from the Department of Conservation was heading off on a 4-night walk, and the first leg happened to be the beginning of a one-night walk that I'd been hoping to do. So the two of us hopped the bus down to Kelly's Creek and walked up to Carroll Hut. We rested for lunch, then continued over the Kelly Range and down into the Taipo River valley to Dillons Hut for the night. Hiking is a way of life in Arthur's Pass village, but my work schedule and limited transportation options mean I rarely get beyond day hikes. Furthermore, longer hikes require equipment that I don't have and am unwilling to buy, and my lack of experience means I have to rely on other people's advice to plan. So it was serendipitous that I could go along with someone who knew what she was doing to get my feet wet (which literally happened on top of the Kelly Range). Much more so than playing basketball in Greymouth, I needed to spend at least a night out in the wilderness that surrounds me here. Check.

I am now in my last month of work here, and it is flying by. Plans are beginning to develop for the next two months, five months, and two years of my life, but they deserve at least a post to themselves.

The best view I've ever seen from a toilet seat.

Looking down at the Taipo river.

Looking along the Taipo.

Hitching back to Arthur's Pass through Monteith's country.

Caving and the Coast to Coast

February was a busy month. Less than two weeks after I returned from Brisbane, we said goodbye to four of our summer staff and brought on two new ones. Four people leaving meant several goodbye dinners and special events, one of which was particularly memorable - the walk through Cave Stream Scenic Reserve.

Cave Stream is a unique spot less than an hour from Arthur's Pass that my erstwhile coworker Simon had been desperate to visit. Underneath a parking lot with a spectacular view of the mountains, its name reveals exactly what it is: a stream that runs through a cave. Despite - or perhaps because of - the constantly flowing water and several pools up to a meter deep, Cave Stream is a popular trail. I haven't spent much time underground, but Simon has, and he made a great leader. Caving is a nice alternative to hiking, as it allows everyone to make their own path - I spent much of the walk finding creative ways to keep myself out of the water by bouldering along the walls. We all got thoroughly soaked nonetheless, as we expected. Simon and Lili have moved on from Arthur's Pass now, but they are keeping a travel blog as well if you'd care for another perspective on New Zealand.

A few days later, Arthur's Pass played host to a musical performance for the first time since I've been here. Mihirangi, a recent contestant on New Zealand's Got Talent, is making her way around the country. She performed at the Bealey Hotel, about 10 minutes down the road from Arthur's Pass village. She builds her music with a loop machine, which allows her to record sounds, have the machine repeat them, and sing or add more samples over that. My interest in songwriting and composition has developed quite a bit in my spare time here, so I was intrigued by Mihirangi's unique show. You can see one of her performances here.

Early February also saw the running of the annual Coast to Coast race, a special triathlon that passes through the mountains near Arthur's Pass. The cycling portion begins at Kumara, on the west coast, and participants then run up over Goat Pass and kayak down the Waimakariri River to Christchurch. Hence the name Coast to Coast - there is a two-day and a one-day race, but all the participants travel from the Tasman to the Pacific. The nearest road to the race is Highway 73, and the nearest village to the overnight rest point is Arthur's Pass, so our shop was absolutely packed. We didn't actually see any of the race, but each racer had at least 3 or 4 support crew, and those folks love their coffee in the morning. In the first hour of Coast to Coast Saturday, we used over 20 liters of milk. If there were units for sanity, we probably went through plenty of them too.

In Cave Stream with Shine, Yanina, Phoebe, and Lili.

Before entering the cave.

   

Rebuilding, Respectfully

You may have heard of Christchurch, New Zealand for a variety of reasons, but since I've been in this country, one issue has predominated: the earthquakes of September 2010 and February 2011 that absolutely devastated New Zealand's second-largest city. Almost everywhere I've been in this country, I've met Kiwis who have been forced out of Christchurch in the past year. But despite being fairly close to the city, most of what I know about it I've heard from other people. I was recently given a brief holiday from work, and decided to get a closer look at the still struggling "Garden City."

The February 2011 earthquake was the weaker on the Richter scale, but was also the more devastating because of where and when it struck: downtown at lunchtime. In terms of the human cost, optimists mention that it being lunchtime meant fewer people were in the buildings that collapsed - it's a thin silver lining, but it's something. Structurally, the damage to central Christchurch has ensured a slow recovery, and plenty of former residents have given up and relocated.

