Travis Deatherage
January 5, 2002 – January 23, 2002
We left Denver at 5:00PM on January 3rd and after a 4-hour layover in Denver and another 14 hour plane ride we arrived in Sydney at 7:30 AM. That evening we witnessed the opening of the Sydney festival at the Opera House, including, a musical performance and fireworks. The night ended with a beer on our balcony taking in the amazing city and the longest day that we had ever experience.
Today our bodies have begun to adjust to the time difference. We spent the majority of the day walking around at Manly beach, about a 30-minute ferry ride from Sydney. We had our first thoughts of giving up everything and living in another country for at least one year. I’m sure there will be many more of those thoughts before this trip is complete. In the evening, at a bar called the Orient, we saw a true Aussie cover band performing Rolling Stones, Janis Joplin and others. Although the lady was bigger than Seth and uglier she did have a good voice.
This morning we had plans to head to Bondi Beach, one of the world renowned beaches of Sydney, but the weather did not cooperate. Instead we headed to the Sydney Aquarium where there was an excellent display of sharks, crocodiles, eels, Seals and stingrays. On this last night in Sydney, we enjoyed a dinner on the banks of the Circular Quay 100 yards from the Opera House. Following dinner we attended a play entitled “The Elocution of Benjamin Franklin”, which had nothing to do with Benjamin Franklin. It was actually about a transvestite speech therapy teacher who had a young gay student named Benjamin Franklin. Quite a strange subject, but the two act play was performed by a single actor who was tremendous. Finally we had a 1 Liter beer at a German restaurant in the Rocks and headed for bed.
Sarah and I decided on our last morning that we would climb the Sydney Harbor Bridge. The climb was a little expensive, but the clear weather and amazing view made it completely worth it.
After our in room breakfast, I headed back to the airport to pick up the rental car and experience my first attempt of driving on the wrong side of the road. The left side that is. Sarah and I loaded the car in a driving rainstorm and began our journey from the East to the West Coast over the NZ Southern Alps. It is quite amazing that you can drive from coast to coast on the South Island in less than 3 hours. Imagine driving from NY to LA in 3 hours. Although, the weather was not cooperating we were still provide with some magnificent views and had the opportunity to take some photos and video. Crossing through Arthur’s Pass, we arrived on the West Coast as planned and started south along the coast. This is one of the great drives of New Zealand where the Southern Alps and the ocean with 5-foot waves are within twenty minutes each other. Instantly thoughts of skiing, kayaking and surfing in the same day crossed through my head. Just before reaching Fox Glacier we stopped to take a look at the Franz Josef Glacier. This one of the two glaciers in the area with the Fox Glacier being the second. A fifteen-minute walk put us in position for a few photos before heading down the road.
Today was our first true New Zealand adventure, a four-hour walk up and onto the Fox Glacier. Fox and Franz Josef are the lowest glaciers in the world. The proximity to the Ocean and high precipitation combined with cool winds and significant altitude gains produces a terrific landscape. The hike begins with a crampon ready boot fitting and a fifteen minute bus ride to the foot of the glacier known as the Terminal Face. From there the group hikes through a rejuvenated rain forest where the terminal face of the glacier stood less than 40 years ago. The retreat of the glacier and high precipitation produces a very dense young rain forest. As we learned the glacier can advance or retreat up to 2 meters in single day. Most recently the glacier has been retreating, but from 1984 to 1999 the glacier had been making significant advances. After about a fabulous hour of playing on the glacier, taking pictures and getting inside hollowed out caverns we head back to down and into town.
http://www.foxguides.co.nz/default.htm
The drive from Fox Glacier to Queenstown took us through rainforests, past white sand beaches and over mountain passes into the Central Otago region in the south end of the South Island. This drive had some of the most variable terrain I have ever witnessed in a 400km or 250 mile drive. As we pulled past the Welcome to Queentown sign the first site you see is the Kawarau Bridge, home to the original and still active AJ Hackett Bungee Jump. We grabbed some dinner at an excellent Japanese Restaurant. The Sushi Chef actually used to work at the Sushi Den in Denver and at another sushi restaurant in Vail. Just the first of many reminders of how small this enormous World can be.
