Upon arrival in New Zealand we first had to determine our mode of transportation around the country. We thought about buying a car and selling it when we were ready to leave but that would require time to buy and sell and we weren’t willing to sacrafice any of our precious six weeks. New Zealand offers many backpacker bus options but the thought of driving around with a bunch of 19 year olds on a pub crawl wasn’t exactly what we were looking for. So we decieded to hitch-hike. After spending one day in Auckland to gear ourselves up for camping (tent, pads, stove …)we headed for the south island. Our luck hitching the first day was pretty good as we made it half way down the island as we had hoped. The second day we did have a three hour wait that had us wondering if we had made the right decision on transport but we got rescued by sister Mary Martin (the patron saint of hitch-hikers). Sister Mary Martin was a 70 year old nun in less than traditional dress who told us she had been picking up hitchers for 30 years. This ride got us to Wellington where we caught the ferry to the south island. We embarked immediately onto our first tramp (not to be confused with a trek or a hike). Our five days along the Queen Charolette Walkway enjoying expansive views and beautiful bays were wondeful including the last day at Lochmara Lodge with free kayaks and other assorted toys. From here we headed down the west coast as the weather was good which usually doesn’t last too long around there. Working our way down to the glaciers that come spilling out of the mountains we were impressed to see glaciers and palm trees in the same view. These glaciers are fueled by the incredible rainfall this coast recievs (up to 6 meters of rain a year). Our second tramp was up the Copland Valley for three days enjoying alpine scenery, crystal clear (almost freakishly so) streams, and natural hot springs. It was here that we were reunited with two lasses from Scotland, Hellen and Kate who had given us a ride a few days earlier. We ended up hiking out with them and catching a ride to Queenstown. Queenstown is the adrenaline capital of N.Z. where you can bungy jump, parasail, fly by wire (some rocket sled thing), jet boat…When your wallet and your adrenile glands are empty you can relax by the lake and enjoy the scenery. We decided to skip the action adventure activities and instead headed for the Routeburn Track. This varied tramp offers scenery including alpine vistas and plush rain forest. The end of the Routeburn Track puts you just a hop away from the famous Milford Sound. Milford is probably the most famous destination in NZ. We did an evenig paddle/walk and a morning paddle on the sound that were both spectacular. This is one destination that defenetly lives up to its reputation. Our tramping shoes got packed away and we headed for the east coast. Highlights of the east coast included Omaru, a small town of about 10,000 souls with many maticulously restored limestone buildings and a stunning public garden. We spent a pleasant evening here exploring the town and observing seals and penguins on the beach. Next stop Christchurch were we had the good fortune to stay with the Starr family. Our tume in Christchurch was spent experiencing the city and the Banks penninsula (by car and horseback). We visited the Priestly family (one of my profs from UCSD) for a wondeful dinner overlooking the ocean and then started north again. Our friends Garth and Kris from Australia had given us the name of a relative who runs a farm on the north end of the south island. We visited Janna and Chris for several days and had a blast mustering sheep and watching a real farm in action. This completed our five weeks on the south island. We now had to see what we could accomplish in one week on the north island. Our first stop after a day of travel (ferry, train, bus, bus, ferry) was the little town of Russell on the bay of islands. We rented two kayaks and paddled around the bay for a day of great weather sight seeing. You instantly know that the north island is where the population is concentrated, much more action up here than down south. The Kauri forests of the west coast were our next stop with huge trees (17 meter circumference) rivaling the “big trees” in California. Our last days in N.Z. were spent in an aborted attemt to do an overnight horse treck. The weather was not great which was a good thing because after a two hour ride we couldn’t have imagined a two day ride on these horses. All in all New Zealand was a magical expierience with the nicest people we have encounterd anywhere. It was not rare for people to pick us up hitching and ask us if we wanted a tour of the area or if we neede to get any supplis at the store. We will defenetly return and spend several months with a car so that we can find some of the out of the way nooks that we were not able to get into hitching. Next updates from Europe keep tuned!
© 1998 michele_drew@hotmail.com
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