But some people remain committed to rebuilding (among them my friend Marcus and his family, whom I must thank for putting me up while I was there), and my main interest in this visit was the Re:Start mall. Some of the city centre's retailers have reconstituted their shops in shipping containers. The last time I saw these rectangular metal boxes used in construction was in Nome, Alaska, where they represent the absolute nadir of housing possibilities. Given that experience, I expected to see the Re:Start mall as a symbol of the city's collapse.

But I was impressed. The shops have done a nice job of using the space available and making metal boxes look attractive. I'm a bit of an urban planning nerd, and I was fascinated by the new dynamics at play in such unique circumstances. Although much of downtown remains inaccessible, this small portion of it indicates the commitment that some people feel to this city, at least from my outsider's perspective. At the same time, I had to remember that while I see a clever usage of newly available space, some locals see the place where their friends died. No reconstruction can heal wounds of that magnitude. I suppose this is the major challenge facing Christchurch at the moment - rebuilding, respectfully.   

Part of the fenced-off red zone (I was reaching over the fence).

The Re:Start mall.

Southbound

After the beauty of Picton and Marlborough Sound, I was reminded how visually stunning this country is and made a minor alteration to my schedule. Rather than take the bus to Christchurch, I took one of New Zealand's three passenger train routes. The price was markedly higher, but the thrill of taking a train never gets old for me. Furthermore, I saw the size of the hills around Picton and I wasn't sure I wanted to risk motion sickness for the second consecutive day after the ferry ride on Monday. So I awoke early enough to wander around Picton for a few hours – it's hard to get lost there – and booked a train ticket to Christchurch for the early afternoon.

The train ride, once again, forces me to use the word “beautiful” or “stunning.” I'm going to have to invent new words to describe New Zealand, because there are only so many adjectives in the English language that refer to natural beauty. In any case, the ride took us past the township of Blenheim (Blen-um, not Blen-heim) and along the Pacific coast to Kaikoura. All of these places are names I recognize from stories other travellers have told me, but nothing compares to seeing them in person. Kaikoura is known for its aquatic wildlife, so whale-watching and swimming with dolphins are both popular activities, and seal colonies line the train route just north of town. It also lies at the foot of panoramic, snow-capped hills that make it a live postcard.

But I was not staying in Kaikoura, and the remainder of the trip was no less enjoyable to watch fly by the window. This train even had an outdoor viewing car, something I'd never experienced before. A honeymooning American couple sat across from me after Kaikoura, and our conversation made me feel like a long-term New Zealand resident – not a bad feeling at all. Hopefully I made their vacation a little more enjoyable.

My stay in Christchurch was brief but pleasant. I did not manage to see the earthquake-damaged city center because I was busy enjoying the hospitality of my former flatmate Marcus and his family. His father took me on a quick tour of the University of Canterbury and the CBS arena, the only remaining large audience venue in the city. Christchurch is an extremely flat and well-landscaped city (it's nicknamed the Garden City), quite different from the hills and natural reserves of Wellington. I wasn't able to form a very detailed impression, however, because I was quickly hopping on a bus to Dunedin to take me closer to my destination of Central Otago's farms and vineyards.

The bus ride passed through Canterbury's southern plains, which are the only large flat areas in the entire country, I believe. There were always hills visible in the distance, however, and south of Timaru the route began to rise and fall gently (much more gently than the Interislander). All manner of livestock were munching away at the grass as we passed: sheep were the most prevalent, of course, but there were plenty of cows and quite a few deer. When I was young, seeing a deer by the side of the road was a cause for excitement because wild deer are known for being skittish. In New Zealand, the deer are all domesticated, and it continues to baffle me.

I arrived in Dunedin in the midst of a downpour, but my friend Bernie's dad met me rather quickly and before long I was at dinner with his entire family (except Bernie, who's in Wellington). As much as I like to avoid generalization, I think it's fair to say that Kiwis are a pretty hospitable bunch. I'm now planning to stay in Dunedin until the weekend and head out to Alexandra on Sunday, hopefully to find a job harvesting fruit.

Remember how I said I'd write more often once I left Wellington? 

At the railway station in Kaikoura.

The outdoor viewing car - I wanted to see this guy to drop his iPad over the edge so badly.

The most significant earthquake damage I saw in Christchurch.