Let the adventuring begin! Today was our day to go Canyoneing. This activity takes place in a small creek canyon where you abseil (repel), jump from rocks, swim through waterfalls and tight canyons. Sarah and I had know idea what to expect for this adventure. It ended up being an excellent time, tested our nerves and is something we would like to do again. After the trip we went with our group of English, Irish, Scotish, and Chekalsoviakians to small New Zealand pub for two for one beers. One beer turned into two and then into multiple rounds, pitchers and a full night out.
http://www.xiimile.co.nz/index.asp
Oh how the head hurt this morning. After sleeping in late and getting some lunch, we spent the afternoon doing laundry and planning the remainder of our trip. This evening we went for another adventure on the Shotover River. The Shotover Jet is the original New Zealand jet boat company and the only company allowed to operate in Shotover Canyon. These jet boats run through the canyon at 45 mph and within 6-8 inches of the canyon walls. Two additional stunts are a 360-degree spin at full speed and 180-degree turns up against the canyon wall.
Today we left Queenstown for a few days to venture into the remote World Heritage area of Doubtful Sound. This remote sound, which is actually a fiord, requires a two-hour drive from Queenstown, a one-hour boat ride across Lake Manapouri and a 30-minute bus ride over a narrow mountain pass. This is a beautiful trip in itself, but when you arrive in Doubtful Sound you instantly know why the United Nations has made this magnificent fiord a World Heritage area. We boarded our boat, the Fiordland Navigator, for our overnight cruise around 3:30 PM and spent the evening cruising the sound. The weather was spectacular. Typically it rains 60-80% of the time in this region, but we had clear skies and sunshine. Unfortunately this means the waterfalls are not in their full glory. This was more than made up for with the amazing views. The goal of this trip is actually not viewing waterfalls as it is in nearby Milford sound, but rather to search out wildlife. Doubtful Sound is home to a number of wild animals including Fur Seals, Blue Penguins and a group of 60 bottlenose dolphins and also the location where Lord of the Rings was filmed. We were not let down. After moving to the edge of the sound and a short pass through the ocean we encountered a group of dolphins. We watched and took pictures and video as the dolphins jumped into the air and road the waves of the bow. This was something that neither and Sarah had witnessed before and was truly a special experience. Before dinner, we took a one-hour sea kayak trip in this remote wilderness. During an excellent meal we met another couple from Parker, Colorado. The guy happened to be from Richmond, VA and graduate from Va. Tech in 1989. Again, a reminder of how small the world can be.
Doubtful Sound was formed as a series of glaciers melted and made their way to the ocean, which is what actually makes it a fiord rather than a sound. The morning began with an early breakfast. It was completely worth it. We were able to make it deep into one of the arms of the sound. As we made our way back to the wharf the dolphins appeared again and it was almost as if they were leading us in as they surfed our bow waves. Doubtful Sound was the most the peaceful, beautiful place I had ever been to. Some of the locals say, “You don’t need to see heaven, if you’ve been to Doubtful.” I can definitely see why.
http://www.fiordlandtravel.co.nz/index.cfm/Doubtfulovernight
After feeling refreshed and blessed to have experienced the last few days, we head back to Queenstown. We planned one more adventure for our stay in Queenstown. This one is consider the ultimate jump. I’m referring to Sky Diving. Sarah and I were quite nervous, but we relaxed for a half-hour at the hotel to calm the nerves. Unfortunately when we arrived a the sky dive shop, the weather did not cooperate and our trip was postponed. We are schedule to jump tomorrow morning before we leave town.
We channeled our adventure spirit into some runs down the downhill luge course, a gondola ride and a quick mini-golf round. Then it was back to the hotel for a quick nap before dinner.
