Feb 2007

After our tramps, we have been taking it very easy. Lots of hanging around, watching TV, and using the Internet to see how the Toronto Maple Leafs are doing. Oh, and lots of trips to the supermarket to enjoy a variety of meals other than wraps, oatmeal, and Mr. Noodles.

GETTING SICK
Suddenly on Saturday afternoon, I started feeling really ill. About an hour later, I was over a bucket. That started a brutal 45 minute cycle of throwing up, and lying down feeling like I wanted to die. I think in the end, I threw up about 10-12 times over a 6 hour period. I can’t imagine what the other couple staying in our hostel dorm were thinking. The next day I went and bought a huge box of freezies to rehydrate. I can’t figure out what caused the illness (it only lasted about 20 hours). There was a bird flying around our room earlier that morning. It might have left a virus, which I picked up.

(The worst place for it to happen. The roof was too short for met to stand-up, and the sink was too small to wash your hands in)

AJ HACKETT’S JUMP START
When you’re in Queenstown, you can’t help but get caught up in the bungy jumping craze. I decided to buy AJ Hackett’s autobiography about the origins of bungy jumping, and the beginning of commercial operation (he didn’t invent bungy, but was the main pioneer). It was a really interesting read, as they started out with little knowledge of what would happen, and how the bungy cord would react with each jump. They would hike out to a deserted bridge, and jump-off. They would usually test the cord with a bag full of rocks. They learned the math behind jumping by doing it themselves. Good old Kiwi ingenuity.

INDOOR MINI GOLF
We went for a quick 18 holes at the Queenstown Indoor Mini Golf. It was the craziest mini golf round I have ever played. Only the pictures do it justice.

(On this hole, you putted the ball into a building, where the ball then automattically went up a chairlift, and then down the ski hill)

(This was a mountain village. Similar to the previous hole, but the ball comes down a river. There were different rivers for it to come down, some better than others. You never knew which hole it would come out)

(On the last hole, once you holed out, a lolly-pop would come down into the truck, and a willy wonka type song was played)

POTATO CHIP SANDWICH???
You meet and see the weirdest things living in hostels. One day I was coming back into my room, and a roommate was making a sandwich. I had just come in from the tramp, so I was noticing all food. I saw she had a nice loaf of bread. I notice the sandwich looked pretty thick, so I assumed it was a good sandwich, with lots of meats, veggies, etc. However, on closer inspection, I saw that the only thing in the sandwich was potato chips. So two pieces of bread, with potato chips in the middle. I had a very tough time holding in the laughter

The Rees/Dart track is consider one of the more difficult trails in the areas because of the climbing and rivers.

(In New Zealand, you take the signs seriously)

DAY 1: Carpark to Shelter Rock Hut (17.5km of hiking)
We woke up at the Carpark to find no hot water in the showers, so we were SOL. We found a $10 breakfast to get a final meal before our 5 day trek. Somehow I managed to lose the trail map on the way, and we had to buy another one at the last second. DOH!

The drive to the trailhead was insane. We were ripping on a one-lane gravel road, which crossed several streams. Sometimes these streams get deep enough that no one can pass. So you never know if you’ll make it in or not.

We started out on the trek walking in this huge valley with glaciers on either side. There was no shade or wind, so I were dying. Luckily, we crossed a bunch of thigh deep glacier fed rivers to cool us down. We dropped the hammer so that we could get out of the sun quickly.

(Start of the trek)

(Crossing glacier fed rivers... very cold)

(Glaciers in the background)

(trail to lots of climbing...)

The end of the trek saw us with two huge climbs on completely exposed fields, but with some amazing cliffs in the distance.

(Exposed climbs)

(Lots of climbing out of the valley...)

That night I spent a while talking to these two older Kiwi guys. When I said I was from Canada, one responded, "From the best big country in the world, welcome to the best little country in the world".

DAY 2: Shelter Rock Hut to Dart Hut (9 km of hiking).
Although the distance today was short, the hiking was very tough with a climb over a saddle. We started at about 900 meters, and the saddle was 1471 meters (so 571 vertical meters of climbing). I decided to turn on the MP3 player to pump me up. It was a surreal hike as we climbed higher and higher with the sun coming up over the mountains.

(Sun coming out)

The descent off the saddle was very cool as it winded along a river, with a glacier looming in the distance.

(This section of the trail was my favourite, as it was technically very difficult, but had the most amazing views)

(More wire bridges to cross)

(Rocking out with some tunes. Can you see the beard coming in yet after 9 days of no shaving?)

In the final kilometer before the hut, I lost the trail and ended up traversing down a steep gully to a roaring river. Unfortunately the brush was too thick and prickly, which prohibited me from climbing back up. So I was stuck walking beside the roaring river, over huge boulders. Not something I wanted to do with a heavy pack. Somewhere along the way I lost my water bottle. Luckily, the hut warden was able to give me a new one.

