(Written Oct 17, referring to Oct 15)

Two years ago, October 15 2005, Melody and I became husband and wife. To celebrate, I planned a day of activities that would be near and dear to her heart. Not everything went as planned but the day was a smashing success nonetheless. I’m a little worried about next year’s anniversary… how am I going to top a day in New Zealand?

Orana Wildlife Park

To start, we headed out to Orana Wildlife Park. It’s like a zoo, but different. I’m not sure how it’s different, but it wasn’t called a zoo so I assume there was a reason.

The drive to the park took us around the Christchurch airport and into a more heavily wooded area. As we rounded one bend there was a brief break in the tree line and I positively squealed like a schoolgirl when I saw the snow-capped tips of the Southern Alps off in the distance. I’ve seen mountains a million times before, but seeing the sunlight glint off the white peaks was a treat just the same.

The wildlife park was decent. (I’m not much of a zoo person, but Mel liked it).  At least the weather was pleasant and there weren’t many other people there. The highlight of the day was the Lion Encounter: for an additional $15 per person you could tag along for an up-close, in-your-face view of the lion feeding. Basically, they loaded 20 people into a steel cage, hitched it up to a truck, and then drove into the lion enclosure. Then, a park worker inside the cage with us began tossing chunks of raw meat to four very large and very hungry lions. The lions were on all sides of the cage AND on top of it. Steel bars or not, it’s quite unnerving to have a ginormous battle-scarred lion crouch a foot above your head, look you in the eyes, and snarl. The message was very clearly “I’ll take this already dead stuff if I have to, but put just one pinky toe outside that cage and I’m having man-sushi tonight!”

It was an amazing experience. For me, the best part was when two of the lions had a mild disagreement over which of them was going to eat a certain piece of meat. We had quite the ringside seat as they sorted it out :)

Click here for Orana Wildlife Park photos. 

Punting in the Park and the Botanic Gardens

The Avon River runs right through the center of downtown Christchurch. Its banks are host to flora, fauna, park benches and the amazingly well-kept Botanic Gardens. The river isn’t deep at all and a number of companies offer guided "punts" down the river. A punt is a narrow wooden boat similar to a canoe. A punter stands on the back of the boat and uses a long wooden pole to propel and steer the boat for the benefit of its passengers.

This struck my fancy as a romantic thing to do before dinner, so I made a 4:30pm reservation. Unfortunately we were given flawed directions and by the time we finally found the push off place, it was too late. (The walk through Christchurch city center was pleasant though, so no biggie)

Since we missed the punt we strolled over to the Botanic Gardens and spent an hour or so wandering amongst them. The gardens were awesome… Christchurch makes Columbus look downright depressing.

And finally, dinner at Strawberry Fare

To finish off the night we had dinner at Strawberry Fare, a restaurant famous for its decadent desserts. For once I don’t have anything negative to say about the food… our dinners were fantastic, the wine was like "velvet" (in Mel’s words) and dessert was worth every calorie. Service was great, and I didn’t even have to tip! (There’s no tipping here… it rocks)

Tired, happy and with full bellies we made the 15 minute drive back to our B&B. We were soon asleep, both of us dreaming of an incredible day in an amazing city.

Click here for more Christchurch photos.

Next: we travel south to Lake Tekapo! 

If you actually wanted to hug a tree why not make it one that is 400 years old and only found in the exact spot you happen to be standing?  I figured I would live up to my tree hugging persona and hug a tree and have my photo taken.  I did just that.  I hugged a Kauri tree.  They are the biggest, not the tallest trees in NZ.   They produce the most timber.  They grow very slowly so they thrive on the steep slopes and ridge tops where most trees don’t grow.  That is why they are so thick.  The Kauri tree can be traced back to the dinosaur age!   That is my kind of tree.  The Kauri is what attracted people to this part of the island.  It was used to make a lot of boats and housing since it is so straight and strong.  I even saw a Siamese Kauri. 

