Mt. Cook National Park and Sebastopol Bluffs climbing

I've found the national parks in New Zealand to be spectacular...maybe it's because I finally have time and am able to visit them. It makes me wish I'd devoted more time in the States to camping and hiking over the weekends, though traffic makes it much more of a hefty endeavour and there are fewer youth hostels and such  to make it easy to do on your own.

That said, Mt. Cook National Park has been a great place to chill for a bit. Maybe not exactly chill, actually. I joined up with the NZ Alpine Club for some climbing Saturday morning. I learned about the trip the evening prior (bout 10 p.m.) and start time was for 7:30 a.m. the next day. I had a 30-40 minute hike out to meet them at Unwin Hut (where they were staying) before we all went out to the Sebastopol Bluffs to do the Red Arette. It was quite a hike and I hitched a short ride toward the Tasman Glacier area (still sore from my previous day of hiking/biking), and then walked the rest of the way. I hate walking flats because the objective is visible for kilometers and kilometers, yet you still have a ways to go...I much prefer the challenge of hills.

When I arrived, we jumped into the cars and zoomed to the Bluffs. The approach is a bit of a hike generally uphill for about 15 minutes through grassy, sharp-edged bushes, and then lots and lots of scree. It was my first time sport climbing outside and I think I freaked out my partner Tom. Anyway, I ended up doing an easy 14 and then a very easy 13. It's a strange feeling to be up 37 meters high. I was going to abseil down, but had never done it before. It's when you control your own descent. One of the guys, Brent, nervously told me that if I'd never done it before, and then hooked on wrong, I could just fly off the rock. It's basically all you and your gear. Well, I wasn't really nervous 'til then. When I got to the top of the first climb I still wanted to try abseiling. So I did -- it was just fine. Then, after we did the easy 13 climb, I decided I wanted to try to lead. It was my first lead climb in a long time. Leading the climb is really taking on the full burden because you have to puzzle out the route on sight, and most importantly hook up your quick draws and then rope in. The person coming up next then is simply belayed from the top, and it's not so scary. When you're leading, you also have to climb up ABOVE your hooks, and so if you fall, you fall pretty far -- to the next bolt -- assuming you hooked in properly. Leading that climb I felt a bit nervous, but focused on the rock and the here and now. I was fine then.

From there we went to the Freda du Faur special presentation at the Edmund Hillary theater at the Hermitage Hotel. I'd tried to get a ticket earlier, for this centenary celebration of her being the first female to climb Mt. cook...but, I'd not succeeded. I ended up lucking out and getting one of the last spare tickets someone had just given up. For $20 I got an awesome presentation by amazing women mountaineers, as well as afternoon tea at the Hermitage -- tuna sandwiches, tea, coffee, and yummmmmy cakes! I had way way too many cakes, but damn they were good. In general the hotel is so expensive that it costs about $500 a night there, so...yeah, afternoon tea for $20 is pretty damn good, especially since I got to celebrate awesome women mountaineers/climbers.

Sunday (today) morning I headed out to meet up with the climbing group again at the Bluffs at about 8:30 a.m. I ended up hitching a ride with a couple New Zealanders who dropped me off at the Bluffs. Then I ran up the side. I'd been unable to reach the head of the group all morning and so wasn't sure if he'd taken up an extra helmet for me or if they were even there. (They did have it, and they were there.) I'd worn shorts this time, because the day prior had been EXCEEDINGLY hot. Well, as luck would have it, today was very chilly with cold, gusting winds. Boy what a day of climbing. I joined Ray and Brent on Shark Attack. It's a 3-pitch climb that's rated 12, 15, and then 16/17. I ended up going last on the first pitch, and then second on the second pitch. Each one was about 30ish meters. By the end of the second pitch the wind was starting to gust and clouds were gathering like it was going to rain. I was pretty damn cold. On the final pitch Brent led up, but then, when he was gathering up rope I was talking with Raymond about knots and the last bit of rope went up without us noticing. I was going to tie into that rope...instead, it was stuck up high and especially because of the wind, we could not get it lower down.

Though Brent could have rappelled down and gathered up gear, I wanted to try going up -- so that meant I had to lead. Let me say that this was probably the scariest thing I have ever done. Up on the final pitch, at about 100 meters, with the wind gusting at more than 40 mph, I was hugging the rock, my knees suffering from multiple bumps and lots of abrasions. On some areas it looked like the slab had no holds whatsoever. Scary as hell. The wind was what made it bad though. Technicality wise, it was fine for me, but with the cold howling wind, it was crazy. I finally got up to the left over rope, after leading all the way past the crux (hardest bit of the climb) and more than 2/3 the way. I stopped on a pittance of foothold to tie myself into the other rope. I was balanced precariously on nearly nothing about 3-5 meters above my most recent bolted hook. That meant a 10-15 foot fall if something went wrong...and as long as the carabiner held up. I finally got the figure eight knot in, after tugging multiple times for more slack, and yelling up against the wind for the rope. I could barely feel my toes as they were numb from the cold and my shoes. After I was roped in at the top, it was less crazy of a climb not only mentally, but also physically -- I'd done the hard part already. I picked up the rest of the gear along the way and once I got up reveled in being safely on the ledge. I edged in so the wind wasn't biting into me so much, even so it was very cold and I was starting to shiver a bit. Raymond decided to stay on the second pitch ledge and not go up in the wind (his words later, "Respect! I was scared just standing on the ledge here in the wind.")

Of course that wasn't the end of it. Then it was time to abseil down more than 100 meters. Since I didn't know how to properly hook myself in, I had to rely on the knowledge of Brent. He was going to go first because the ropes had gotten tangled on bushes below us, but I didn't want to figure out my ropes up there on my own. I went down first. I had to abseil down without going past the bushes or I'd get screwed up on the ropes and could end up falling to my death. As I was going down I wondered if I'd been smart to go first. I had to stop and collect the ropes, while balanced on all my gear and absolutely nothing else on the wonderfully sheer rock face. Then I had to throw the ropes down. But first I had to go to the right and pick up gear that I was still technically roped into from the lead climb up...then traverse back and scoop up rope. I threw them back into bushes twice and had to redo them. I finally got it right and then continued to abseil down to meet Raymond. Brent then met up. Everyone was shaking a bit from the craziness of the day's climbing. We fixed the ropes again and then continued to abseil with Raymond going first. I went second. The last 75 meters or so was a straight abseil down and at the bottom I celebrated by switching into my tennis shoes. I could feel the heat off my ATC (belay device).

