South Island Camper Adventures

Time for the South Island! 

Hike coming back from Milford Sound

We got back in our car and drove off the boat. We were headed to Murchison, but on our way there we saw so many vineyards on both sides of us so we decided we had to stop at one. We did a tasting and decided to buy a bottle of Marlbourough's best known wine- savignon blanc. Then we headed towards Murchison where we took a walk across new Zealand's longest swing bridge-- it was pretty neat but a little underwhelming. We walked around the area and then headed towards Westport where we would stay for the evening. We stayed at a campsite right near the beach and close to a nearby seal colony. That evening we took a coastal walk near the beach to see the seals and admire the sunset and waves crashing against the rocks. We headed back and relaxed for the evening.

The next morning we decided that with the beach near by we should try to get a workout in. I did a run along the beach while Sara did a stationary workout. It was so pretty on the beach and the sand was so smooth. We then had nice warm showers and headed out on the road to punakaiki where the famous pancake rocks and blow hole are located. We got there a little early and had until noon, which is when high tide was to see the rocks and blow hole. We did a little exploring in a cave and walked down along a river. We then went to the rocks and they were really neat- they were stacked on top one another like pancakes and when the waves crashed against them it was just beautiful. We saw the waves crash through the rocks to create the blow hole effect. We then got back on the road towards Arthur's Pass. Arthur's pass is between two mountain ranges and is surely very beautiful. The bummer is that it was so cloudy we could barely see the mountains until we were standing right in front of one. It was pouring rain as well. We got to the i site and asked what they recommended. She said there are two short hikes we could do so even though it was raining We thought we would give them a go. We hiked through the rain, though through some points the trees sheltered us! We got to the first lookout point which was called the Devil's Punchbowl and was a 131 meter waterfall- it was absolutely beautiful! Even with the rain it was still stunning. We then hiked to the next lookout point which was a view of the mountains and River, much of which was covered with clouds, but still lovely. We then got back into our home and headed towards the town of Hokitika, but we got there past 5 and almost everything was closed, and it was pouring so much we couldn't go to the beach. So we decided to get back into Lucky and head towards Franz Joseph, where we would stay for the night. We got there and it was still pouring so we decided the best thing to do would be get a beer. We sat down for a while and also chatted with two guys from the UK before hoping back in our van for an evening of freedom camping. 

In the morning we were crossing our fingers the clouds would clear but no luck. Franz Joseph is known for glaciers but unfortunately because of the cloudy weather we couldn't see any. However, we were determined to make the most of our day regardless of the rainy weather. We tried to go on a walk to see a glacier but our walked stopped shortly because as we were attempting to find the glacier amidst the clouds, the land in front of us broke off from the earth and was washed away in the river. Because of the ridiculous amount of rain, the river was flooding and wiping out the land, it even pulled a pole into the water. So we decided to continue walking past the eroded land. Just kidding! We turned around and headed back to our home. We continued on to fox glacier in hopes it would be a little less cloudy 30 minutes south. Nope, still cloudy. We went on a walk around Lake Matheson, which is supposed to have beautiful reflections of the mountains, but because we couldn't see the mountains there were also no reflections. We still enjoyed the hike and made the most of the rainy day! After getting a bite to eat, we hopped back in our car and headed to Wanaka.  

We found a camping site in Wanaka, got a good shower in and then went out for a drink. We finally tried the NZ beer everyone talked about and it was actually delicious- Speight's Gold Medal Ale. After hanging out for a bit we got some sleep because we were planning on going sky diving the next day. Unfortunately we got up and the clouds were not in favor of us jumping out of a plane. While it wasn't raining, it was too cloudy to jump. Thankfully it wasn't raining so we could have an adventurous day! We decided to go on a hike to the top of Mount Iron which took a little over an hour and had great views, minus some of the clouds. Wanaka is so pretty because of it's big lake surrounded by mountains. After our hike we stopped at this place called A Puzzling World  which had some illusion rooms that we would have had to pay to enter, so we stuck with sitting in the cafe and doing the free puzzles on all the tables- it was a really neat place! 

We then walked around for a bit and explored the town before heading to a winery for a free wine tasting! On our way to the winery we stopped to see a famous tree known as #thatwanakatree because it is a random tree that is in their lake. 

At the winery we tried a few different wines, learned about bio-dynamic ecosystems, and then sat back and enjoyed the beautiful view from the winery of the lake and mountains. After the winery we headed towards Queenstown. It was a short drive, so when we arrived we grabbed dinner at Loco Cantina for cheap mexican food and explored the cute little town. 

The next morning we went on a canyoning adventure. Sara and I had both gone canyoning in Switzerland before and knew we wanted to do it again. We got up early and got on a bus to go to the routeburn canyon. It was the first day they were able to go out in around a week, so we were so happy the water levels were ok for us to go out! We went on a hike to the top of the canyon and then began working our way down by jumping over waterfalls, rappelling, and sliding- it was a blast! The water was freezing but our wetsuits kept us warm-ish!

We got back to town and wanted a snack so we got garlic cheesy naan that someone in our canyon group had recommended. We then did some more exploring but we're pretty pooped so we got an early night of sleep because we were hopeful that the next day would be good weather to sky dive.

We woke up and I looked out the window and for the first time in a while, the sky was blue!! We met at the sky dive place early and it sounded like we'd be able to go!! They hadn't sent a group in the past week because of the winds, so we were pumped that we made it just in time! We drove out to the land that the skydive company used- there were 9 of us total, 3 groups of 3, and Sara and I were in the last group, and I of course, was the last one out of the plane. I really wanted to go before Sara so she could  give me positive vibes but the guy said they have an order for us and I would be last. We got suited up and when it was our turn we hopped into a very little plane. So little that all 6 of us were squished in there sitting on the floor. We were each attached to an experience guide with the parachute. Sara had sky dived before and said I had to do it so I figured if I would ever sky dive, it should be in one of the most beautiful places in the world. The plane ride up we so beautiful. Then my guide, Olly, explained to me the process of what would happen once we reached 15,000 feet. I liked the idea of skydiving because I didn't have to worry about anything- I had zero control. I also didn't like that I didn't have control. We were at 15,000 feet and they opened the plane door. The first girl was basically sucked out of the plane with her guide, then shortly after Sara jumped out, and then the door shut. My guide went over and opened it back up we sat on the edge and I looked towards the sky as we rolled out and flipped around until I was facing the clouds and felt all of the wind rushing against my face. We free fell for about a minute and then Olly pulled the parachute. We glided around for a little and he let me control some of our turns which was really fun! We had a smooth landing and I couldn't believe how quickly it all happened! 