Ignoring the risk of being teased for the rest of my life, I love trees!  I really do.  The grove is on the famous 309 road that is unsealed (Kiwi word for dirt road) and windy.  You pass some not so appealing parts (clear cutting and junk) and then you stop at this little opening in the forest and walk on in.  I had to leave Seth in the car because where we parked was a graveyard of broken window glass.  The last thing we needed was to have someone steal our luggage.  It was probably safe because we were there early in the morning but why tempt fate more?  I walked in and it was like stepping into another world.  All I could hear were birds, running water and the crunch of my shoes on the dirt and leaves.  It was a 10 minute walk in to the grove.  I rounded a corner and there they were.  Having never seen a Kauri tree I wasn’t sure I would notice them since there were so many trees around.  Believe me I noticed.  They are magnificient!  Truly breathtaking.  It’s like they are the watchers of the forest.  The tops of all of the other trees are there and then several feet up, STRAIGHT UP, is the top of the Kauri tree.  I walked on and up some stairs and got up close and personal with one and gave it a big hug.  It made my heart happy.  I really wished Seth was with me.  It rained at that moment but the top of the tree was so think I didn’t get wet.   I even giggled when I hugged the thing and you know what, it was SOFT.  The bark was actually soft to the touch.  How cool is that?

I couldn't stay forever so I stopped by the Siamese Kauri, said hello and good bye and went out to see my wonderful husband.  By the way wasn't it sweet of him to offer to stay with the car while I went in because he knows how much I love trees?  He didn’t even say it with a snicker or anything.  What a guy!

 

Everyone knows I am not a beach person but Seth is.  On our first morning in Coromandel Seth got up before sunrise.  Now don't die of shock, it wasn't hard as we seem to be going to bed early and getting up even earlier.  He wanted to get sunrise on the beach pictures.  I decided to join him and when I got there I had an overpowering urge to collect seashells.  They were everywhere and they were whole and big compared to what I found in Hawaii or California.  I couldn't stop picking them up. 

At one point I felt like the sea was giving me presents.  I stood next to some rocks and watched the waves come in and for a bit, yup I said bit, a wave would wash up a seashell.  I am not kidding, the sea gave me seashells.  Now the Seth logical part of my brain told me that judging by the abundance of shells already on the beach that the sea was not giving me presents it was simply doing what it always does and washing things ashore.  At that point my heart brain kicked the logical brain's ass and went with the sea is giving me presents deal.  I am sticking with that one.

Needless to say I now have a shoe box full of shells to bring home.  Oh happy day.

 

We spent Friday and Saturday nights at the Kuaotunu Bay Lodge B&B. The accomodations were great and Bill and Lorraine were excellent hosts. After the big-city feel of Auckland it was nice to get out into the "country" and meet some real Kiwis. (Bill isn't technically a native, but he certainly seemed like one)

Early Morning Majesty
Saturday morning (10/13) we got up early to take photos on the beach at dawn. I'm not normally a morning person, but there was something magical about standing on the beach, dead quiet, witnessing God's paintbrush transform the night sky into sunrise. As I stood on the beach, watching the sea deliver its presents to Melody in the form of seashell upon seashell, I reaffirmed my decision to leave the tragedies of Auckland behind me. I am too blessed to do otherwise: here I stand, majestic mountains behind me, vast seas before me and a beautiful woman beside me... can a man want for more? I feel loved and awed, and and I am thankful.

Afternoon Delights
After a fantastic breakfast we head out towards the coastal town of Whitianga. I spent an hour or two cancelling my credit card and other errands related to our Auckland misfortune, and then we eat lunch at a local burger joint. Once again, I get the impression that my idea of a proper hamburger differs significantly from the Kiwi idea of a proper hamburger. At least this time there's no weird potato fritter!

After lunch we head over to the High Zone adventure course. This place was pretty sweet... it consists of a number of "challenges" such as a tight-rope crossing, log crossing and trapeeze stunt, all roughly 50 feet above the ground! Melody and I both did the 3-wire challenge, crossing a tightrope while holding on to two guidelines. I thought it was a good warmup for the remaining challenges but she declared that one was enough, thank you very much, and that she'd just watch from that part out :) She did a really good job though, the 3-wire is harder than you'd think.