After everyone was done we packed our stuff up and headed to meet the rest of the group. They'd set up a 16 rated top rope just nearby. After another 15-minute or so hike down the scree, across grassy bushes and up more scree, we got to them. I ended up going up first. It was FAR easier than the other climbs, but still rather high at about 20ish meters. I was a bit shaken still from earlier, so trying to take it easy and relax. The previous climb I remembered doing some crazy climbing, really good stuff, but crazy so high up...stuff I might do on the boulder wall only a couple feet off the ground. My technical practice really came in handy though, especially relying on my feet. Anyway, back to that 16 top rope. I finished it off handily enough (on sight as well), and then belayed Brent up it. That was it for the day. I got dropped off at my hostel. I took a quick shower (burning knees), dressed my wounds, and did laundry, then ravenously ate some food. Now I'm just relaxing...oh what a day. I distinctly remember being on that rock in the wind and thinking of Tom's words the day prior -- "I should just take up stamp collecting."

The thing is, I wasn't really scared of any of the climbs, but everyone around me was so paranoid that I couldn't help beginning to worry myself. It's mostly a mental job in many cases, and if you believe in yourself and believe in your skill (that has come with good training), you will succeed.

Here and there...

8:13 p.m. 12/3/1: Mt. Cook Village

My neck and back are pretty much killing me right now, but this place, and my day was worth it. A quick backtrack to Dunedin. A very cool university town (Otago University) with about 110,000 people or so…it’s not too big, and not too small, and is very near the Otago Peninsula, where there is a ton of wildlife such as albatross, various other birds, and yellow-eyed penguin. The highlights of my trip to Dunedin included to Cadbury Chocolate Factory, which was huge and took up what looked like a couple city blocks. The 1.5-hour tour was pretty nice – especially considering the bag, which they filled up with chocolate whenever you answered some piece of trivia correctly. The only downside was that I was also on the tour with a bunch of teenage girls who were in town for a volleyball game. They screamed when the chocolate waterfall was dropped. Screamed.

The city is cool in that it has a lot of character, a central area called “The Octagon” off of which are a lot of other streets with cool bars and restaurants – lots of cafes, after all, it’s a university town. The other thing I did in Dunedin was the Elm Wildlife tour. It ended up being about 6.5 hours, including transport time. We saw amazing Northern Royal Albatross, with a 3-meter wingspan, and a 1.2-meter head to toe size. This is the only place where they breed on a landmass that is not an island. We saw five of them sitting on eggs; saw one take off to fly, and lots flying about. It’s not too common, unless wind conditions are right, so we very much lucked out. What I love about albatross are the anthropomorphic features of their relationships: they mate for life, so will take a few years to find a partner; they have a one-year get to know you time, then they separate for a while before returning to breed; when they see each other again they spend quality time bonding again; there are divorces and affairs, but these are relatively rare. Oh, and also, the men and women evenly split nearly all the duties (except laying the egg, of course). But watching it, etc…split. Female sea lions are not so lucky. They get the raw end of the deal in seemingly every way. Penguins too are similar to humans in their pairing. We saw these yellow-eyed penguins (and one very small blue penguin!) and it was so strange to see them without any ice or snow, and just in grass. We saw a couple of them walk right by us! One of them was feeling very social (and single), and hobbled over to say hello to another, tilting its head and chin all the way back – a biiiiig hello. Very cute. All in all, it was a pretty cool way to spend an evening. Oh, and last highlight of this town, nearly forgot. A very nice Asian market with rice balls and soups, and tofu! It was so nice to see…

The next morning it was back on the bus for Lake Tekapo. Of course the bus broke down and we ended up hanging out at a café for a couple hours. It was alright, I took the time to get a bit of work done, and also have ice cream. Later we would stop for ice cream again…and, well, later…Yeah, a triple ice cream day! It’s amazing how doing nothing builds upon itself so much so that you end up festering in the laziness of it all…and eating more ice cream.

That afternoon we arrived into Lake Tekapo pretty late. A big group of us had pitched in $10 each for a barbecue, and boy oh boy was it worth it. Well, first of all, let me describe the view. On the way into town we drove past a beautiful lake (can’t remember the name right now), behind which there was a perfectly cloudless view of Mount Cook. This is the tallest mountain in New Zealand, part of the Southern Alps, and also the training ground for Sir Edmund Hillary, the first man to summit Mount Everest with Tenzing Norgay. The white snowcapped mountains loomed up above a bright blue, radioactive-looking lake. Apparently it is that color because of the silt (minerals) from the glacial melt that drips into the water. It’s beautiful. Lake Tekapo is a bit of a deeper blue, situated with a backdrop of snowy-capped mountains, and forest around it. We had an amazing barbecue with burger patties, chicken, buns of course, sausage, homemade coleslaw and salad, potato salad, chips and dip, drinks, and more ice cream (hokey pokey, of course) for dessert. It was spectacular, and really fun to hang out with a cool group and relax right in front of such a spectacular scene. Afterward a small group of us headed into town (only a few hundred people live there) to here Mike King, a Maori comedian who is pretty famous in NZ, perform at a local bar/restaurant. We got a bit of a cheaper ticket in and a complimentary beer, which definitely made it worth it. The guy was good, though very rude (seriously)…though I knew enough not to take offense. He tried to pick on everyone in the place, though when he came to me I think I confused him a bit. He was trying to go off on Americans rushing through things, then he asked me how long I’d been traveling – “five weeks” I told him. Oh…that’s a long time… he said. Actually, I’ve been traveling for six weeks…Anyway, he said some other stuff, and I made fun of him back, which stopped him from bugging our table most the rest of the night. It was an interesting show though, and I’m glad I went. I crawled into bed way too late for my 8 a.m. departure to Mt. Cook National Park.

