New Zealand - Part I

This past month has been a crazy whirlwind of packing, travelling, planning, apartment hunting, etc.  Basically it went like this.  Our apartment was packed up and our things shipped out the last week of April.  Following that we checked into a hotel in downtown Singapore for a few days, then headed out to New Zealand for two weeks.  After that, we flew back to Singapore and stayed at the hotel a couple of days to wrap things up and close a few accounts.  Then we finally made the big move and flew out to Houston.

So, now I'll try and recap our time in New Zealand, but I'm not sure I'll be able to do it justice.  After much research, we decided to rent a little car and spend thirteen days driving around the South Island.  

Our first stop was Kaikoura where we stayed with my best friend's brother, Caleb.  He's working there helping to run a college exchange program.  I can't believe this kid works and lives in a place like this! The beaches here are amazing and there's tons of marine life.  Caleb took us to a waterfall where seal pups gather and play.  The pups enter from the sea and crawl up the stream to the waterfall pool where they frolic without any danger from predators.

Driving along the coastal highway in Kaikoura

Delicious roadside stand selling fresh seafood

Kaikoura Peninsula coastline

Me and Andy about to head out on a hike around the Peninsula


The view from the top of the hill on Kaikoura Peninsula

Caleb and Andy foraging for some seaweed

Fresh seaweed for dinner - yup, we Chinese people love our seaweed!

For dinner, we had some fresh seafood as Caleb had gone diving earlier in the week and speared a butter fish and also caught (with his gloved hands) a crayfish, aka, rock lobster.  If you've never had crayfish, it's basically a lobster without the large front claws.  To this, we added some home grown bok choy and some fresh seaweed marinated in soy sauce, garlic, sesame oil, and vinegar.  

We got to stay with Caleb at his program's house, called "The Old Convent", since it used to be, well, a convent.

The next morning, we drove across the South Island to the west coast.  At Caleb's recommendation, our first stop on the west coast was Punakaiki.  Most people visit Punakaiki to see the legendary Pancake Rocks and Blowholes.  The rocks are named such because their layers resemble stacks of pancakes.

The Rocks are most spectacular at high tide when the raging waves come crashing through the holes, making a huge splash.

I'm pretty sure we got drenched after this one.
I had to be quick about taking the picture in order to protect my camera!

It was a bit stormy, but we caught a pretty sunset before running back to the safety of our dry car.  

After a quick dinner at the only restaurant in town, we retreated back to our little cottage in the rainforest 

at Te Nikau Retreat.

     
Our cottage, the "Tui" was tucked away in the rainforest

The next morning we walked from our little cottage to Truman beach and did a little more exploring.

     

The beach was magical.  Crazy waves, little waterfalls, and all sorts of cool rock formations.  The tide was still a bit high, so we had to watch out for the waves.  

We came upon this wall, which I will call the "Wall of Death".  Andy crossed first, then motioned for me to follow.  

     
Come on honey, it's safe!

Well, Andy made it across safely, but when I was halfway across, a huge wave came ashore and pinned me against the wall.  I was engulfed by freezing cold water all the way up to my waist!  It took all my wits to keep my camera from becoming submerged in the waves.  Of course I screamed like a little girl - that water was COLD!

Here I am, sad and wet.

Despite being cold and wet, I still managed to muster up a smile and get a good shot of us together.

After Punakaiki, we continued down the west coast and stopped in Hokitika for some lunch.  We had yummy pizza at Fat Pipi's based on a recommendation of some friends who had stopped there a couple of months ago.

We found our friends, the Worleys, in the guestbook!

Andy and our leftovers from Fat Pipi's

After a delicious lunch, we drove down to Franz Josef glacier and checked into our hotel.  We stayed at Glenfern Villas, which was a couple miles outside of Franz Josef town, but had beautiful views of the mountains and Franz Josef glacier.

Our villa was on the left

Inside our villa

The view from our back patio-  the Glacier is in the middle, 

but the mountains on the sides are temperate rain forests.

Andy walking on the road behind our villa

Jump shot at Franz Josef

This is also where I shot the panorama that I shared in my last post - this place was spectacular!

The next morning, we woke up early to get ready for our Heli-hike.  We were originally going to do a day hike on the glacier, but a hole had developed in the glacier a few weeks ago so they were not allowing access to the lower part of the glacier.  But, they were still operating the heli-hikes since the helicopters could drop us off higher up on the glacier where things were more stable.

Sitting in the front of the helicopter!

Taking off

View of the glacier from the air

A little ice cave/hole on the glacier

Me in the middle of our hike - don't be deceived by my smile, it was a TOUGH climb for me.  Maybe it's because I'm getting old and am sorely out of shape, but half way through our FOUR hour climb, I was ready to quit.  I mean, the glacier was on a mountain - just think, mountain climbing on ice....

Andy, on the other hand, didn't break a sweat.  He looks like he's floating in this picture.

Our guide, Mike, who wore shorts and a t-shirt on the glacier and wielded a huge pick axe.

Despite the burn in my thighs from climbing ice stairs, and the sting from taking a big spill, I made it through the hike and here my smile is genuine - I was so relieved to be done!

Andy and Jennie - glacier explorers!

After all that physical exertion, we jumped into a helicopter and flew back into town.   We treated ourselves to some yummy lunch at Speight's Landing Bar and Restaurant.

My New Zealand specialty - white bait patties and "chips"


Andy's lamb stew

After we were happy and full, we spent the afternoon relieving our sore muscles by soaking in the Glacier Hot Springs (sorry, no pictures of that!).  Well, I think this is good enough for Part I of our New Zealand adventure.  I'll finish up the rest in another post!  Of course, this is just a small portion of the millions of pics I took.  You can check out the rest if you click on this link.