After the 3-wire I did the log crossing (very hard to take the first few steps, because there was no guideline to hold onto!) and then the trapeeze stunt. For the trapeeze I climbed atop a log pole maybe 50 feet high and then jumped off, grabbing hold of a trapeeze bar that seemed like it was miles away. Finally, I climbed atop a platform, attached a cable to my safety harness, and jumped off... eventually the cable grew taught and I entered a graceful arc, a human pendulum swinging back and forth amongst the North Island countryside.

All in all the High Zone was a lot of fun. It was a lot more challenging than you might expect, and I think it was good practice for the mental battle I'll face on the Canyon Swing in Queenstown.

Change of evening plans
There's fierce weather coming in, so we decide to head back to the B&B early rather than risk being caught in unfamiliar territory during a storm. The weather prevents me from taking the sunset pictures I was looking forward to, but it does afford me some much needed relaxation. Mel and I curled up with our books at the B&B and let the real world drift fall away behind us.

Click here for more Kuaotunu pictures and here for more High Zone pictures.

Just a quick hello to everyone that has commented here on the blog or sent us an email. It's been really nice to receive hellos, well wishes and comments on our posts and pictures.

I am constantly amazed at the power of technology. Marrying a certified tree hugger has made me more aware of the downsides to progress and industrialization, but at heart I am a technologist. I love the idea that I can sit on a couch in Christchurch, listening to new age music and drinking a fair amount of wine, and at the same time communicate with friends, family and loved ones half a world away. It almost seems like cheating that we can enjoy the splendors of a remote corner of the globe without ever saying goodbye to those we hold dear.

More posts and pictures are coming soon... I'm about 3 days behind in my blogging, but we've been having a FANTASTIC time in Christchurch and I haven't had much downtime.

More stuff coming soon...

Goodbye Auckland! (and good riddance)

We left Auckland Friday morning headed east to the Coromandel Peninsula with an eventual destination of Kuaotunu. After a few disruptions we finally made it out of the city. Outside the city limits the landscapes opened up into wide expanses of verdant pastureland alternating with grass-covered foothills. The flatlands and hills alike were dotted with cows, trees, more cows and a few horses… and then a few more cows. The grassland seems greener here than back home, and there are no overgrown thickets to be found. Apparently a herd of hungry cows is the best lawn service available… I’m thinking of buying a few when I get home :)

Thames / Butterfly and Orchid Gardens

The city of Thames sits at the southwest tip of the Coromandel Peninsula, just as the road turns north and heads up the coast towards Coromandel town. We stopped for lunch at a local eatery where I ordered my usual hamburger: lettuce, tomato and onion only. They looked at me like I had just asked for a glass of cheese or a plate of milk… apparently they do burgers differently over here. We finally straightened out my order, but I guess they didn’t understand the "only" part. They went ahead and added ketchup (which is fine), mayo (which I scraped off, ug!), and a potato fritter of equal size to the burger, upon which the burger rested. Weird, but edible. Melody loved her meat pies and other assorted nastiness.

Just north of Thames is a small local attraction that looked interesting. It is a small greenhouse in which 400 butterflies flit and flutter freely amongst various types of orchids. It was very relaxing and Mel purchased our first souvenir of the trip: a boxed (preserved) butterfly with some amazing colorations.

White-knuckle mountain crossing

After Thames, the highway runs north along the west coast of the peninsula all the way to Coromandel town. And I mean right along the coast, which made for great viewing but tense driving. It got scarier when we got into the mountains and had to navigate narrow, winding roads with hairpin turns while driving on the wrong left side of the road.

It was worth it though, as the scenic lookouts offered some amazing views of the harbors below. It was nice to be out of the city and surrounded by natural beauty, and I could feel myself finally beginning to relax.

