Waitomo Caves – May 16, 2011

I was really looking forward to visiting the Waitomo Caves, as it was something I’d heard to before coming to New Zealand. Sections of the cave ceiling are covered with glowworms. They’re about the size of a matchstick, and glow what looked like a turquoise-white colour. They have these web-like tentacles that hang down to catch bugs.

I only went into the first cave, where we toured around the stalagmites and stalactites, and then took a boat ride under the glow worms. That was the best part. It was like being outside under the stars, very beautiful.

Tamaki Maori Village – May 14, 2011

One of the main tourist activities in Rotorua is attending a Maori culture show. Originally I hadn’t planned on going, but people I’d met along the way had said that while it was very touristy, it was also really good. So I decided to give it a shot.

It was VERY touristy and completely fake, like a Maori Disneyland (minus the rides), but interesting as well. The night consisted of being welcomed into a traditional Maori village to see the way they lived, then a cultural song and dance show, and then a buffet meal.

The village was set up with stations where we could see how they kept food, wove baskets and carpets, trained the warriors and practiced the tattooing. Next we got to take a peek at the food, which was cooked in a Hangi, an underground oven. They uncovered it, and pulled out trays of vegetables, and racks of chicken and lamb. We weren’t allowed to eat yet though; we had to watch the dancing first. The facial expressions during the dances are priceless. The men bug out their eyes and stick out their tongues. If anyone watches rugby, some of what we saw was like what the All Blacks do before a game to get motivated and intimidate the other team. 

Dinner was quite tasty, especially the dessert. They had these delicious pavlova cakes, and I don’t think I’ve ever had it before. So good!

Hobbiton Movie Set Visit – May 14, 2011

I’m not a huge Lord of the Rings fan. I read the Hobbit back in junior high, and saw the movies when they came out. I don’t particularly remember any of it that well. Still, I thought it would be fun to visit the movie set where all the scenes for The Shire were filmed, and where scenes from the Hobbit will be filmed. The set is totally prepared for filming on The Hobbit to start, but it was pushed back for a few months so they opened it up for tourists.

It was interesting, but a little bit pricey. The family that owns that farm where they built the set really hit the jackpot when the area was selected for filming. Originally the set was going to be completely dug up and destroyed after the first 3 movies were filmed, and the demolition had started. It got held up for some reason, and during that time people starting stopping by asking to see it. So from there the family negotiated with the studio to keep the set be able to provide tours. After something like 6 months of negotiations they reached an agreement. Voila! Instant money maker. They currently charge upwards of $66NZD for about a 3hr tour.

The only photo we're allowed to post online.

They took us around all the little hobbit holes, and pointed out where different scenes were filmed. We got to see Bilbo Baggins place, and 5 brand new hobbit holes that haven’t been filmed yet. The Hobbit house fronts are just a facade, and behind the doors just a small storage area. We weren’t allowed to touch anything since it’s still going to be used for filming.

We also had to sign a confidentially agreement to not put any pictures up on the internet (since filming isn’t completed). So sadly I can’t pots any pictures on the blog or on facebook. Apparently the studio has already gone after a few families for posting pictures online and they’ve been issued huge fines. I definitely don’t want that happening.

The confidentiality agreement. 

Hiking around Mt Cook – May 9, 2011

Mt Cook is the highest peak in New Zealand, at a height of 3754 m. Sir Edmund Hillary climbed it in , and used the area as a training ground for his Mt Everest expeditions. We were staying at Lake Tekapo, about an hour and a half from Mt Cook, so we took a day trip to do some hiking around the mountain.

It was pretty cloudy for most of the day so we didn’t get many great views, although the peak did make a brief appearance before we left for the day. We did a 4hr hike to the Hooker Valley, and at the end we were rewarded with some icebergs floating in the water. I’m not actually sure if they count as icebergs, but chunks of glacier that had broken off and was floating in the glacier lake. It was so totally random and unexpected. We just turned a corner and suddenly there they were. A great surprise at the end of the trail.

Mt Cook peeking through the clouds.

Ice Climbing at Fox Glacier – May 3, 2011

There are over 3,000 glaciers in New Zealand, and the main touristy ones are Franz Josef Glacier and Fox Glacier. This is where everyone stops to do a glacier hike or give ice climbing a try. Franz Josef is more popular, but Fox is actually a larger glacier. I decided to do my ice climb on Fox.

They supplied us with everything – helmet, boots, crampons (the spikes we used to grip the ice and climb with), socks, rain gear and everything we’d need for climbing. The boots were interesting. I got a stiff pair that reminded me of ski boots, but not nearly as bulky or difficult to walk in. Our crampons fit over top the boots, and we put them on once we reached the ice.

Walking out on the glacier was so cool. Where we started out there were stairs cut into the ice, leading us up onto the ice. These stairs have to be cut every day because the glaciers moves and melts so quickly, about 1m/day. Some of the guys were out there hacking away when we arrived, and it looks like a tough job. Our guide pointed out a crevice a few meters over that was where the stairs were a few weeks earlier, and said they’d probably only be using the current stairs for another week. Everything on the glacier is constantly changing and they just work with the glacier.