This morning I was making breakfast with a couple minutes to spare before pickup when I saw the van go by. I frantically called the phone number for the place and they got the guy back. I was the only person to pick up, and so it ended up being quite a pleasant 1.5-hour journey to the park with lots of photo stops whenever I liked. The hostel here is far FAR nicer than the one at Lake Tekapo that I was staying at. I forgot to mention that I met a couple Brits at the comedy show (they ended up giving us all a ride over and back) and one had a girlfriend who was headed up to the park this weekend to climb with the NZ Alpine Club. We exchanged info and he gave me a contact…and well, fingers crossed, I’ll be climbing with them tomorrow! But anyway, today I went on a beautiful hike through Hooker Valley, about four hours return, for wonderful views of Mt. Cook and the lake below it. I also stopped at the Alpine Memorial, which had small plaques memorializing the people who had died in the park (primarily trying to summit/return Mt. Cook or Mt. Tasman). It was very sad. Lots of people had left little rocks as markers that they had been there, and I did too. The little commentaries on the plaques were sad, but also uplifting in some cases. After I did the hike it was about 3/3:30 p.m. The sun was blazing and without much shade during the trail, I really felt the heat. I headed back to the hostel, glad I’d done the shorter of the walks I’d been agonizing between – after all, I’m going to climb tomorrow!

Well, back at the hostel I decided to rent a bike to see the Tasman Glacier. A bunch of people told me I could just bike there and it’d be lovely, and very worth it. And I didn’t know when else to do it. So…I did…12 kilometers each way on a gravel dirt road under the sun. At one point I had to stop and reapply sunblock because I could feel my arms burning. Cars would drive by and dirt and dust would fly up and cover me. I could tell who the empathetic ones were because they’d stop and let me pass, or drive slowly by me so as to avoid dust clouds. Others would just zoom by. Once I got to the trail head, I discovered I had a lovely 20-minute uphill climb to the glacier viewing. But, once I got there, it was worth it. I chilled out and thanked the Lord I’d horded food in my backpack, and then reapplied sunblock again and rode back, taking pictures along the way. The 2-kilometer hill on the way over was OK, but on the way back, it was far steeper. I ended up getting off my bike and walking with it for the hill part. When I got back to the hostel I took a LOVELY shower, made myself dinner and well, here I am. I was way too tired to checkout a local band playing very nearby here apparently…argh. I hope I’m good to climb tomorrow. Anyway, there we go, very very quick update. I’ll try and elaborate more on this place next time. I forget so many things when I finally do get the chance to blog…it’s a real pity.

**Just remembered -- the mountain bike I rented was AWESOME! Great shock absorbers...though the brakes are switched here, as are the sides of the road they drive on...I need to get myself a real mountain bike when I get home...and a road bike.

NZ joke: Is there a single sandfly in the Milford Sound?

Answer: Nope, they’re all married with large families.

[Disclaimer: This post was written on a bus while I was car sick, and is now being posted on a crappy Internet connection without editing. Edits will be added later (fingers crossed).]

Yeap, I've been bitten, even with my gallons of bug spray. The thing is, you don’t really use the spray til you’ve realized you need it in an area – often after you have already been bitten. I’ve heeded warnings from some, and so have probably avoided a lot more bites than most people. The greatest motivator when going for a run is that if you stop, these small fly-like bastards will bite into you and leave a bloody little red spot. Once you itch it, it rises upward and turns an ugly red, purple. It’s quite terrible….

Okay, where was I. Fairly behind. Franz Josef. I’d planned to ice climb last Saturday, but when I woke up that morning it was pouring rain. As a result, the climb was cancelled. For those who have been following the news, 29 coal miners were also stuck underground in Greymouth, ironically the very day I decided to leave Greymouth (Friday), the explosion that trapped them occurred. I found out about it once I reached Franz Josef and monitored the news as best I could, without consistent communications. The Internet at this place was $13 NZ for three hours. Ouch. Anyway, I ended up traveling up to Greymouth Sunday for the story, catching the only morning bus at 9:30 a.m. and cancelling my ice climb (though the sun was starting to peak over the edges fo the mountains). The 3ish hour journey was not great fun…and for some reason bus journeys seem to make most people pretty exhausted. Including myself. Anyway, at about 1 p.m. I finally get to my hostel, drag my belongings up three flights of stairs (pain) and then, in a city crawling with hundreds of journalists from as far as France (!), I went looking for people to give me a gauge on the situation there. The city had hunkered down, I had no car (so everything was a 15 to 20 minute walk), and my phone cost me 89 cents (NZ) per minute to call anyone. Needless to say, I essentially had no phone. It was a challenge…especially since my deadline was in 3.5 hours (drop dead four hours (or 5 p.m.)).

Oh, and of course no one would really speak (officially) until the press conference about 3 p.m. The presser started at 3:15 p.m. and was still going at 3:50 p.m. when I left and went to work – begging a bartender for Internet at their place. I had about 30 minutes to get my notes in order and write the story, ignoring a meeting with the Greymouth mayor. Greymouth, a town of about 10,000 people is the West Coast’s largest town on the South Island of New Zealand. It’s also a coal mining town and the root of much of the South Island’s industrial rise (coal and gold mining). Therefore, most New Zealanders have some tie to the West Coast, especially on this island. Of the 4.4 million New Zealanders, about ¼ live on the South Island. And so with crisis, ambitious reporters seeking to make names for themselves, and everyone working some kind of angle (nearly), the locals had really hunkered down into their painful vigils. I have never seen a place go as brick wall as this place. No one would talk. And certainly not on the record. Because everyone knows everyone, there’s even more pressure to remain silent and let other people grieve/deal in peace. Everyone had kicked in to help out with the hopeful effort (days later that turned a lot more negative, and two explosions later the relief effort has become a recovery effort). It’s so interesting because I have found Kiwis some of the kindest, most helpful people I’ve ever met, so to see them close up so, is perhaps understandable, but also less authentic a picture for those (especially) in the foreign media.

The next day I took the same trip back to Franz Josef. This time I looked at my watch when I got off the bus for a break (I was learning!)…I had my ice climb booked for the next day…and once I arrived in Franz Josef, it looked like it would be a good day indeed. The sun was out and the entire place looked different. My hostel, however, was a bit smelly and I found some person’s toe nail on my bed under my pillow. Vomit.

Okay, just zooming through this update. The ice climb was spectacular, first of all. After Tongariro, probably the coolest thing I have done here. The day started at 7:45 a.m. at the glacier center. We got our equipment: crampons, plastic boots, backpacks, waterproof pants and coat and whatever else we might have needed. Then it was a nice 20 minute bus ride to the carpark, and then a two hour hike or so to the glacier. From there it was another couple hours up the glacier, during which time we put on our plastic boots and crampons, hiking up and up through beautiful ice falls and other formations. The entire area had been checked out by glacier guides earlier that morning to avoid the 2009 catastrophe where a couple tourists were caught in an ice fall. They are very real dangers, and even then, I think most people were careful to walk in each others' steps. Without a guide the area is roped off to visitors because of these real dangers.