Click here for more pictures from our drive to our Kuaotunu B&B.

Up next: an awesome B&B overlooking the beach and adventure activities high above the ground.

 

After discovering that we’d lost most of our travel cash, we experienced the emotional trauma one might associate with such an event. There was gnashing of teeth, pulling of hair, fisticuffs with inanimate and innocent objects and violent exclamations of curse 1words. The feelings of loss and regret were suffocating.

At least, that’s how I reacted (obviously, "hair pulling" is just an expression in this case). For reasons I can only barely understand, Melody seemed almost unaffected. I don’t know if it’s the magical hold this country has over her, or if she just sensed that I was reeling in despair and desperately needed her to be steady, but for whatever reason she did not gnash her teeth, pull her hair, or assault inanimate objects in a rage. Nor did she then, or ever, blame me for the litany of mistakes I’ve made in this mess. She simply pronounced that it was only money, that we’d paid off a metric crapload of debt already, so we shouldn’t worry about charging our remaining expenses, and that we should get on with our vacation. What’s done was done; all we could control was how we let it affect us. (Hmm… sounds familiar…)

This is why I married that woman. In those moments when I lose my perspective, when I lose my ability to think rationally, I can always count on her to help me get centered. She is a Godsend in so many ways.

So that’s the last I’m going to write on the subject. From this point forward it’s nothing but happy posts and beautiful pictures from the South Island.  Onward, ho!

Auckland SUCKED. 

First, I lose my passport. But then I find it, whew. Then Mel almost gets hit by a truck crossing a street. But they stop in time, whew. Then $3000 in cash and my credit card are stolen!!!! Our hotel room didn't have a safe, so we put our envelope of cash and a spare credit card underneath the couch seat when we left the room for breakfast. In a very uncharacteristic move on my part, I forgot to retrieve it before we left the hotel!

We realized the mistake about 30 minutes down the road and called the hotel, but they claim they couldn't find it in the room. The room was cleaned just after we checked out at 10:00am, so either the cleaning crew stole it or the guy at the front desk, whom I called and explained the situation to, stole it. So far the hotel isn't being too helpful so we've filed a police report, but I don't know what to expect.

I'm having a real tough time with this. Fortunately we've booked all our main activities and accomodations, so this was just our food and spending money, but it still represents about a years worth of saving. And since we basically emptied our savings account to finance the trip, we're going to have to dip back into credit to finish the vacation. It sucks, but I'm trying not to let it ruin the trip. 

Lessons learned:

1. Carry traveler's cheques, exchange them for cash in increments.
2. Carry travel insurance, even if it seems like a waste.
3. Have your travel money surgically grafted to your skin so you can't leave it in a friggin couch like a retard.

The kicker is that its 24 hours later and I still can't find a way to call 5th 3rd to report the card stolen. My calling card doesn't seem to work. Ug!

I'm trying hard to stay positive in the face of a very rough vacation so far. Fortuantely Coromandel seems to be treating us better, I'll have some good pics to post when we get to Christchurch. Pray for us... we need some good mojo!! 

Our stay in Auckland was brief. I had a tough time adjusting to driving on the left, so I let Mel take the keys. She did much better. We took a cab over to Mission Bay but we didn't stay as long as I'd wanted. It got cold and rainy, and after killing a bottle of wine at dinner we just had the restaurant call us a cab back to the hotel. I'm expecting (hoping!) that once we get to the Coromandel B&B I'll be able to relax a little more, and find some better photo ops.

I don't know when I'll blog next... I don't think we'll have Internet access in Coromandel, so I might be off the grid until Christchurch.

Yup, lost my passport. Already. Didn't even make it out of the Auckland airport. Lovely.

I discovered it was missing after checking into the hotel (after a harrowing drive on the left hand side of the road) and nearly had a heart attack. Fortunately, we've tracked it down.... I left it on a vendor's counter at the airport. So instead of exploring Auckland today, we're driving back to the airport to get the one single thing you CAN'T misplace while traveling.