After we got back Sara and I decided to go on a hike! But first, our driver had recommended a Mediterranean place for lunch called Hebab's and it was so delicious, it reminded me of med cafe in Madison! We had enough fuel to do a two hour hike up a super steep hill doing the tiki track. Most people take the gondola up to see the beautiful view of Queenstown but we thought we save the money and be active and hike up. It was super strenuous and we had to stop a lot but we made it to the top!

After our hike we did a few last walks around queenstown and then headed to Milford sound. It took about 4 hours to get there! And two of those hours were straight down the Milford sound highway. We arrived late at night and none of the lodges were open- thankfully we pulled up to one that still had some lights on. I went inside and found a guy who worked there, he said normally it's very risky to do freedom camping in the area, but he said his boss was out of town so we could park in his spot- he also let us use the lodge's bathroom- BONUS!!. We saw the beautiful starry night and got to sleep.

We woke up excited for our kayak adventure- a sunriser classic with roscoe's kayaks. It was a beautiful morning- even our guide olive was shocked at how nice it was, she said it usually rains 2/3 days there and that we were really lucky! We deserved it after the past couple of cloudy days we had. We had a nice group with a German couple, a British couple, and a Canadian couple. We kayaked through the sounds and they were beautiful. We learned that the sounds aren't actually sounds, but rather fiords- hence the name fiorland national park. Fiords are large mountain like structures that go directly into the water- so steeply there isn't an edge to stand on. We also learned the Maori story for how the fiords came to be- I'll share what I remember:

One of the Maori god's sons was given a carving utensil for his birthday and told to create something beautiful. He tried many times and failed, on his final attempt, he created the Milford sounds. He also created a little bay so people could sit and enjoy the sounds. His family threw a large party for everyone to come and enjoy what their son had created. Then the mom became upset because too many people were coming and it became too crowded to enjoy. So, she decided to create a plague to keep people moving-- she created sand flies.

Sara and I had our first sand fly experience that morning when we were making our lunches in the morning- these little annoying bugs would not leave us alone and kept flying into our van. Now it all made sense, Milford sounds were amazing but I wouldn't be able to stay more than a couple days because by the end of our day there the bugs had eaten up my legs! 

We kayaked around, saw a 163 meter waterfall, and some adorable seal pups. Our guide olive said sometimes there are penguins but normally not during this time of the year.

We had our lunches in the middle of the sounds and when we kayaked back the Canadian guy in our group noticed something moving behind a rock. Yes my friends and family, IT WAS THE RARE FIORLAND CRESTED PENGUIN!!!! The second rarest penguin species and it's not even normally out- it must have known I was coming! ;) 

It was amazing- we sat and admired the penguin before it hopped away and then we returned to shore.

We got dressed and decided because it was so nice that we'd go on a hike! We did a three hour hike to Key Summit and it was so incredible beautiful at the top! We also met a nice couple from Iowa at the top that was fun to chat with!

We got back down and headed out of Milford sound towards Te anau. We would spend the night in Te anau, have a good shower and do our laundry!

We left early in the morning to go even farther south to Invercargill. This town was very interesting and as my friend Kirsty described it "backwards" to the rest of NZ. It was a little behind the times, however they do have the best ranked cafe in NZ, so we decided to have brunch there. I had Museli with Greek yogurt, roasted peaches, coconut, and raspberry sauce- it was delicious! We walked around the town a bit and stopped in some shops, but we didn't stay long because all the stores closed around 3pm--- and this was a Saturday!!

Anyways, we headed out to drive through the Catlins, which is a scenic route with lots of beautiful places to stop along the way! 

Our first stop was the most southern tip of the South Island, and the furthest south I have ever been! It was a beautiful lookout point and we enjoyed the scenery for a bit and then hopped back in our car. Our next stop was Cario Bay. We got to the bay and there are supposed to be Dolphins there, but sadly we didn't see any. I even went knee deep into the freezing water to try and spot one, but no luck! 

We the went on a short walk to a petrified Forrest-- one of 3 in the entire world! A petrified Forrest is basically a Forrest that was destroyed and now the remains are engrained into the sand on a beach. It was neat to see!

We then continued down the road and stopped at McLean falls. We did a 20 minute hike to a waterfall, and when we got there 2 guys told us that they had discovered a path to get to the top of the waterfall. Sara and I don't say no to adventures, so we climbed up to the top and what an awesome spot it was. Such a beautiful view and so peaceful up there. We soaked it all in and then got on our way because we had to make it to roaring bay by sunset to see the Penguins go to shore. We got there just in time to see the rarest species of penguin- the yellow eyed penguin- come from the water to their burrows. We saw about 3 Penguins but from far away- and we heard that the petrified Forrest we were at before also had a penguin colony that you could see from closer up. So the penguin lover in me suggested we go back there that night to see them leave their burrows in the morning. Thankfully Sara was on board so we headed back and found a spot to freedom camp for a couple of hours.

We got up at 5:30 am to make it to the petrified Forrest at sunrise. We walked over and sat on the beach waiting for about 20 minutes. Then we spotted (well Sara spotted because I didn't have my glasses) a yellow eyed penguin! We got a little closer but kept our distance because signs said to keep about 10 meters from them. We were the only ones on the beach. One Penguin quickly went from shore to water and three others sat on a nearby rock for us to observe. 2 were cleaning each other and making loud noises. We watched in awe. Then after maybe 20 minutes, they started hopping over towards the sea. Right when they entered the water, another penguin came out from behind the rocks. This one sat far away for a while and we watched it as it just laid on its belly. Then it came within just a few meters of us in a puddle and flopped down on its belly. Then after a long time it got up and slowly made its way to sea after a few flops- I think it's little foot was bad because it kept tripping. It was adorably unbalanced. We arrived at the beach at 6 and the final penguin entered the sea at 8:30. We spent 2.5 hours alone with the Penguins and it was amazing.