It was cool to hear the glub glub glubbing fo the glacier moving and water melting. We also heard what sort of sounded like a car bomb, as a large portion of the glacier fell somewhere. It was a beautiful sunny day, and we got to do a number of climbs with our ice axes and crampons. I was the first volunteer to give climbing a go (I raised my hand so fast the two guides laughed at me)…but it was something I really wanted to do as much as possible. I ended up getting in the most climbs of the day (six) of everyone. Someone asked me if I’d been a pro rock climber, which was really really nice to hear (and not even close). I loved ice climbing. Maybe I’ve read to much Jon Krakauer, but it was cool to trust your feet, to kick in your steps and trust the tips of your crampons and your legs, and to use technique, and a b it of strength (even still) with the ice axe … to move up vertical ice on a glacier. In California I think they have a bit of this, but it’s mostly ice frozen in waterfalls. Colorado has it as well, and I’m sure Alaska too. It was so cool to use features on the glacier and to pick your spots. My arms didn’t tire much until a few climbs  were done, and it was really nice to see that some climbing technique had helped. All in all, a most awesome nine-hour day or so. It made everything worth it.

Then it was onward to Wanaka from Franz Josef. Wanaka is a sleepy little town on the way to Queenstown. I’m not sure if I’m repeating myself here, but I ended up spending Thanksgiving there. I found another American who was working and living at a hostel there with Couchsurfing. It ended up being me, him (a Minesottan), a Canadian, another American who hailed from Boston originally but now lived in Tahoe working at ski resorts, and an Israeli girl, plus later two American guys also from California (Palo Alto). Everyone brought some food and we ended up having salad, bread, chicken, and lots of harvest vegetables, plus chocolate for dessert. Oh yeah, and sparkling wine, cider and beer. It was a beautiful afternoon, and with the sun setting at about 9 p.m. or so here, we had hours to while away and relax. The next day was my last in Wawnaka before heading down to Queenstown, billed as the world’s adventure capital. My last morning I ended up going for a nice walk alogn the lake and meeting another rock climber setting up a line to walk on, we chatted for a bit, and is usually th case, I learned about all these cool climbs, right before I had to leave. Damn. Then I met up with the other California girl and Canadian to play some rugby ball catch on the field near the lake. It was beautiful and I put my feet in earlier…clearer than many a bathtub. Anyway, it was my first time playing rugby ball catch, and so I learned how to throw the ball in different ways, and why. Then we kicked around a soccer ball. Soon enough it was time for me to head out and catch my bus. It was off to Queenstown. As it was Friday night, the Israeli girl had invited me for Shabbat dinner with her parents and her. They had run into each other by accident while hiking the Abel Tasman trail (one of the other smallest population countries out there running into their own family members on another similarly small country – small small world).

It was a beautiful dinner, with lots and lots of food. The family was very sweet, and as I’ve been feeling a bit homesick lately with the holidays coming round, I really appreciated their invite. They  joked about wanting to adopt me, and we exchanged info, as I am on the same itinerary essentially as they are. We will meet again, I am sure.

The next day (Saturday) I headed up the Queenstown gondola and checked out a view of the city, then walked around and got myself a bit more oriented. I also treated myself to a movie, “Harry Potter,,” which I’ve been wanting to see for some time. I’ve been feeling a bit ragged and rushed. And my dad said I needed to learn how to have a vacation. Maybe true, but I guess I’m trying to make up for 10 months in two, or however long. I want to appreciate every moment I have to do whatever I want, go wherever I want, and just be outdoors, living in the beautiful landscapes that are New Zealand. I guess I may be a bit overzealous sometimes.

I forgot to mention…this place is (again) full of random, serendipitous meet ups. I ran into Hubert and Helga, again, this time about sunset in Queenstown, right along the lakefront after my movie, on my way back to my place for dinner. It was so great to see them. And after the last couple meetups we exchanged info so that we can see each other again in one of the next random spots, or in Australia, or otherwise back in Switzerland, where they live…

Sunday, today, I headed out on the bus at 7:55 a.m. to the Milford Sound, apparently *the* place to visit in the world in 2009,. It is a stunning fiord, or narrow inlet from the Tasman sea with the world’s highest vertical rise from the water as well as the highest cliff there known as Mitre Peak. We took a beautiful one hour and 45 minute cruise through the Milford Sound peeking into the Tasman Sea – open water – then back through and getting up close to one of the water falls that is apparently larger in water volume than Niagra Falls (in multiples). Of course I spent a good 30 minutes of this trip trying to wipe tar off my only outdoors pants. Someone had tracked it on their shoes somewhere onto the boat or bus, and onto my pants. It didn’t all come off, and I was pretty upset for a bit…then tried to make the best of my time. Argh. I’m writing this now on the bus ride back as it provides free wireless! To bad the road is so windy it’s easy to get car sick. Funny that they wouldn’t provide this sort of Internet all the time, it just goes to show that NZ *can* provide such Internet use, but chooses not to, chooses instead to charge an exorbitant amount simply because they can. A part of it also has to do with the concept of “horsepower” so to speak, the fact that there aren’t enough people here for enough turn around for items to cost less money, for sales to occur. Therefore outdoors gear, for example, or even food, is incredibly pricey here. In fact, I spoke with Japanese people who found stuff pricey here, so…yeah…Apparently there is a Canadian who regularly goes home and fills his suitcase with Leathermans, for about $75 or so a pop, and since they sell here for about $300, he sells them for $200 or so on a local website, “trademe.co.nz” and that is basically how he makes his money. Not so legal, probably, but a damn easy way to make money.

Tonight I will try the infamous Queenstown “Ferg Burger”…I’d planned to have it for lunch tomorrow, but didn’t realize that I’d be on the road again, traveling out to Dunedin. I didn’t realize my bus was only leaving Monday or Wednesday, and since I’m not a huge fan of expensive cities, even if they are Aspen-esque and beautiful, I’d rather move on and spend a bit of time in Dunedin, which also has a Jewish community of sorts and is a college town as well. There I’ll hopefully get my last bit of work done asap and celebrate Hanukkah. That would be nice…So yeah, burger tonight, bus tomorrow at 7:30 a.m., and then work work work…before Wednesday night’s celebration. I will probably stay in town there an inordinate amount of time because of the work…otherwise I won’t be able to sightsee much at all. I feel a bit of pressure to take my time and do as best a job I can on this story since I was so rushed on the last one. But well, “perfect is the enemy of the good,” so I will do the best I can under the circumstances.