DAY 3: Day hike to Cascade Saddle (16 km of hiking)
Today was a day hike to the Cascade Saddle, considered by many to be on the best views in New Zealand. It started with a long walk in a valley, with glaciers above us. Every now and then, you can hear the glaciers breaking up. Since the mountains are so steep, the stretch of land is very prone to avalanches. Therefore, everywhere was covered with rocks from previous avalanches, which prohibited much vegetation growth. It was kind of like walking in a dead world.

The climb up to the saddle was almost 800 vertical meters (that’s like climbing Blue Mountain 3.5 times). However the view at the top was amazing. There were 3 giant peaks in the distance, glaciers, a green valley floor and river.

(Looking across to one of the mountains)

The coolest thing about the saddle, is that the one side (not the side we climbed up) is a sheer cliff, which drops about 1000 meters straight down. I was so scared standing on the edge, that my legs turned to jello. Just watching other people standing near made me scared too. There are no fences or anything. They assume anyone who got there, must have enough common sense not to get too close.

(1000 vertical meter drop if walk about 2 more strides...)

(perfect glacier. Lots of rocks on top because of all the avalanches)

(Walking back, we didn't want to get our feet wet, so there were a lot of ninja moves to get across the freezing rivers)

Here is a video I made from the top of the saddle. It starts looking at the glacier, then pans over to the 3 peaks in the distance, and ends with me trying to look down the drop. Its not long, as the memory card is not the big, and I couldn't upload while in the New Zealand Backcountry.

That night back at the hut we met this crazy guy who was born in Malaysia, lived in England for a year, then in Kenya for 15, then went to Brock University and Guelph University, before moving to Queensland, Australia. He was a nutcase and a half. Just sitting beside him, I was laughing at everything he said as he was so over the top.

DAY 4: Dart Hut to Dealy's Hut (17.5 km)
Today was a really easy day we descended down the Dart River. My feet had insane blisters and other things going on, so I was in a lot of pain. Ryan's knee was acting up, so he was in a lot of pain too.

(Walking across the cattle flats)

DAY 5: Dealy's Hut to Carpark (15km)
Woke up early to catch our 2:00pm pick-up at the carpark. It was a pretty relaxed day.

(End of the trek)

Once at the pick-up, I made the craziest sandwich ever, with all the left over Peanut Butter and Nutella.

(Sooooo good.....)

By this point, my feet were destroyed.

(yes, that is a hole in my right heel)

Back in Queenstown, we had our first showers in 9 days, and washed everything that was on trip with us. We then headed to the supermarket. It was liking being a little kid in a candy shop.

That night we went out for beers with the other people staying in our hostel.

Ryan and I were finally set up to do some hiking (called tramping in New Zealand). I had to buy a bunch of gear, including quick-dry shorts and shirt, long underwear, rain pants, socks, hat, a buff, stove & fuel, dry sacks, soap, forks & spoons, water purifier, maps, a backcountry hut pass, and a ton of food. Most people use proper hiking boots to climb mountains, but I figured I could get it done with my trail running shoes.

FOOD
We had 9 days straight of trekking (a 4-day and then a 5-day back to back), so it was a fair amount of food required, so we kept the meals very simple. Everyday for breakfast was oatmeal. Everyday for lunch was wraps with peanut butter and Nutella. For dinner we had Mr. Noodles. For snacks during the day, we had GROP.

Shelter
For shelter, New Zealand has 2000 backcountry huts scattered across the islands. Most of the trails link these huts together, so one generally does not need a tent. The huts differ in quality, from nothing more than a roof, to nice ones with bunk beds and flush toilets. We bought the backcountry annual pass which gives us unlimited use for a year. The huts sleep anywhere from 4 to 20 people. Since its communal living, you find all walks of life staying in these huts.

DAY 1: Car Park to Upper Caples Hut (15.5 km hike)
We woke up at 7:00am to catch the 8:00am bus to the trail head. The first day involved walking up the Caples River, with amazing mountains on either side of the river. The day was suppose to take between 3.5 - 5.5 hours, and it took us the latter as our legs were not ready for the heavy packs.

When we arrived at the hut, the sand flies (similar to black flies) were insane. Even inside the hut the sand flies were going nuts and biting us to hell. I was seriously questioning our decision to go hiking. Why couldn't we just be normal and party at the hostel!

The dinner didn't fill us up at all, and we quickly realized we weren't going to have enough food. It wasn't a big deal as we could restock the basic items between treks. That night I had a long talk with this 60-year old guy from England who was doing a 14-day trek in NZ, and then heading to Tasmania for a 7-day. He was crazy fit, as his times on the trail were faster than most younger fit people! He had done a lot of crazy adventures, including backcountry ski traversing in Norway.