We then got on the road towards Dunedin- which is a town on the southern east coast. It's known as a university town and they have a Cadbury and speights factory there: chocolate and beer. Naturally, we signed up for tours of both places and skipped doing a hike for the day. After exploring the town for a bit we headed over to Cadbury where we had a tour with lots of samples of chocolate. We learned about crumb, which is a part of the chocolate they make, we learned about the iconic kiwi chocolates: pineapple lumps, pinky, and jaffas- we didn't really like any of them too much. We learned about the process of making chocolate and went into a silo and saw a chocolate fall- like a waterfall. 

Then we walked off a bit of our chocolate by taking a hike up the steepest street in the world- Baldwin street. Yes, the street was steep but in comparison to our hikes it was a piece of cake. 

After our walk we headed over to the speights brewery tour. We had tried speights gold medal ale at other bars in NZ so we were excited to learn more about it! The tour guide was great and told us about the beer making process as well as the history of speights. My favorite facts were that foundered speights was married to a woman leading the prohibition movement who disagreed with alcohol, and he died of alcohol poisoning. We saw where they used to produce the beer and where they currently produce the beer. Their chimney has a barrel of beer at the top! After the tour we had a great tasting of 6 different beers and we got to pour the tap beers ourselves! Then we went to the bar and hung out for a bit before going back to our home.

In the morning we headed out on one last nature adventure. We were planning on driving straight up the east coast to Christchurch but because we finally we're having good weather, we decided to take a detour. We drove to Mt. Cook, which is NZ's tallest mountain & also a small village with other mountains and glaciers.

We arrived, and after a mandatory I-site visit, we headed on our last hike of the trip. It took about 4 hours and was a relatively easy hike with beautiful views of snow capped mountains and glaciers along the way, as well as a lovely rushing river. 

When we arrived at the water at the bottom of the mountain we took a rest and had our granola bars. We hiked back and were really hungry because the granola bars definitely didn't fill us up! We were told there was a nearby cafe so we decided to check it out- the only issue was we couldn't find it! Mt. Cook was a very small village, and we literally drove around in circle and could not find it. We got out and asked 3 separate people, they all pointed us in the direction saying "it's right there" and we were having the biggest struggle. Finally we realized it was attached to a motel, we parked and choked down.

We had saved our bottle of wine that we bought in Marlbourough for our last night with lucky rookie, and we thought it was only appropriate to drink it with lucky in the back of our van. We had our side door slid open so we could admire the amazing star-filled sky. I was in awe and had never seen more stars in my life-- we were told that mt. Cook is one of the best places to see stars in the world, and now I understood why. We were lying in the van with our heads sticking out the side of the door... Guess what happened? I fell asleep. I don't remember, but Sara said she had to pull me back into the van. The view was just so perfect I couldn't look away.

We thought yesterday would be our last adventure, but we were wrong. About 15 minutes after leaving mt.cook, the engine light turned on. I was driving so I asked Sara to check the manual and see what to do. It said to call roadside assistance and luckily we had signal so she did. We told them where we were and they said to get off at the next exit in Twizel and go to the auto repair shop there. As I saw the sign for Twizel I began to turn and all of a sudden the wheel became extremely hard to turn and the gas wouldn't go. Luckily, there was a place to pull over. We got out of the car and noticed the entire van was smoking from underneath. I don't know much about cars but I know that's not a good sign. We called roadside assistance again and they said they would send a tow truck within the hour. Since we wouldn't need the pillows anymore, I grabbed mine out and laid off on the side of the road for a relaxing rest. A few cars passed by, but only one stopped to see if we were ok! 

Our tow truck came to the rescue and took us and "not so lucky" rookie to the auto shop. They said we could go walk around the town while they inspected the vehicle. We were able to walk through the entire town within about an hour- it was extremely small, had 2 cafes, 1 restaurant, 4 shops, and 2 grocery stores. We went back to the auto shop to hear the diagnosis. She asked where we were from and we said the states. She said, "do they use the F word there?" I said "Fuck?" She said, " yeah, your car is fucked." We all chuckled and then Sara called lucky rentals to see what our plan of action should be. 

Thankfully, we purchases insurance at the start of the trip. They said that since we were supposed to return the van that day they would just come and get us and drive us and the car back to Christchurch. We had about 4 hours to kill before the guy arrived so we cleaned out lucky rookie and packed our bags up! Then we went back to "town" and chilled at a cafe until we had to get back to the repair shop. Our rescue driver, Cam, arrived and he said he would be our personal driver/ your guide back to Christchurch. The only thing really on our agenda for the day was so go to lake Tekapo so he took us there and we were able to get out for some photos. He also took us to some other lookout spots along the way as well. It probably ended up being a good thing our car died because we didn't have to pay for gas on the way back, we didn't have to fill up the tank at the end when we got back to Christchurch, and we didn't have to figure out transportation to our airbnb for the night, we got dropped off and didn't have to worry about them inspecting our car either! 

We arrived to our airbnb host that evening and I wasn't sure what to expect. I had been communicating with the host and there were no photos but I was pretty sure I was communicating with an Asian woman. We got dropped off and the door was open so I walked in and there was an Indian man- I confirmed, is this 63 ... ? Yup. So we walked in and I dropped my bags off. 

There was also a white woman who I soon learned was a guest there from Minneapolis! Then there was a white man who I learned lives in that home. Then a few hours later an Asian woman came in who also lives there. Sara and I showered up and I did some laundry- it was our final night together in New Zealand. 

As we tucked ourselves in and had the lights off, someone started trying to open the door! We didn't know what to do so we just laid there- and then two people enter the house speaking another language. We had no clue who there were but we went to sleep anyways.

I told Sara to wake me up at 4am to say bye- our Airbnb host actually drove her to the airport at that hour. Soon after she left I was back asleep.

I woke up in the morning and it was the weirdest feeling not having Sara right next to me. After 18 days of waking up in a van with someone next you, it's weird to wake up alone!