Hopefully I’ll get some Internet connection soon enough (mountains) and be able to post this…

It has been tough feeling a bit homesick this week, and I’m wondering why that’s the case. I think I also miss Baghdad a bit, or not Baghdad, per se, but the people and the relationships I had there, the community of sorts, even though it wasn’t always the best situation. My life has changed so incredibly in a relatively short amount of time, and I’m still reeling as I try to recover from each situation/lifestyle and then move on to the next thing…without perhaps fully processing each thing. I don’t know. Someone told me family and friends will still be there when you get back, but likewise, so too will these countries and places I want to visit. The issue, I guess, is time, and opportunity, and ability and willingness to travel. Who knows how that will be affected by the circumstances of life. But I guess that’s life. Damn sand fly bit me again.

Written Sunday New Zealand local time about 7 p.m. in Queenstown. Posted in Dunedin at about 10:40 p.m. Tuesday. Clearly I have some updating to do.

People think Americans are dumb

Perhaps multiple times a day while traveling here I have had people point out incredibly obvious basic facts of geography, knowledge, or plain trivia to me...as if I couldn't tell my left hand from my right. It was funny at first, but then got a bit annoying. It's primarily the Germans and French who have done this to me. Here's how it works. The person says something that I can't quite understand because of their accent or because they are mumbling (lots of people don't enunciate)...and, well, I say "what"? Then they tell me something like..."Paris, it's the capital city of France." One guy asked me in a patronizing sort of way that I can't replicate via blogging if I had ever been to Europe or if I've ever left the States before. Now, this was only a few minutes into our conversation. This guy later went on to talk about how Americans could be very close-minded, superficial and clueless. Another guy said most Americans don't get sarcasm (my comment: "Oh, that really hurts" -- hand to chest). It's a funny funny world.

Anyway, today is Thanksgiving, and I've managed to find one other American here in Wanaka, which is a town of about 5,000 people on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. It's a sleepy little ski town with snow-capped mountains around a beautiful lake, and the less presumptive sister of it's more inland neighbor Queenstown (about 1.5 hours away) -- aka the adventure capital of NZ. It's a bit of a gray day, and I've found myself snacking the last couple days as if to make up for being away from the comforts of family and holiday cheer. I also, amazingly, think I'm a bit hiked-out. I think I went on a bit of a frenzy recently because I had not been able to do my fill of hiking, biking, running, kayaking, or whatever else, while I was in Baghdad. It's strange to think that just a year ago I was starting work in Baghdad this week. I have a lot in life to be thankful for -- especially the very fact that I am able to take a trip like this and do what I want for a bit of time. Maybe that's why I've tried to make each day meaningful in some way.

When you're traveling, aside form the wondrous landscapes a country might offer, it's the people that you meet along the way that make it memorable (or not). So far I've run into Michael, the Viennese guy from a few posts back, again in Nelson, then Greymouth. In fact, he'd messaged me about meeting up in Christchurch, and I'd messaged back. Then I didn't check his most recent message, but as I trudged over to the bus stop with all my stuff...I ran into him. He'd just arrived in town -- and I was leaving. Small world among backpackers. I met this lovely woman, Likun, who is from China and celebrated her 43rd birthday on the Abel Tasman track with me. She is a single mother of an 18-year-old back in Wellington (where she now lives), and she loves tango. Her own mother is visiting for six months from China, and Likun seized the weekend for a short trip on her own. It was her first time traveling alone, and she and I hung out and tried to make the day memorable. I gave her some extra pieces of my dark chocolate chili bar, we ran into each other in town again the next day, and exchanged info.

I also ran back into Hubert and Helga, that older kindly Austrian couple from Paihia. I ran into them in Franz Josef while boarding the over-booked bus. It wasn't the best of circumstances. I'd popped my stuff on the bus in a seat while I watched over my bag to make sure it was loaded. Hubert and Helga were waiting on their stuff as well; they had done the same. Well, when I got on the bus later it was crammed full and Helga was in the middle of a not fun situation. Some kids (a bit younger than myself) had decided to move their stuff and take the seats for themselves. These self-serving individuals (a couple) from some place in Europe sat smugly in their seats and gave no respect whatsoever to poor Helga. She was so upset. She called them rude and went over whatever other seat was open irrespective of the items on the seats. My seats. I came into this and softly told her, "Helga, this is my seat." Looking her in the eye as she had a panicked sort of look on her face -- "These people just took our bags off our seats." I ended up moving over to another single seat so that she and her husband could sit together and the bad taste of the morning could hopefully be a bit lessened. It was awful to see, but not one person seemed to give a shit. This older couple, in their late 60s, got no respect, and was in fact mocked by the people on the bus. What a lack of respect people have these days. In another age, or maybe another place, people would have gotten up to let their elders have a seat...but not now. It's a "me first" mentality. It makes me feel sad and sick.

I've been listening to James Blunt's new album "Some Kind of Trouble." It's a really great album and pretty therapeutic. A friend introduced me to him a while back and told me a bit about his background, and then I read more about him. He was in the British military and was the first Brit into Kosovo. He saw some awful things, and wrote music while there.

Hm, what's another random for this blog posting. Ah yes, New Zealand is damn expensive. The other day I paid $4.10 NZ for a Diet Coke! That's more than $3 USD. I didn't realize it was that pricey til I'd taken a sip (I was thirsty!)...and then well, yeah...I wouldn't have bought it otherwise. Oh well. Coffee here is typically $3.50 - $4 NZ, or $3.20 USD. Wow, right? Meals in most places are in their $20s NZ, or $16 USD. These are regular restaurants, not really anything special. I don't know how NZlanders do it, except...well, I think minimum wage is about $20 NZ an hour here. That might do it.

Okay, well, I'll be posting again soon with my time in Greymouth and Franz Josef (ice climbing!)...it has been an incredibly crazy week -- tough, stressful, fun...Tonight I'm hoping will be fun. The other Amercan (Amory) and I will be getting together with a Canadian and a German to share a Thanksgiving meal. I do miss the all the extravaganzas of my youth. Oh well, you make best with what you have.

Sweet as!