It took a bit of time to get used to walking in the crampons. I had to walk in a bit of a march, lifting my feet up high so I wouldn’t trip myself on a ridge in the ice. We hiked over the glacier to the area we’d be climbing. There were 5 of us in the group, and 2 guides. To start us of they had us practice moving across a low wall of ice (bouldering on ice), first using only our boots, then adding in the pick axes. It was so strange to move along the ice with feet only. I just wanted to grab something with my hands, but there was only smooth ice. I felt a bit better with the axes to grip, more solid. Getting used to using the axe was another story. We had to whack the ice a few times in the same spot for the pick to grip. To get it out it had to be pulled upwards from the ice. Not the easiest to do up on the wall with aching arms!

We had 3 ropes so the guides climbed up and set up 3 routes for us, starting relatively easy. I don’t have any idea how they secured everything, they just disappeared up the back of the glacier and got to work clearing away loose rock and screwing in the nails.

Ice climbing is nothing like rock climbing, except for the concept of climbing up. From what I understood the technique is a stepping up motion, digging in the toes, standing up, and digging in the axes. It was exhausting! Hard to get used to just using the toes and not the sides of the feet either. It was hard to trust my weight on just the short spikes from my toes dug into the ice. I slipped and fell a few times, and each time I had no idea I was about to fall. I can’t imagine trying to lead climb on the ice! That would be terrifying.

The ice was really dirty from all the rock, and swinging the axes caused sprays of ice and dirt to hit us in the face and fall on the people belaying down below. I finished 3.5 routes of the 7 they set up. As soon as there was a just a slight overhang, my arms were toast. A really fun day out on the glacier though!

Hang gliding over Abel Tasman National Park – April 30, 2011

Nelson is the sunshine capital of New Zealand and the place that I decided to hang glide. It’s something that’s always appealed to me and this was the first time along the trip that I had the chance to give it a try.

The weather was just perfect, with a beautiful cloudless sky. I wasn’t aware when I first booked it, but we weren’t going to be running and jumping off a cliff with the hang glider (like I imagined). Instead the hang glider was tied to a micro light plane and towed up into the sky and released. Apparently this is the safer method, and we could actually get up higher in the air.

They fitted me with a helmet and gave me a warm jacket and gloves. I had to put on a stiff suit that was a cross between a jacket and a sleeping bag. From my bag I was clipped to the hang glider, and in front I was clipped to the pilot, who also wore the same stiff suit.

Lift off was a very cool feeling. I could see the micro light taking off, and then suddenly we were also airborne. We circled higher and higher until we were at 2720ft, when we were released from the micro light. That was a strange feeling as well. At first we were being pulled forward, and then all of a sudden we were weightless and gliding.

I had views of Abel Tasman National Park, mountains and the orchards below us. It was much quieter than a micro light flight. We did some turns on the way down, and it felt like being on a roller coaster, only really, really high up in the air. I got that kind of sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. It was kind of freaky being that high up out in the open and feeling like I could just drop at any time. The flight was about 15minutes long.

The landing was really cool. As we got closer to the ground the pilot turned the hang glider so that it looked like we were in a nose dive straight for the ground. He suddenly guided it upwards so we just coasted along a few meters above the ground. We were going so fast I felt like we might crash before we landed, but before I knew it we were rolling along the grass and coming to a stop.

Arriving in Christchurch, New Zealand – April 25, 2011

Landing in New Zealand I am now 18 hours ahead of Edmonton time. It feels a bit strange to be so far ahead of everyone else at home. I booked my flight into Christchurch last June when I booked my RTW ticket, before any of the major recent earthquakes. After hearing about the earthquake in February, I was a bit apprehensive as to what I would find landing here. I booked myself a couple of nights at one of the few open hostels and gave myself a day to sort out my plans for travelling New Zealand.

During our ride from the airport the shuttle driver pointed out piles of debris and buildings that were condemned to be torn down. We saw piles of rubble and beside it buildings that looked completely fine. It was crazy to see the damage in person, and meet all these people who live with earthquakes on a regular basis. The driver said that just the night before there had been a 4.1 magnitude earthquake. The entire CBD (Central Business District aka downtown area) has been shut down and fenced off, so we had to drive the long was around.

The hostel I stayed it was pretty cool, it was the old jailhouse converted into a hostel. It was surprisingly bright and open inside. It still had the similar layout of a jail, with rooms lining either sides of the upper and main floors, and a large open area in the centre.

I had one full day in Christchurch to sort out my travel plans (I arrived in New Zealand with only my Lonely Planet and about a month of travel time) and explore the city. I decided on a hop on hop off bus that looped through both islands because it was the cheapest way for me to travel and see most of the country along the way. I started with a loop around the south island and would then be then flying up to Auckland to do a loop through the north. With that settled I headed out to explore the city.

I headed over to the CBD and walked some of the perimeter. Stationed about every 200m were army guards to make sure that people weren’t sneaking in. They looked pretty bored with their job. A few were reading, and others had laptops out. I’m guessing that during the day they mostly just get curious tourists coming by to take a few photos. I was very tempted to ask if I could get a photo with one of them.

It was strange to see an entire city centre as a ghost town. There were a few crews inside the fenced area organizing things. From what I heard, the city was sending in construction crews to start clearing out the rubble. A guy I met at the hostel was planning on sticking around in Christchurch for a few months working with a construction crew. I met quite a few backpackers who were sticking around the city to work for a few months.

In the evening I went out for beers with a few people from the hostel, and while we were out we felt an earthquake. At first I didn’t even realize what was going on, but looking around the bar I could definitely see things shaking. It lasted only about 10 seconds, and apparently these aftershocks happen all the time.