And that's what I felt- alone, on the other side of the world. Except I wasn't alone, the bed I was sleeping on was in the living room where the front door is, right next to the kitchen, so I woke up to a french couple having breakfast and the Indian man at his computer desk right in front of me. Then the Asian women came in from the garden. 

I still felt alone so Thankfully the airbnb had wifi so I spent the morning reconnecting with some family and friends & looking up how to get around christchurch so I could do some exploring.

My hosts were around in the morning and all of them were very helpful in telling me how to navigate the public transport. I said I was going to head out and explore, and they told me I shouldn't carry my big bag with me, and that I could pick it up later. 

Backtrack-- I was supposed to leave christchurch this morning to head to my wwoofing destination in Motueka, but the bus tickets sold out so I had to buy one for the next day. My Airbnb hosts said they were full for that night, so I didn't know where I would stay. I remembered meeting a girl on our caving adventure in the north island who is from the states, but living in christchurch for the year. I had her email to send her a group photo, so I shot her a message asking for recommendations of things to do in christchurch and cheap places to stay. She wrote back quickly and welcomed me to stay at her flat.

Fast forward-- I told my airbnb hosts that it would be out of my way to come back to get my bags, and they graciously offered to hold onto my bags and drop them off at where I would be staying next. I was a little apprehensive to leave all of my belongings with complete strangers, but I threw caution to the wind and gave them the address of where they could drop it off.

I took the bus into town and was hungry for some foooooood! The city of christchurch was hit with 2 really bad earthquakes that tore apart the city about 5 years ago. I looked at a book with before and after pictures of the city and it was crazy to see how empty the city is now, compared to when it had many buildings all around. 

I was recommended to go to re:start mall for lunch and to have a look around. The mall was made of container stores- all the cafes and shops were literally built inside huge shipping containers- it was really neat! It was meant as a way for shops and cafes to get back into business after the quake. 

I went to the container with the longest line, assuming it was the most popular and best option- I had some Mediterranean food which was delicious! I then took a look around all of the shops, listed to live music, and people watched outside for a bit. 

After that, I went to a street art gallery which was super awesome. christchurch has a lot of street art and this gallery had the street artists come in and put in installations. I really enjoyed looking around and making my way through the maze of a gallery.

I then took a wander through the botanic gardens and enjoyed shooting some photos and exploring the ginormous space filled with all different types of plants, flowers and trees. There was an indoor garden as well, and a room filled entirely with cactuses- thought you'd love it, dad!

I then took a stroll through the Canterbury (which is the region) museum. It's hard for museums to keep my attention but there was quite a but of interesting exhibits there. 

I walked around the city some more and explored different areas for a couple hours. I saw a cathedral that was destroyed from the quake that they were currently working on rebuilding. So much of the city was under construction, I often found myself turning around because I was close to entering a construction zone. After wandering, taking photos, and people watching, I headed to the girl, Ally's flat. She said she might not be there until 7, but that I could go anytime after 5 and her flat mates would let me in.

I arrived around 6 and after creeping around to make sure I was in the right place, a guy came up to me and asked if I was Rebecca. He let me into their place there were 3 people there, so I chatted with them. Two of the guys were watching cricket and I asked for them to explain the game to me. I have never watched a more confusing game. It was even difficult for them to explain the rules to me. But I slowly got the hang of it! Then my airbnb host texted me that they were on there way! Phew!!! They arrived and I sighed a sigh of relief that they didn't steal all of my things. 

Not much later, Ally arrived home, so we all chatted and had some snacks before calling it a night. 

I left the next morning to begin my wwoofing adventure!

Sending smiles from Christchurch,

Rebecca

Devil's Punchbowl at Arthur's pass

PEnguins at the Catlins

Queenstown

Mt. Cook

RIP LUCKY

North Island Kiwi Camper Adventures

Let the kiwi land adventures begin!

We picked up our camper van, lucky rookie, and were on our way. First stop: grocery store.  We stocked up with snacks, fruit, tim tams, and bread for PBJ sandwiches, yes they have peanut butter in this country! So it's a good place here. We then hit the road toward the bay of islands, which is at the tippy top of the north island. It would be a 4 hour drive. Sara started driving and about an hour later we switched. It wa my first time driving on the left side and it went surprisingly well! The roads are narrow and our car is big so that's a little tricky, but other than that it was fine! I turned on the wind shield wipers instead of the turn signals a few times which just made us laugh. We were able to jam to my Kiwiland adventures playlist on spotify- follow it! I just got spotify before coming here and so far it's been great to use the downloaded playlists. As we cruised we enjoyed the beautiful scenery around every turn and we admired all the sheep we saw along the way!

We got into the town of Paihia around 4pm and found a campervan site to park at/ sleep at for the night! We decided it'd be a good idea to set up shop and organize our things and make lucky rookie our home. We unpacked our clothes and groceries and stored them in compartments under what would soon be our bed. We had been in the car all day so we were eager to get outside and be active. We went to the info center and they recommended a hike we could do. We drove over to this little parking lot and then started hiking from there. It was a pretty leisurely walk through a forest, then some mangroves, and then some more trees which ended at a waterfall. The waterfall was a little underwhelming, but it was still a nice walk! It took us around 75 minutes to get to the waterfall and it was around 7:30 pm when we got to the falls. We were a little nervous that we'd get stuck in the dark but we started to trek back. We were walking and then saw a family that we passed on our way there, remembering that people here are super friendly, I decided to ask them which way they were heading (basically u can we get a ride) because we were nervous we'd get caught in the dark. They were SOOO nice, of course, all kiwis have been so far. We thought they had parked by the waterfall buy actually they were staying at a holiday home near by which we walked with them to. The family lives in New Zealand and was on a weekend trip because the dad's work has holiday homes all over NZ that employees can stay at for free- how neat! We should do that in the states. The mom and one of her 5 kids joined and drove us back to where we had parked. It was so fun talking to them and learning more about New Zealand. For instance, on our hike, Sara and I thought we saw a kiwi because we knew what they looked like and figures they were common to see since they are new zeland's national bird. We told the family we saw a kiwi and they said wow that's awesome, they had never seen a kiwi in the wild. They asked where we saw it and we said in a tree on our hike. They said kiwis can't fly.. So I guess we didn't see a kiwi. But it was so interesting to learn that kiwis are rare to see, especially because they are the national bird. But then again, we don't often see bald eagles flying around the states.