I’m writing this on a bus headed from Nelson down to Greymouth. I thought it’d be the perfect time to  catch up on a bit of blogging…I was in Nelson from Sunday through Thursday morning (today). Nelson is a small town of about 42,000 people. The center is small enough that if you want to walk from one corner to the next, you don’t need much more than a few minutes. To get from one “outskirt” to the next on foot takes about 30 minutes or so, and that’s walking slowly. It’s small, quaint, and full of colorful little cafes and restaurants with pretty awnings and delicious, though expensive, foods. It also has a pretty rocking clubbing scene on Bridge Street that can, apparently, bring out as many as 600 people out on a good Saturday night.

Nelson is not only one of the nicer South Island towns, but it’s also part of the Tasman Bay area, and often combined with the small city of Richmond and included with Golden Bay on the map. It’s also a gateway to Abel Tasman National Park, New Zealand’s newest and smallest national park. I believe it was founded in 1962 (though I could be wrong – no net to check now). The coastline park takes you across dozens of beautiful, semi-secluded beaches with golden sands (from the weathering of rocks along the shore), and clear blue and green waters. I decided to go for a roughly 20-kilometer day hike from Bark Bay down to Marahau. I caught a water taxi up to Bark’s Bay, which is about halfway up the national park coastline (but allegedly one of the more prettier spots, and a nicer walk down than up). There are tons of camping sites and huts throughout the area, and if I had ultra lightweight equipment or could take that kinda weight on my back, I probably would have stayed there for a couple days. The hike is easy in most spots, with a wide and often-shaded track. There are a few mild uphill points, but nothing very strenuous. The nicest parts are the beaches along the way, and the ability to stop and relax along the way is what makes it worth the visit. As I only had about seven hours for hike, lunch, and beach relaxing, I regretted deciding to hike so much of it. Compared to Tongariro National Park and the Crossing/summit…it’s a rather boring walk that seems really long. Much of it is the same, and often you’re on a track that doesn’t give you too much of a view unless you do the extra meters down to the beach and then back up onto the trail. When you do, it’s definitely worth it. I stopped at Stillwater Beach, for example, and got to lie on my back for a bit on the beautiful sand – so peaceful and pristine. Still, the walk was a nice accomplishment, and a cool experience. Especially nice was getting to Torrent Bay before 12:30 p.m., so that I could do the 1-kilometer coastal walk through shallow pools as the tide was coming in. About 30 minutes later and I would have had to do the 4-kilometer inland walk.

While In New Zealand I’ve decided to do a bit of reporting, and chatted with the local Nelson Weekly’s editor Andrew Board. He kindly let me use a desk in their office so I could more easily report. And of course I paid them back for calls I made. It was a big help. They were very nice, and gave me some no-nonsense local perspective as well. I ended up doing a full on two days of work there. Tuesday night I was invited to dinner at the paper’s publisher’s house by him and his wife. The guy has an advertising background and had some very interesting thoughts about journalism in general, and the newspaper business in particular. He picked me up at my place at 6:30 p.m. and we drove out to their house in Richmond, about 15 minutes away. It’s a beautiful home, overlooking the city. They had a great setup outside on a veranda during sunset, and the meal was absolutely one of the best I’ve had in a long time. They offered me wine, beer, rum, soda, or water. I took some Hawke’s Bay Sauvignon Blanc. They had a cheese platter with strawberries, crackers and apples, and then some freshly barbecued scallops as a starter. Then we moved on to typically $130 NZ per kilogram whitebait, which was fished out of Golden Bay by Andrew’s uncle (I believe) just a few days earlier. The little sardine-like fish are often cooked omelet-style, served as a frittata in egg. They were pretty good, though someone told me not to pay attention to all the “little eyes” and it kind of screwed my appetite for them. After the whitebait, they served calamari, then beautiful salmon and also some breaded chicken. We also had salads on the side. Then for dessert a full-on fruit salad and New Zealand’s special hokey pokey ice cream – yum! It was delicious. Afterward we had tea and coffee…Then Steve took me back to my place via the scenic route so I could see the beach and coastline. I also got to see the Southern Cross in the sky at one of the more southern points it will be at.

While working on this story I’ve met other interesting people. One guy though, Kurt, is a fellow American originally from Denver and now living in Baltimore. He is one of those Renaissance men who was a chef, a teacher, and is a real estate investor. He spoke a lot about smart investments, and gave me some tips as well on real estate investing so I could take charge of my life, so to speak. We had a great meal at Lambretta’s in Nelson, before he left town to go back home Tuesday. But I really bring him up because in contrast Steve told me I needed to marry an ad guy so I could live the life I want and report my days away. It was a funny difference.

On Wednesday I ran into Michael, the Austrian I’ve met multiple times now, in Paihia, Rotorua, and now here. We went out for a drink – well at the hostel ultimately – and that was my last night in Nelson. Today was an early start and we’re nearly at Greymouth. We did stop for a walk along the beach, and these beautiful sandstone/limestone eroded pancake rocks (the blowhole was not really working since it wasn’t high tide). I’m feeling a bit bus-sick right now since the roads are so windy, so I think I will stop. More to come though since I’ve figured out this whole netbook on the bus thing. I did schedule my ice climb for Saturday, and am quite excited about it! Details later.

Note: This is being published about 12 hours after I started writing this...

South Island, sorta.

I've done it again. Physically gotten ahead of myself. I'm in the South Island, in Picton right now, and about to head to Nelson, but I haven't finished off Wellington!

My last day in Wellington, Friday, was chill (as I wrote in my last entry). I went climbing in the evening with a very nice lady whose husband I'd met the day prior. She invited me to dinner, as well as offered me a place to stay next time I was in Wellington. I couldn't go out with them, unfortunately, because I had a show to catch. They were also headed out to a nature reserve Saturday, and I was sad I would be leaving Wellington and couldn't join them -- where were they a few days ago?! That's life, I guess.

The "Apollo 13" play was very well done. It's fully interactive and tries to include all 75 or so members of the audience, who are surgeons, comms officers, press, engineers, etc...with full-on consoles that work with phones, etc, in front of them. The set was very well done. One of the audience members was subbed in for an astronaut exposed to measles, who couldn't go on the trip. Walter Cronkite helped narrate through the show. I was "Beta Comms" and ended up calling up the astronaut's wives to have them head to Gene Krantz's home to be with his wife. Later Richard Nixon called me.

"President Nixon?"

"Get Gene Krantz on the phone."

"Uh, he's busy."

"Get Gene Krantz on the phone!"

"He's in the bathroom."

"You were just speaking to him!"

"He's very sick...he has...explosive diarrhea."