DAY 2: Upper Caples Hut to McKellar Hut (12.3 km of hiking)
Today involved climbing over a saddle (saddle = the 'lower' point linking two mountains. The trail climbed steadily through a beech forest and was quite rough with exposed tree roots and rocks.

(the insane amount of roots and rocks)

As the trail approached the subalpine area, it became quite steep. Ryan got his but kicked today, as he hadn't done as much outdoor activities as me. In total, the climb was 550 vertical meters (or about 1800 feet… that’s like climbing Blue Mountain 2.5 times).

Along the way, we got passed by two old Russian guys. When we got to the top of the saddle, one was smoking a cigarette, while the other was in his underwear about to jump into a glacier cold pond. They had just climbed Mt. Aspiring, one of the more technical mountains in the area.

Once on the saddle we enjoyed the views and each had a drink from the Jagar I had brought with us to celebrate the climb.

(Finally reached the top)

(Jagar on top of the saddle)

(View from the saddle)

The way down from the saddle was insane. The only way to describe it was gnarly. It was crazy steep with lots of rocks and roots. We descended about 600 vertical meters over only 800 horizontal meters. In others words, for every meter we walked, we also went down a meter. That’s damn steep! No one ever goes down this route, people only go up it because of the steepness (its easier to go up steep, then down steep). Then why were we going down it? We didn't know better when choosing the route. Ryan was fully worked-over by the end of the day and was questioning why we were trekking (jokes).

(Ryan cooling off in the freezing cold lake at the end of the day)

This was my first go at climbing a real mountain. It was a lot of fun, as it really test you physically and mentally climbing for 3 hours plus with no flats.

DAY 3: McKellar Hut to Greenstone Hut (17.3 km of hiking)
We awoke to find our trekking clothes wet, as we were stupid and left them out in the morning dew. We decided to wait for the sun to dry them, which wasn't until 10:00am, as the sun takes a while to get over the mountains.

Today was an easy hike down the Greenstone River. It was really hot, and there was no shade in the valley. Luckily the wind kept us cool. Highlights included walking across a huge boulder field and a wire suspended bridge, about 60-feet above the roaring river below.

(Boulder field)

(Wire bridge)

The last 200 meters to the hut was a really steep climb (just to kick you when you're down after a long day of trekking), but was totally worth it. This hut had flush toilets and amazing views all around. This hut was a nice cottage, but without furnishing, and was sitting on $1,000,000 views of the surrounding mountains.

(View from the hut)

(Other view from the hut)

DAY 4: Greenstone Hut to Carpark.
We walked the finally couple of hours into the carpark. We got picked up by a jetboat (jetboats were invented in NZ). They use a water pump to propel themselves, so once they hydroplane, they sit only an inch or two in the water. They are capable of doing 360s on a dime, and running up and down whitewater rivers.

Here is a crappy video, but gives you an idea of a jet boat doing a 360 (I found it on youtube... just push play, no download required)

The driver that picked us up gave us a wild ride back to town, doing 360s, and going within a couple of feet of the shore, where we almost brushed the shoreline.

(Jet Boat picking us up)

That night we stayed in a carpark, so we were able to wash some clothes and get a decent meal at a restaurant. We watched some cricket (NZ beat Australia!) and drank some beers at the local bar.

(hanging outside our drom in the carpark, listening to some tunes on Ryan's crank radio)

We packed up shop and headed to Queenstown (probably the coolest town in the world with all the extreme adventure sports). We are staying at this amazing hostel, where each set of rooms has its own kitchen, tv, and bathroom. All the other people in our room (8 beds in total) have been cool. A couple of Canadians, English, and Dutch.

I was able to meet up with a couple of friends that I used to work at camp with, Steph and Molly. I worked with them from 2002 - 2004. Even though I only lived 1.5 hours from Steph in Ontario, we never saw each other. Now we go half way around the world, and its easy.

We went for a big hike up to the Skyline Gondola and luge track (same thing as Rotorua). The hike up took about an hour and probably ascended 900 feet.

(Ryan, Laura from London, Ryan. It wasn't Everest, but it was tough. You can see 'The Remarkables' in the background)

We hit up the luge afterwards. Ryan was insane on the luge as he never used his breaks. I was chasing him, and on every turn his luge would fly up on its side, and I thought he would crash.

(Looking very cool in the luge helmets)

Other than some hiking, Ryan and I have been shopping around in all the different outdoors shops for the remaining gear we need to go tramping (hiking). We hope to start tomorrow.