We got back to our camping site, attempted to put together our bed of wooden planks and pads. We packed our bag for our snorkel excursion the next day and then went to sleep around 10pm, we would get the most sleep we had all trip that night. Sara set her alarm for 7:50 because we had to be at the wharf at 8:45 for our 9am excursion. 

In the am Sara rolls over and tells me it's 8:30, she was still in a daze but I popped up and said shit we gotta go. She had turned off her alarm when she heard it, I didn't even hear it, but we ended up sleeping until 8:30. Thankfully we had already packed our bag so we quickly changed, and even though we planned on walking over to the wharf which would take 15 minutes, we decided we would play it safe and drive over there. We were trying to find street parking but couldn't so we found a lot and parked and the tried to figure out how to pay.. There was no attendant, and then we found a pay station. However, the pay station only accepted coins and we didn't have any. It was 8:55 and we didn't know what to do, so I suggested leaving $10 under the wind shield and hoping for the best.

We sprinted to the wharf and they were literally untying the boat as we got their so we just hopped on and sailed away. It was a lovely boat and there were 12 of us total on it. The owners of the boat were a couple that lived on the boat in the summer and then had a home that they lived in for the rest of the year. The boat was adorably decorated with a little kitchen and then underneath were two bedrooms and bathrooms. Shortly after we got on the boat, we were served freshly baked homemade rhubarb, raisin and coconuts scones with homemade jams and butter. We also had tea & coffee, the coffee was delicious!  Then we went  to our first bay and did a small hike up one of the islands which had a beautiful view from up top!

We hopped back on the boat and went to another bay where we had the option of going on a hike or hanging out in the boat before lunch. Sara and I were the only ones who decided to go on the hike so we ventured out and did some climbs up this beautiful mountain! Seriously gorgeous views from every angle. We got to one of the best lookout points and then headed back down for lunch on the boat. Lunch was incredible. She made homemade Rosemary and sea salt focaccia bread- it was jaw dropping good. We also had veggie paella, salad, and chicken. After lunch we went snorkeling and saw some big fish and sea urchins. Our boat driver went to catch urchins to eat. After snorkeling for a bit we hopped back on the boat and were greeted with home made brownies with a rhubarb cream on top and homemade short bread cookies. I kid you not, the meal I had today was probably the best I'll have this entire trip. It was so good. We headed back to shore and relaxed on the boat soaking in the beautiful island views. We got back to shore for the moment of truth, which was checking too see if lucky rookie was still there and/ or if it had a ticket. We got back to the lot to find that we didn't have a ticket AND our $10 was still in the windshield. WOW! Either these people are super nice or someone wasn't doing their job today- either way, we were happy campers-- LITERALLY! :)

We the got back on the road towards Tauranga, our next destination. I drove for 4 hours and then Sara took the last 2 hour which were in the dark. We got in around 11 and tried finding a campervan park but they were all already closed. I recommended we park on the side of the road and sleep there, which Sara was understandably nervous about. Then we saw police so I hopped out the car and asked them where we could park to sleep, to which they said, the side of the road. So here we are, parked on the side of the road. Good night!

We woke up to rain pouring on our home. As our plan was to go on a hike that morning it wasn't looking too promising. We stumbled out of our lucky rookie onto the side of the street, and in our pjs, with our bed head look we opened the door to see many people walking and running. We figured if these people were hiking up the mountain this morning, we could too! So after getting cleaned up, we put on our shoes and began the hike! And then suddenly the clouds opened up and it stopped raining! It took us about 45 minutes to climb to the top. We were in Tauranga and climbing the mount there, which is at the top of their peninsula. Sadly because it had just stormed, it was pretty cloudy up there. When we got to the top we couldn't see much, but it was fun to be in the clouds up there! The hike was lovely though, tough, but wonderful views before we got to the top. 

After our hike, we headed to another town called Waitomo. Waitomo is famous for their caves, tomo means hole in their indigenous language. Their caves are not your average cave though, they are glow worm caves. They are filled with millions of little worms that attach to the ceilings of the caves and glow when it's dark. They hang nets from them to catch their prey. The caves were really neat, there was a group of 6 of us and we had a really neat 2.5 hour through a little family company that just opened 6 weeks ago, glowing adventures. The caves were really neat because since the company just opened, the caves were very untouched and less commercialized. Many of the tours in the mainstream area have bridges through them but we got real down and dirty in our gum boots and helmets with head lamps.

We got there and they gave us lots of clothes to put on and told us we could shower after our expedition. We were more excited that we would get a shower than actually going through the caves. Which says a lot because we were really excited about the caves.

It was an awesome experience. We  had to crawl through tight spaces and stomp through extremely muddy parts that felt like quick sand. I got stuck and Sara tried to help me but I ended up falling right into the mud. We saw stalactites and stalagmites and I even drank water from one of the little pools in the cave- our guide Heath said the water is completely filtered through the minerals in the stalactites. The water tasted great and was freezing cold! After exploring and admiring the glow worms we hiked back to the home, showered and had tea, biscuits and grapes with our group.

The whole time we were in the caves it was pouring outside and it was still pouring when we got out. We wanted to head to our next stop, Rotorua, but we didn't want to drive in the pouring rain so we waited around the house for it to clear up. Unfortunately it didn't clear up and we thought we should get on the road before it got dark, so we headed out of waitomo and our first stop was to get gas because our tank was very low. Then we were on our way to Rotorua. We got there and found a place that we could sleep in our parked car. It was called the backyard inn. We ended up chilling there for the evening because it was still pouring outside. We met some people in the comunal dining hall- a couple from Argentina, a guy from Germany and another three guys from Ireland, one of whom is now living in San Francisco! We enjoyed conversation and wine with people from all over the globe and then headed back to lucky rookie for another night of sleep. 