"I need..." (Meanwhile, they've written on the board "Say 'damn it' and hang up!"

"Damn it!" -- I hung up.

Well, that ended up being my scene. I think the whole show was a bit different for me because I was an actual America in the audience, and the American flags hanging up, and on the astronaut's suits were pretty cool. Everyone was involved in the show at pretty cool levels. One guy ended up trying to fix the carbon dioxide filtering on the shuttle, others were meteorologists, etc. At the end we had to determine the proper codes to get the shuttle back to Earth. Each row had the same code. I figured out the code for my row and passed it on -- it was pretty cool.

On Saturday morning I headed to the Interislander ferry at 7:10 a.m. to travel across the Cook Strait and head over to Picton on the South Island. The ferry was huge and included a children's playground, cinema, recliner lounges, sun deck, food court, bar, and observation/sun decks. It was early and I was pretty exhausted. We had to check our luggage...and I was amazed there were no x-ray machines or security checks boarding the ferry. It seemed like a bit of time travel to the past. People with cars could drive on their vehicles on the lower levels...You'd never see that in the States.

Picton is a beautiful little town of about 4,500 people on the northern tip of the South Island, primarily known for being a gateway between north and south islands. I was also using it as a gateway to the Marlborough Sounds wine region. I got picked up for my tasting at about 1:30 p.m., and headed over to a total of four vineyards. It was a short, but very nice day. New Zealand is known for its Sauvignon Blanc, and by some accounts is responsible for about 1/4 of the world's Sauv Blanc. They also have excellent Rieslings. Otherwise, their red wines are a bit lighter and not really my type of red. The wine tasting was fun, and educational, but otherwise a bit of a disappointment. Compared to Napa, Sonoma, Santa Barbara's wine trails...it's really not as beautiful, and the wine is pretty good, but not as amazing. There were a couple great wines, but otherwise, the overall experience was OK.

The hostel I'm staying at in Picton is called Sequoia Lodge, and it's excellent. Its the kind of place with no locks on its doors -- literally. I got my first night of really good sleep in a long long while last night. And I actually think sleeping in mixed dorms (as opposed to all female) makes people behave better and makes them more quiet. Working theory. Anyway, at 8 p.m. every evening they provide chocolate pudding, which is basically baked hot fudge brownie that's still molten lava style. They have free Internet...free tea and coffee...a landline we can use, plus a hot tub. Exhausted as I was, I took a quick dip, which was really very nice. I somehow lost the bottoms of my swimsuit way back in Rotorua, so I have been using synthetic underwear (black) and my board shorts as my bathing suit bottom. In fact, it's quite the style here to do that, and what guys do anyway. I'll probably buy a new suit once I get to Australia (maybe).

Well, I head to Nelson soon (in about 30 minutes or so), and I've got to pack up. Sounds like mosquitoes and sand flies are out in force here in the South Island's west coast...so I'll start lathering up on DEET I guess. Better safe then sorry. I already have a few bad bites from Wellington (not sure how or when), and one from here. They have been pretty torturous...And this is what I bought that repellent for, after all.

Adios for now.

Chillin' like a villain

Feeling a bit overstimulated here in Wellington, or maybe like I need a bit of a break. Just been chilling this morning, and not really doing much.

Thursday (yesterday) was a beautiful day out, and I went down to the Queen's Wharf and did a bit of climbing at the gym there. I met a few other climbers and got to try out some fun overhang, top rope climbing. One guy gave me an intro to his wife, who I will climb with at 5 p.m. today. After climbing I headed out over to Parliament to catch them in session for the last day this week (and their first week back in session since last month). They were discussing the Alcohol Reform Bill, which is a very interesting proposed bill.

I got to sit in the public gallery, which is right above the MPs. It has a bunch of strange rules. For example, you can't lean on the railing, you can't take off your sweater and leave it inside, it either must be worn, or hung on a rack outside for security purposes. You can't put anything on the railing, nor stand up either. With those rules in place, it's hard to see all the members without shifting significantly in your seat, which is what I did, annoying the security/usher peoples quite a bit, I'm sure.

After very heated roughly 2.5 hour discussion, Parliament voted 119 to 3, to pass the bill on through the first of three total stages to become law. Just a quick background: A Law Commission report on NZ's alcohol consumption came out in April of this year surveyed the public over a few months, coming to the conclusion that 70% of New Zealanders think alcohol consumption is out of control and that multiple --somewhat drastic -- measures should be taken; the report gave 153 possible measures to be taken. The bill that came out to address this issue was largely slammed by many of the MPs for not being strong enough (and a good many members of Parliament even argued for a Prohibition-esque law!).

The thing is, drinking in New Zealand, with its population of 4.4 million, is only slightly higher (per capita) than drinking in the States, and far below comparative levels in many European countries. In any case, this bill will go in for public comment and will now be reviewed by the Select Committee over the next several months. Its proposals include raising the drinking age to 20 for store purchases (from 18). Creating liquor bans in supermarket and school parking lots, and subsequently giving law enforcement officers broader powers to question individuals who might have alcohol with them -- and also gain addresses and information about others with them. Law makers would also review and tighten up liquor licenses as well as place restrictions on the type of marketing allowed to especially prevent ads geared toward minors. This is the first review of the alcohol law since New Zealand liberalized its drinking policies in 1989, swinging the consumption policy more toward Europe. Many New Zealanders now say it's gone too far.

It's interesting but throughout NZ there are "alcohol free" zones advertised in various public areas. Politicians criticize the food and grocery lobby here for the plunging prices of alcohol and for the sell of beer and wine near the fronts of the stores, but truly -- at least compared to the States -- it does not seem to be markedly cheaper here (in many bars it's far more expensive), nor more high profile.

There was a lot of high rhetoric used, and a 30 minute conversation ensued when MP Anderton made a comment asking how much the alcohol lobby was donating to the National Party's victory coffers to get such a watered down bill (paraphrase). The National party is the current party in power aka "the government." Some National party MPs said that Anderton had made a misstep by making allegations as opposed to actually asking a question. The Speaker made various rulings on the issue trying to break up the hubbub (members regularly yell at each other from across the aisle while one is trying to speak). The Speaker appealed to "free speech" multiple times, but then one National MP said he was setting a dangerous precedent of allowing any question to be used as a backhand commentary; for example, if he asks if MP Anderton is senile and maybe he should think about retiring, is that OK? (No joke, an actual example.) Anyway, at the end MP Anderton rephrased his question and just asked if any money had been given to the National party, and if so, how much. The response was not on the record, and included one National MP mouthing somewhat quietly, "not to my knowledge." An interesting discussion.

