(BEST OF)
January 2007
In January of 2007, to celebrate the conclusion of my internship with Grifphon as well as the completion (well-written or not) or my Senior Thesis at Reed College, I took a three-week trip to New Zealand to do some exploration. My friend Liz joined me.
This is us, about halfway through the trip, modeling the Maori-symbol necklaces we got each other (we had been told that one should never buy the charm for oneself, but instead receive it from a friend or it would lose its strength). Mine (right) is the Koru or spiral which means something about new beginnings, growth, etc, and Liz’s (left) is the Hei Matau, or fish hook, much more pertinent to our situation in this picture, as we were on a ferry going between the islands and the Hei Matau provides safe journey over water. Score.
The trip began and ended in Auckland, which is located on the north island. Auckland, like the rest of New Zealand, has some incredibly cool churches.
We spent the majority of our time wandering the (hilly) streets, exploring the parks, getting lost, and then walking the three extra miles back to the hostel in the pouring rain. We also toured the Auckland harbor, getting a good look at the volcanic islands around Auckland (many of them with unique ecosystems). Auckland sits right in the middle of a field of 49 small volcanoes. There were also many big ships in the harbor, including the Greenpeace Esperanza (the Rainbow Warrior was sunk in the Auckland harbor in 1985), and an entire section devoted to yachts (Team New Zealand races in the America’s Cup, and there is a very active sailing culture).
From Auckland, we left for a weeklong surf tour farther up the north island. Our home base was a small house on the beach in near Shipwreck Bay. This is the view from the porch:
From Auckland, we left for a weeklong surf tour farther up the north island. Our home base was a small house on the beach in near Shipwreck Bay. This is the view from the porch:
The tour took us all around the “Far North” of the north island, and all the way up to the northernmost point, Cape Reinga. At Cape Reinga the Tasman Sea and Pacific Ocean actually crash into one another, creating a line of surf extending from the Cape out into the open sea.
We surfed, sand-boarded, picked and ate mussels, saw some absolutely gorgeous country with a crew of 11 (including our guide), which included people from the Netherlands, France, Portland (us), Memphis, and three local kiwis. We also got held up by some sheep.
We surfed, sand-boarded, picked and ate mussels, saw some absolutely gorgeous country with a crew of 11 (including our guide), which included people from the Netherlands, France, Portland (us), Memphis, and three local kiwis. We also got held up by some sheep.
After the surf trip, we returned to Auckland and took a short flight down to the capital, Wellington. We only spent an afternoon in Wellington before hopping on the ferry to the south island, but were able to squeeze in a few hours of sightseeing. Of all the places we visited, I would go back to Wellington in a minute and settle in for a few weeks. The city boasts the New Zealand Museum along with a variety of music, dance, and theater venues, and is home base for hikes, kayaking trips, and other outdoor activities.
On the south island, we rented a car and drove the three days to Queenstown, which is located down and the southern end. We both developed excellent driving-on-the-left-side-of-the-road-while-lunatic-kiwi-drivers-pass-you-on-all-sides-on-narrow-windy-roads skills.
In Queenstown, we gave up the car and took a bus to Te Anau, then a car service to the head of the Routeburn Track. Hiking the Routeburn was very different from other hikes we had been on in the States, due of course to the fantastical scenery (this is the region where the mountain scenes in Lord of the Rings come from), but also to the scheduling. We had scheduled pick-ups and drop-offs, and spaces reserved at different cabins each night, so if we had fallen behind schedule we would have been hitch-hiking back to Queenstown! We actually met a young guy who had taken a side-hike, then had to finish his scheduled 2 miles out in the dark (in sandals, oddly) or miss his pick-up.
The scenery on the Routeburn was the most dramatic of the trip:
On the south island, we rented a car and drove the three days to Queenstown, which is located down and the southern end. We both developed excellent driving-on-the-left-side-of-the-road-while-lunatic-kiwi-drivers-pass-you-on-all-sides-on-narrow-windy-roads skills.
In Queenstown, we gave up the car and took a bus to Te Anau, then a car service to the head of the Routeburn Track. Hiking the Routeburn was very different from other hikes we had been on in the States, due of course to the fantastical scenery (this is the region where the mountain scenes in Lord of the Rings come from), but also to the scheduling. We had scheduled pick-ups and drop-offs, and spaces reserved at different cabins each night, so if we had fallen behind schedule we would have been hitch-hiking back to Queenstown! We actually met a young guy who had taken a side-hike, then had to finish his scheduled 2 miles out in the dark (in sandals, oddly) or miss his pick-up.
The scenery on the Routeburn was the most dramatic of the trip:
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