We again woke up to rain on our home. We were nervous we wouldn't be able to do any activities that day but decided to sign up for white water rafting because regardless if it was raining or not we'd still get wet. The night before, everyone at the inn had recommended it- saying it was the best thing they did! We thought we'd give it a go. We signed up for the 11:30 session so we had some time to explore in the morning. We went over to the Maori village which is a town where the indigenous people live. Rotorua is famous for its geothermal landscape -- hot springs, geysers, and more. The entire town reeks of sulfur, it smells absolutely awful. The thermal pools were used for them to bathe and the grounds were so hot that they are able to cook their meals on the ground in a wood box. We learned about their penny diving tradition- when the Europeans came to town they took their pennies out made a wish and threw them in the river. The Maori people were so confused as to why people would throw money away, so the kids would jump into the  river and grab the coins, then because they didn't have a place to store the coins, they would keep them in the cheeks- this tradition is still a thing! We walked around their village and got to see a geyser erupt, which was really neat! The thermal grounds were so interesting because of the many colors that the pools had and the different natural chemicals that they contained. We learned a little bit about their culture and traditions and then headed back to town get ready to raft! As we got our bag ready the sun decided to show up, so we were very excited we wouldn't be rafting in the rain! We got to the rafting center and were quickly geared up and given the low down and what to do- we were about to do grade 5 white water rafting, which is the highest level of Rapids. We had such a blast- in our raft was our guide Kim, and a German couple. We rafted over 3 waterfall- one of which was 7 meters- out of the three different rafts in our group, we were the only raft to not flip completely over when going down the waterfall! In addition to rafting over waterfalls, we went on a swim down the river into some Rapids, we got to jump off a platform into the river and we attempted to "surf" in our raft by pushing up against the rapids! It was a really good time and we got really wet!! 

After rafting we went back to the inn and chilled out for a bit and talked to two girls traveling in their gap year. A gap year is when you take a year off after you graduate high school and either travel or work or both before going to university. The girls were both working in Australia and were taking a trip to NZ! It was cool talking to them, they were both originally from Europe and one of them had lived in the states before too. I loved hearing their opinions on the cultural differences between the places they've lived. 

We then headed out to our next destination- Tongariro national park, to do a one day hike called the crossing the next day. On our way to Tongariro we turned off the side of the road and went down a Gravel road to Kerosene creek which is a hidden gem of a hot spring. All the hot springs in Rotorua cost money to enter, but this natural hot spring was free! We went for a little dip and the water was soooo warm! And it only smelled a little bad from the sulfur. I jumped over a waterfall into the spring which was super fun and I loved just laying in the stream with the water rushing past my body (almost pulling off my bathing suit bottom).

There were probably 30 people down by the creek so it wasn't too crowded and we were able to relax and enjoy. When I pulled my hand out of the water I noticed my silver ring was a completely different color, because of some of the natural chemicals in the water it had tarnished it to a darker color that reflected all these blue and purple colors. It was super interesting to see that happen.

We then headed out to the inn which we would stay called the crossing backpackers, in the town of Erua. Along the way we stopped at some lookout points and were able to see the sunset over lake Taupo.

We got to the inn, took showers to clean off all the sulfur, got our bags ready and hit the hay for our first night sleeping in actual beds.

We got up and our shuttle picked us up to go to Tongariro National Park. We couldn't drive to the park because the hike we were doing takes around 6 hours and goes one way, it's called the Crossing because you cross over and between the two sides of the national park and it'd be near impossible to cross over there and go back in one day. The park actually requires you to have round trip transport booked in order to do the hike. The crossing is known as New Zealand's best one day hike and it definitely didn't disappoint. We started for an hour going a little up and a little down, it was warm and we were in tanks and leggings. Then we started the first ascent- about an hour straight up! It started getting chilly so we put on our sweatshirts. Then we had about 10 minutes of flat land before another ascent that lasted another hour. By the time we climbed the second ascent we were in the clouds and sooo cold because of all the wind up there! We put on our wind breakers and then we admired the amazing views from high above. It was incredible how high we climbed. There was a red crater, volcanic ashes and dirt, and three crater lakes that were the most beautiful colored lakes I have ever seen. The first part of our hike felt like we were in a desert, then we trekked through  mountains, and on the way down on the other side of the mountains we felt like we were in a rain forest. 

We made it all the way to the end!!!! And just in time for our transport to take us back to our lodge. Our bus was leaving at 4:30 and we made it back at 4:20. We filled up and quickly drank our entire bottle of water because there was no water on the trail but our bus had a big bottle waiting for us- it was amazing. We got back to our lodge which conveniently had a hot tub that we relaxed our muscles in for probably way too long. We decided it'd be best to chill there and hang out at the lodge for the evening and get an early start in the morning!

We left early in the AM to head to the region of Taranaki which is on the west coast. I have a friend, Kirsty, that is from Taranaki and studied abroad at UW-Madison for a semester. It took us about 4 hours to drive there and we met her in New Plymouth where she works. We took a walk near the ocean, saw a sculpture carving festival, and I got an amazing flat white. We then headed to a cute restaurant in the city for lunch. After lunch we decided to drop our campervan off at her home so we would only be driving one car around. Kirsty lives in Stratford which is a suburb about 40 minutes from the city of New Plymouth. Her home is on a farm a little bit away from the main burbs, but her family still lives more in the town. After dropping our home off we went to get ice cream at her favorite dairy, because their town is known for good dairy, similar to Wisconsin, they have a lot of cows there! The ice cream was so yummy- the popular kiwi flavor is called hokey pokey and Sara and I both got it! Then we went over to her parents house and because her parents have traveled a lot through the South Island her dad helped us plan out the next portion of our trip. We sat down with him for about two hours and had a big map in front of us learning about the best places to see on the South Island. After trip planning we headed out with Kirsty and her sister to their netball tryouts. Sports are really big in her region, so even after college they have club teams that compete. Kirsty recently picked up netball which is a popular sport there. It's similar to basketball but you can't dribble or move with the ball, only pivot, and there is no backboard. There are a lot more rules but that is the gist of it. We went to try outs and observed and tried to learn the rules of the game. Sara and I both love spots so it was fun for us to learn about a new sport-- and these girls were awesome at the sport. It was so fast paced and really fun to watch! After try outs we took a drive by a nearby lake and also admired the huge mount Taranaki because it had finally come out from behind the clouds. Then we stopped by a take out place and got some food to bring back to her place, where we just hung out for the night! We also tried Marmite -- which is a New Zealand spread that I wasn't in love with. Kirsty said that only  people from New Zealand like it, and when there was shortage of marmite, a small jar cost $200!! After chatting for a bit we went to sleep in a nice comfy bed! Thanks you so much Kirsty for hosting us!

