New Zealand Recap on Nov. 27

Wednesday Nov. 21
Nelson Lakes Area hiking
So we all woke up pretty stiff and sore after our first day of backpacking. This is where I would like to thank God for snow in the mountains. If there had been no snow in the moutains we would have had to hike up and over the mountain- with our backpacks. Since there was snow and we couldn't get to the second hut we JUST went out hiking for 9 hours up half of a mountain- Ange thought 13 to 14 miles with our daypacks.- mine consisted of two cameras, rain coat, fleece, two bottles of water and lunch.
It was beautiful I'll admit. There were 8 of us hiking plus the two guides. I was at the tail end of a group of 5- we were called the "National Geographic group" since we went a bit slower and took a lot of photos- Christina, Patty, Valerie, Me and Ange. But at the end of the day, I had no energy for photos, I was only trying to survive!
It was gorgeous- mountains, streams, waterfalls, trees. We drank water from the mountain streams. We crossed several streams/rivers where the water would go over the waterproof boots. At the end of the day I actually poured water out of my boots. Poured it. And then squeezed water out of my socks. And now I have really awful nasty blisters on my heels. But at the end of the day it was still awesome. Lots of good memories. We crossed a swing bridge that only allowed for one person at a time. Again that night we were in the hut with a different group of New Zealand girls. And again the food was amazing just by the virtue of being food.

Thursday Nov. 22
We hiked out around the other side of the lake with our backpacks- a 4 hour hike I beleive. I actually took a shower in a campground shower- not something I would normally do because I'm picky about my showers but after 2 days of hiking and no showers, it was necessary. So anyway, we met up with the kayakers and drove for a few hours to Charleston and had fish and chips- yumyum. And I had a organic fruit juice that was amazing. So we headed to the west coast and stoped in Punakiki. That evening we went out on the beach and watched the sunset. The weather here has been awesome the whole time. So great. The only time it rained we were in Bert (the bus) so it didn't matter at all.
On the beach we found a dead shark, a dead cow (go figure) and a dried starfish.

Friday Nov. 23
Started the day with some pancakes. We hiked through the Punakiki in the rain forest. River crossing first thing. Gorgeous ferns, fern trees, streams. We stopped at a river for a stone skipping contest. Patty and I got way behind taking so many photos. We meander through the forest- not hike. After "hiking" for maybe 3-4 hours we went to see the pancake rocks which are these stacks of roacks that look like they're layered. Pretty cool. I had a latte here and I think they believe in a lot of foam in New Zealand because I had to eat it with a spoon. I made my first souveniour purchase here -"The Whale Rider" book. I love the movie. Then we went on to Hokitika where there are a lot of craftsman that carve jade. It was pretty. Then we traveled on to Okarito. Population 35. The rooms were so artsy with nice stones and photos everywhere. Awesome dinner again with Morrocan chicken with dates, couscous and salad. You'll notice that I do write about food a lot- because I love to eat!

Saturday Nov. 24
Breakfast Burritos! Then kayaking on the Okarito lagoon. It was very calm and flat when we started- the water a gray color. You navigate through the lagoon going around these tall skiny sticks and then into a chanel that goes into the rainforest. We saw a few birds. As we came back out of the lagoon, the sun had come out but it was also very windy- a lot of work. The water turned a nice blue color and it was all pretty but Patty and I ran out of steam and had to have the the kayaking guide bring us back in. I felt like we were moving backwards- paddling as hard ad we could! That afternoon we had free to do what we wanted so Paul (his wife is Joy) and I went ice wall climbing! It was awesome. It's like the climbing wall at the Y except covered in ice and you use two ice axes and crampons on your boots. You have to swing the axes into the wall and then shove the front of your boot in the wall and move up that way. It was great. Ange did it too. Then when we got back to Okarito I went for a solitary walk on the coast. It was a sandy and rocky coast so I got to see lots of nice textured rocks with mollusks on them. And I sat out on a rock on the beach and wrote in my journal. Trying to think if I'd ever walked on an ocean beach by myself like that before. . . it was nice- no destination, no pressing time limit. Ahhh. Just time to be.
We had thanksgiving dinner that night ( a day late)- lamb, parsnips, potatoes, asparagus, pumpkin, yams. I'm liking trying all the new food. I still don't like yams though. Or mussells.
Just a side note on Okarito- there are only 4 or 5 children there. With two expecting. They have to take their kids 20 minutes away to a small school were there are two classes- one for junior and one for senior (I'm not sure of the ages) 40 kids in the whole school with two teachers. One of the teachers is also the principal. The mother we talked to isn't sure what she's going to do when her son is high school aged because there isn't a high school around there. They may move.
It's just amazing all this beautiful country and it's so remote. The beaches are empty.

Sunday Nov. 25th
We hiked several hours up to the terminal face of a glacier today! A glacier. Franz Josef. It is formed in a valley with water running out from it in a tunnel. We had a picnic in front of it. It was kind of dirty looking. I guess the glaciers in New Zealand are actually advancing instead of receeding. Waterfalls all over the place. We made a few scenic spots during the day and then stayed in Makarora. Also a population in the 30s. The place we stayed was called "The Homestead" they were raising deer, sheep, chickens etc. There was a 2 week old lamb running around the place and a baby goat testing out his legs. Another gorgeous mountain view. We hung out that evening at the local pub. And a few of our group sang some karoke. Played some ping pong.

Monday Nov. 26th and Tuesday Nov. 27th
I'm getting kind of tired of typing so the descriptions are getting a bit short but just know it's all been beautiful and awesome. The people are great. We're all getting along really well.
We went for a hike yesterday morning up a mountain to see a view of Lake Wanaka and Lake something else. Then we drove on to Queenstown. We were free for the afternoon to do what we wanted and I obviously wrote on here. Tried some shopping. I wanted to get a bunch of gifts but everything is either a $100 or a bunch of crap. I'm still working on it for the rest of the afternoon. Had some good ole Thai food for dinner last night followed by some wine with Valerie and Patty. Now I'm headed out in search of some Sushi. I kind of like rambling about on my own. No one can get annoyed with how long I take!

I may not be in again so I'll see you next week!