This morning we woke up to mostly sunny skies, which meant our sky diving adventure with nzone was a go. Sarah and I arrived at the shop around 9:30 AM where we signed our lives away and then watched a video overview of what we were about to do. Around 10:15 a shuttle bus took us on the 30-minute ride to the drop zone. There we watched as 5 or 6 groups took off and landed before it was our turn. Finally we were up. A 15-20 minute flight in a small plane gets you to the 12,000 foot jumping altitude. Fully secured to our tandem guide we made the leap. Sarah first and myself second. A videographer, whom we paid to capture this adventure on film, followed us. After a 45-second freefall and 2 minutes of paragliding we were both safely on the ground. The rush that is received after leaving that plane at 12000 feet is only passed by the feeling of safety when the parachute is open and your feet touch down. This is experience is a must. As one of our friends from London announced, “It was brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.” Sarah and I both agreed. A quick lunch and a beer to calm the nerves and Sarah and I headed to the airport to catch our flight to Auckland.
http://www.skydivetandem.co.nz/
Today we are on our way to a small town called Russell in the Bay of Islands. The Bay of Islands are a string of nearly 150 islands that are uninhabited in the Northland region of the North Island. Along the East Coast of the North Island, these islands blessed with moderately warm temperatures year round and were an excellent spot for the final five days of our holiday.
A four-hour bus ride took Sarah and I to Paihia, just across the bay from Russell. A short ferry ride and we arrived in Russell. The small town of approximately 800 full time residents blossoms to nearly 3000 visitors during the prime summer months, but still lives up to its tag line as “Romantic” Russell. Sarah and I were lucky enough to be staying in one of the best bed and breakfast lodges in town. On hill above Russell stands the Kimberely Lodge a beautiful white colonial style house with the best chef in the area.
Complete rest and relaxation. These days were filled with sunshine, good company and excellent
meals. At this point we did not need
any more activities so it was perfect.
In our final day at the Bay of Islands, we did decided to take a swim
with dolphin cruise. We had thoroughly
enjoyed the dolphins in the Fiordland and couldn’t pass up another chance to
see these beautiful animals. Within 30
minutes of leaving the wharf we came across a pod of at least 50 bottlenose
dolphins, the largest of dolphins. They
were quite playful, coming right up to the boat and jumping 3-4 feet out the
water. Unfortunately these dolphins had
young dolphins with them so were unable to swim with this group. We stayed with this pod for nearly 40
minutes and were able to capture some excellent video and photography. Afterwards we moved on to try to locate some
more bottlenose or common dolphins and maybe a whale. Unfortunately we were unable to find any more wildlife other that
some large schools of fish. We did
manage to cruise out to the edge of the ocean and past the hole in the rock, a
large rock with a hole big enough to allow boats to pass through. Although we did not get to swim with the
dolphins and failed to find more wildlife we enjoyed perfect weather and the
beautiful scenery. We were not
disappointed.
Wednesday, January
23, 2002 – Russell, Bay of Islands
On our final day. Today we had a long journey. We would be leaving the Bay of Islands around 12:30PM on the 23rd and travel by land, sea and air for 26 hours to arrive in Denver at 5:45PM on the 23rd. Our plane from Auckland actually left at 8:45PM, but arrived in Denver at 5:45PM. It is amazing that the ingenuity of man allows us to travel so fast halfway around the world that you arrive before you left. Our trip consisted of a 20-minute ferry ride, a 4-hour bus ride, a 45-minute shuttle bus ride, a 11 ˝ hour plane ride, a two hour layover in LA, another 2 ˝ hour plane ride and 30-minute car ride with Sarah’s mother home. Except for arriving 45 minutes late in Auckland our trip went without a hitch. We even managed to score a $50 gift certificate each for future travel with United Airlines. Unbelievable!
Overall, this was the most amazing trip that either Sarah and I have taken. We loved every minute of the trip and enjoyed being together. I feel extremely lucky to have someone so special to travel with. We learned a lot this trip about each other, our dreams, other cultures, the people of New Zealand and most of all how to appreciate life. We are truly lucky to have the life that we do. Sarah and I are very thankful for all that we have. We want live our lives to the fullness, enjoy every moment, see as much of the world as we can and most of all never forget how special life is. I hope we are fortunate enough to take another trip like this one day.
THE END….(for now)
.