The next morning we got up early (are you seeing a theme here) and went on a hike. We had to drive to Wellington that day which is a 4 hour drive, so we decided to get s little physical activity in first. We went to mount Taranaki and hike for about 2 hours to some waterfalls before getting back to our car and heading south. 

We got to Wellington, first got lunch, and then headed to the Te Papa museum which is new Zealand's museum of everything! It was really interesting and fun to learn more about the history and culture of NZ in an interactive environment. After we had exhausted our time in the museum we decided to take a stroll around the city. We enjoyed checking out the shops, the city center, and I very much enjoyed getting a flat white at a cafe on Cuba street. Cuba street is their main Street that cars can't drive on,  there are a lot of shops, cafes, ethic restaurants and street performers there. We walked around and then went to move our campervan out of the parking lot it was in, to find a place to park for the night. We decided to try out freedom camping again-- aka parking on the side of the road. So we found a spot and then decided to walk around some more! We went to a night market on Cuba street that had a lot of different ethic food vendors, some live music and little shops. We then went to a free comedy show at a nearby bar which was somewhat funny! It was cool to go somewhere with a lot of local kiwis though, and they stereotypes about Americans a lot so that was sometimes comical. We then went to another bar which a friend of Sara's had recommended, it was called the library and it was a hidden gem. There was just a small sign for it and the we went inside up a flight of stairs, opened a door and inside was a low lit bar with the look of an old school library. Their hand-crafted cocktails were great- I had a peach mule, because as a fan of Moscow mules the drink jumped out at me. 

After hanging out at the bar, we went back to our home in a random parking spot- freedoms camping for the night! 

In the morning we drove to the top of mount Victoria for a scenic look out of Wellington. Unfortunately, it was a bit cloudy, but we were still able to see a good amount. We then drove to the ferry, and then drove onto the ferry! We were taking the ferry to the South Island and it was such a huge ship they actually had a parking garage on the ship. So we drove on and parked and then went up to the lookout deck, where after I took a few photos, I fell asleep. I woke up about 4 hours later and we were about an hour away and starting to go by some islands. I went outside and Sara and I were admiring the beautiful scenery when a guy came up and asked if we were sisters (about the 15th person to ask that this trip). She said no and after talking to him and his friend  for a bit they said they were from Israel- and Sara was talking about her experiences there. They were surprised she had visited until they discovered we were Jewish. There are very few Jews in the world, let alone NZ, so for us to run into each other was fun. We chatted with them until we reached the dock.

Time for some new adventures on the South Island!

Sending smiles from Picton,

Rebecca

Melbourne? Melbin?

We arrived to Melbourne early Wednesday morning and took the skybus into the city. We grabbed some breakfast and then attempted to figure out public transportation and bought Myki cards so we could get around the city. We got to our airbnb which is located north of the city in Brunswick. 

Our host, linden, gave us good directions to get there so once we hopped off the train we walked with our packs in the blazing heat over to her flat.

I was not kidding when I said blazing heat, the high of the day was 106 degrees. After settling in the place and talking with Linden, we found the tram stop and headed into the city. We grabbed a bite to eat in a laneway, which is what Americans call alleys. Melbourne is known for their laneway cafe scene & coffee. There are loads hipster cafes with sandwiches, smoothies, coffee and more crammed into this small alley with tables and tents filling the road.

Melbourne is also known for their graffiti. It is definitely a different kind of city. Very alternative with graffiti filling the laneways, lots of unquie shops, cafes, and people. It's a very artsy scene, a lot of people have tattoos, piercings, and dress in different styles. Remember when I compared Sydney to San Francisco, I'd say Melbourne is closer to a Milwaukee or maybe Portland, but I've never been to Portland so I can't say for sure. 

After grabbing a smoothie and a spring roll we went to the info station and got some maps. It was so hot outside that it was tempting to chill inside, but for some stupid reason I was insistent on exploring outdoors. We took a stroll through the botanic gardens which were very underwhelming. I would say they were more like a park, maybe one could call it an arboretum but I don't think I could even call it that. There were some nice statues along the walk that were difficult to appreciate considering we were sweating out of every pore in our body and the water we had was boiling hot. There wasn't a single sole in the "gardens" except for us. At the end of our garden walk we approached the shrine of remembrance which is a large temple looking building that is a memorial for all wars that Australians had fought in. There was an AIR CONDITIONED gallery inside that had a lot of neat paintings that reflected the wars as well as old flags and momentos from history. The museum also talked about recent wars and had a really interesting interactive map that showed the global peace index of all the countries. The US is 101 out of 162 countries, Australia is number 15 and New Zealand is number 4. Syria is the least peaceful and Iceland is the most peaceful. I spent a lot of time at that map!

Leaving the shrine we had a nice view of the city and when we got back we explored the town a little more and got Brazilian Acai Bowls which are like smoothies.

The heat plus lack of sleep was really getting to us, we were completely drained. While I wanted to keep exploring, we thought it'd be best to get a quick nap in so we could go to a festival later that evening.

We snoozed for an hour and then headed back out to the Queen Victoria Markets which on Wednesday nights have food stands, live music, and little pop up shops. There were sooo many different food vendors it was hard to choose what to get, and it was neat because they all had different international food. We went to a mozzarella bar and got this interesting type of mozzerella cheese that was hanging over a fire. Then we got pineapple rice that was actually served in a pineapple, and for dessert we got little Dutch pancakes dusted with powdered sugar and lemon butter.