New Zealand is home to the world one-day multisport championship, known as the Coast to Coast (sponsored by Speights). It takes place in the south island, and racers go from one coast to the other, by means of road cycling, mountain running, and down giver kayaking. The total distance of the race is over 200km, and usually takes the winner about 11.5 hours. Needless to say, its much harder than the Ironmans.

We headed down to Sumner Beach (about 15 minutes out of Christchurch) to watch the finish line. It was pretty awesome watching all the 'pro' Kiwi mutlisport guys finishing, and also how much the fans cared about outdoors sports (as opposed to Canada).

(The finish line at Sumner, enjoying a complimentary Speight's beer from the race director)

(Waching the winner run in after 11+ hours, 200+ kms, and climbing the Southern Alps)

After the race was over we headed to the rugby arena to watch a Super 14 game, with the local powerhouse Catenbury (they have a lot of the All-Blacks). It was an amazing game which went right down to the wire with an 'up and under' try to seal the deal for the local team. The atmoshphere was hilarious, as I think every single person had a Tui beer in hand. Well, maybe that was because we were sitting in the cheapest section, the special "Tui Beer Section".

(Waching Super 14 in an outdoor stadium)

We went out after the game, and didn't get back to the hostel until 3:30am. We then had to wake up at 6:00am to catch a bus to Queenstown. I don't even need to describe how horrible that was.

Once the Contiki trip was over, I was riding solo again.

First up, I had to find some accomodations. I headed to the information center, and found a street with many hostels. I started crusing around town until I found one with an open bed. It was an 8-person dorm. The first people I met inside were Sweedish twins. I kid you not.

The next few days were spent with looking around Christchurch, figuring out future travel plans, and keeping in touch with people back home. I've also had to change travel styles (travelling is a lot different off the Contiki bus). The $6 chicken curry dinner has become my best friend. Much of the day is a search for good eats at even better prices. Happy hours are visited for frequently because for once, I finally have the time!

(The river running through Christchurch with lots of parks and punting. Reminded me of Oxford)

I was able to meet up with a friend from Queen's (Doug) and his older brother . I randomly saw them walking by the bar one night. I also met up with a friend from elementary and high school (Ryan Hand).

(Ryan Hand and I enjoying some pool and a beer tower)

In the hostels, I've met up with a lot of random people from all over the world. I was with a couple of hilarious guys from Sweeden who partied hard and had tons of stories about football (soccer) from back home. Also met up with a guy from Niagra Falls who's over in Australia teaching.

(Hanging out with the hostel folks. Will from Niagra Falls, David from France, Erin from New Jersey, and Ryan)

GOING SURFING
On Sunday, Doug, Dan, Ryan, and I headed to Sumner Beach to give surfing a go. Doug and Dan had done it before, so they were able to get up pretty easily. We got some lessons, and they definitly helped the learning curve. I was able to get up once and it was a pretty wild ride. However, the conditions were less than ideal, so I had to settle for a pretty slow first day. It was fun just hanging out in the surf anyways, and acting like a surfer while carrying a board.

(Dan, Doug, and Ryan heading out for some more surf on Sumner Beach)

After the surf sessions, we headed to a really greasy restaurant, where all they surved was deep fried stuff. I order a deep fried Mars Bar (yes, you read that correctly). They can deep fry anything. It was very tastey, but gave me deep heart burn.

We also watched a surf competition for a while. During it, there was an interfearance call on a surfer, and I saw one of the parents go nuts. Somethings never change between countries.

(the beach at Sumner has tons of cool caves. But you gotta watch for the flash tides coming in VERY quickly. Luckily there was a back exit as Ryan escaped a potentially bad situation).

SUPER BOWL 'MONDAY'
Super Bowl Sunday is actually Super Bowl Monday morning on this side of the planet. A bunch of us headed to the "Holy Grail" to watch the game (it started at noon). The bar had amazing set-up, as it was built with stadium seating, facing a giant 20 foot HD screen on the wall. It was a pretty cool atmosphere, as it was the first time in a month that I felt like I was back in North America.

The game ended around 4:00pm, and we were blinded by the sun coming out of the bar. Since we were a couple of beers deep, we knew we would fall asleep unless we kept the party going... so we ended up having a very long day. We went back to the hostel, and a spontaneous jam session erupted on the patio. A couple of guitars and singers provided some good listening. The night ended with us at a 'drum and base' club that night. A DJ plays electronic beats, while a second guy plays the saxophone. A third guy was providing vocals (kind of like hip hop, but a lot faster). It was an awesome combination.

GETTING READY TO TRAMP
Ryan and I have decided to do some tramps (New Zealand calls hiking, tramping). So we made a huge list of things we needed and went out for a monster shop in Christchurch. There are about 8 outdoors stores, so needless to say I was in heaven. But still no store which can compete with MEC for quality and price. Its been a lot of fun planning hikes and getting gear in a foreign country.