We walked around and saw live music as well as checked out a lot of the vendors who sold everything from stuffed animals, to jewelry, to candles, clothes, and more. After exploring the huge market we checked out a new bar in town. About 2 weeks ago when Sara was driving in chicago she heard on the radio that a new bar opened in Melbourne that was George Castanza themed. As a Seinfeld fan, she was excited to hear this and check it out. I was familiar with the show but didn't know too much about it. The bar was neat, George's face was plastered on the wall quite a few times and then menu items and drinks were named after him or things from Seinfeld. We grabbed a drink and then headed home to pack for our full day ahead tomorrow: PENGUINS.

We had an animal filled day ahead of us, which really excited me! First, we planned on heading to the healseville wildlife sanctuary. We got to the train station early so we grabbed a coffee but then found out we missed our train.. unfortunately the lady at the info center gave us the wrong time! But as they say here, "no worries," we waited and got the next train. When we got to Lilydale station because we missed the first train, we had to wait an hour for the next bus. Because Australians are so friendly we went up to a random car and asked a stranger about what we should do for our hour waiting, she told us to check out a local coffee shop and she said she would have driven us to the sanctuary if she didn't have to go somewhere. We went to the coffee shop and even though I had gotten a coffee this morning I felt I should get another drink, so I did and it had really awesome latte art- a girl's face! We then walked back to the station, got a bus, and then transferred to another bus before getting to the sanctuary. 

A sanctuary is different than a zoo because it gives the animals more room to roam and the animals are typically all from the area.

At the sanctuary we saw lots of animals: wombats, koalas, platypus, emus, Tasmanian devils, wallabies, kangaroos, and more. We also went into the wildlife hospital which was neat! We enjoyed watching the Tasmanian devils, which look nothing like the taz from the looney toons, but more like a vicious pig. Their teeth are so sharp that zoo keepers feed them with tongs. I Also learned they typically don't kill other animals just prey off of all the dead animals they find because with their sharp teeth they can eat the bones of animals. We stayed at the sanctuary for a couple of hours but most of our time was spent watching a Joey (baby kangaroo) in its moms pouch sticking it's head out. If you remember from my last post, I was so fascinated to learn about how baby kangaroos develop, so it was a magical miracle that we got to see a kangaroo with a Joey in it's pouch. Also, a red kangaroo came up to me and let us pet it. 

We spent so much time watching the kangaroos that we had to run to catch the bus. 

We got back to town grabbed a sandwich and then hopped on our little penguin bus tour! We also stopped in a department store to buy some long socks because it was supposed to be chilly that evening and we wanted to make sure we'd be warm. In the department store there was a hugeee line. Not for people buying anything, but because the Australian open is next week and Serena Williams was having a showing at the store. We didn't get to see Serena but we saw a lot of her fans.

The penguin tour that we were doing took us to Phillips island which is home to the little penguin where thousands of penguins emerge out of the ocean water at dusk to go to their burrows. l learned lots about the little penguin: it's the only penguin with blue feathers- helps them camelflauge from above, blending with the water and below their white feathers help them blend in with the sky. It's the only penguin that's not monogamous, and it sleeps for 4 minutes at a time. We got outside to the viewing area and with our binoculars we were able to see large groups of penguins, called rafts, emerging from the water and heading towards the hills/ burrows. They often would come far out and then turn around and go back to the water, there were a few wallabys out too which sometimes frightened the penguins, but the wallabies were always nice to the little penguins. Unlike the local foxes which are not nice to the penguins. We watched them all waddle to their burrows from walkways. Some of the burrows were man made, others all naturally dug into the ground. The babies would wait for their parents to come back and feed them and because have a hard time with face recognition so they'd often go up to penguins and sniff them and then walk away, because they can tell by scent who their parents are. In the penguin museum we were able to peek into a burrow and see a penguin cleaning it's baby- so adorable. We hopped back on our little penguin bus and got back to Melbourne late!!

In the AM the next day we had another early wake up call. We had rented a car and planned on driving down Great Ocean Road to see the 12 apostles. We picked up the car in the morning and Sara was the driver for the day so my responsibility was to continuously yell at her to KEEP LEFT, and that she kept running into the curb on the side of the road. It was her first time driving on the other side of the road which is really difficult because our brains are programmed to work one way and when we change the way we do things it makes it extremely difficult! For instance, the drivers seat and passenger seat are switched and we would often go to the wrong side of the car. Here, you turn your blinker on the right side of the wheel and the wind shield wipers on the left. So often, when Sara wanted to signal she was turning, she instead put the wipers on. It was comical. She got used to it quickly and did a great job getting us there and back safely. Our first stop on the trip was in Lorne, which is one of the first cities on great ocean road. The road was constructed after world war 2 to give soldiers work when they returned from war. 

We stopped at the entrance of the road to take some pictures and then we continued on to some look out points. We made another pit stop in Kennet River where we saw some wild koalas. They were sleeping in the trees! 

Then onto Apollo bay which is a cute town where we stopped for lunch. On the drive to Apollo bay we went through a section of the road that was recently damaged in bush fires. Just a couple of weeks ago the road had to be shut down because no cars could go through because of the fires. Now, the road is back but all the trees around that area are burnt, many don't have leaves and the ones that do have leaves are all dried out and brown. It was very sad, but interesting to see!

Our final stop was at the 12 apostles which are 12 large rock formations that emerge from the ocean close to the shoreline. It was gorgeous! We had to run to make it back to Melbourne before the car rental place closed, but we really enjoyed our day driving around. The scenery was AMAZING. Around every turn was a beautiful view of the ocean, a river, rolling hills, or a mixture. It was an incredible journey that day and it was so fun to be on our own schedule! We were so excited to be going to New Zealand where we would have our campervan for over 2 weeks!

When we got back to Melbourne we had dinner plans with a friend of Sara's who had worked for Game On! in the past and is from Melbourne. We had a yummy dinner with her, her husband, and two adorable kids. Then, they were so kind to take us to the air port because our flight to NZ was that night!

Our flight was delayed which worked out nicely  because we did not have to pay for accommodations that evening and we didn't have to wait much for our transfer to the camper van rental because they didn't open until later. I knocked out before the plane took off and was asleep until landing :)  

Sending smiles from Melbourne,

Rebecca