After my time at Parliament I walked back through the city and got a Silver Warehou Fish and Chips, at the seafood market. I found a park area and devoured the meal...yum. Then it was back to the hostel to get ready for "Me and Robert McKee," a play at the local Circal Theater. If it had not been about a writer and the ironic somewhat downward spiral of his life, I am not sure I would have liked it. But since it was, and included a lot of writer jokes, as well as started with an appeal to a supposed class of writers, to consider another profession, I found it quite interesting.

When the show finished up I ended up walking back toward the hostel, stopping at the "Ponderosa" bar to listen to a local group play live music outside. It was really a great group, playing a bunch of perfect summer night covers.Two guys and a girl, all on guitars of various types. The bouncer and I got to chatting, and he got me a drink and brought me over a chair out on the sidewalk, so I could chill. Apparently their bar has a license to sell alcohol through to 6 a.m., and most bars in Wellington could technically sell alcohol 24/7. Supermarkets, however, can't sell alcohol after 10 p.m. apparently, nor can they serve hard liquor, corner "dairy markets" can however. On Saturday nights apparently the streets are booming with people walking about, many pretty sloshed. What I saw Thursday at 9 p.m. when I walked out of that play was an already pretty bumping bar scene. Is this was the MPs were so worried about? They seemed to think New Zealand's youth and young adults had become a country of hard-core drinkers. I don't know...Anyway, after a bit of time, I walked the final blocks to my place. Wellington is an awesome city -- not too big, not too small, lots of culture, on the water, near the mountains, and we've been blessed with good weather while I'm here. I'll be sad to go, but I will be happy to get back out and about in the countryside. Cities are great for living, but for travels, I think the great outdoors, the mountains and the seaside/oceanside, offer a lot more.

And then I found $5

...no, not really, but it was one of those days where everything just seemed to work out.

I visited the Botanical Gardens via the Cable Car, which was actually quite cool and had been in place since the early 1900s when Wellington started growing as a city and they started putting peoples' homes up in the hills away from the city commercial center. The ride was pretty brief (about 10 minutes), but led to a nice view of the city. From there you can walk back through the winding tracks of the Botanical Gardens to the city center in about 30 to 40 minutes. I walked over to the Carter Observatory with hopes of seeing the planetarium show at 1:30 p.m.; however, today there would be no show til 3 p.m. It was a bit of a bummer, but the lady there sought out extra reading material for me that I could take to read while out in the gardens since I had time to walk around prior. I really enjoyed the herb garden, where they mentioned specific ailments the different herbs would help. I then picnicked outside with a newspaper for lunch, before heading back up for the show. I had wanted to be an astronaut for most of my youth, and so it was really cool to see the planetarium show, but also a little sad. Though, I just looked up the profiles of NASA's 2009 astronaut class, and a bunch of the people are in their late 30s and/or 40s, and so all is not yet lost! Anyway, I spent most of tonight researching atmospheric science/geoscience since the Te Papa museum yesterday and this afternoon's observatory have really got me going. The coolest thing about the planetarium was that the entire show was based on the New Zealand night sky, and the southern hemisphere sky. It's interesting because when I look up at the sky here, we don't see the Big Dipper, we look right into the Milky Way, we see Orion's Belt upside down, and the most important sign is the Southern Cross, or Crux, which you can find by locating the two brightest stars in the sky, and drawing a line from them to the left. To find south, you take the top of the cross, and go upward to the next brightest star, and the halfway point between the two, taken down to the horizon, points due south. Awesome, isn't it?

Needless to say, I was at the observatory for a while. James Cooke's telescope was there, among a lot of other cool exhibits. There was also a new planetarium show that would arrive in a week, which I was sad I'd miss. Well...as it turned out there was a "family and friends" special event tonight that included a preview of the show, as well as a chance to use the Cooke telescope (it had not been operational during the day). I was asked if I wanted to stay -- of course, I responded! Well, apparently there was also a videographer present filming the entire thing for a New Zealand tourism informational spot. And, as I was the only real newbie there, the info spot ended up being a lot of filming of me, including sound bytes, and random footage of me watching things, looking at things, and walking about. Because I was a good sport (though initially very hesitant -- not a fan of random videos), they gave me free ice cream (hokey pokey! -- NZ vanilla-cream-esque with caramel bits, yum), a glass of red and white NZ wine, and a bag with info on the nautical night sky and the southern sky. Pretty awesome. Apparently the video will be posted on YouTube, the observatory website, possibly played on tour groups coming in via cruise ships, and possibly linked to Frommer's in some manner. I'm a bit worried. After the last impromptu set of questions I answered on camera, people came by to exclaim about "how professional" I had been. I was relieved they thought so, especially since I was pretty bummed up in my travel clothes, and had not showered today. Some lady explained to her young daughter that I was from LA, which is where all the movie stars are, so that's what helped me be great on camera. I'm pretty sure she was joking...maybe...Anyway, all in all it was an awesome experience. I walked back out to go back to the hostel to make dinner and a kind woman who works there offered me a ride off one of the side streets.

When I walked back into the hostel a couple of people were making dinner and invited me to join them. Nabila, a French-Algerian had made crepes from scratch. We had savory ones, and then sweet ones with nutella, strawberry and banana for dessert. In addition, we had ice cream, chocolate cake, and cheesecake. It was decadent...and delicious.

The next few days should be pretty awesome. I'm hoping to check out the rock climbing gym tomorrow, and will also be seeing a local play. Friday night I have tickets to "Apollo 13" -- an interactive performance in which the audience plays "Mission Control." I got the second to last available seat for that one (and a backpacker price). Saturday I head on the Interislander Ferry to Picton, on the South Island, and will get picked up by my hostel at the dock. I'm already prebooked to go on a 1/2 day winery tour of Marlborough Sounds, which is quite famous for its wines. Then the following day it's off to Nelson and the nearby Abel Tasman National Park for some hiking and outdoor activities.

There is so much going on in Wellington, which is known for being very artsy and the culture capital of the country. My hostel mates were overwhelmed after I told them it was not only the Indian film festival week, but Cuban culture week here. A couple doors down were free salsa lessons. "How do you know about everything going on?" they asked. Magique.

The windy city

It's my second day in Wellington, and the place really reminds me of San Francisco. There is a beautiful harbor, it is nestled in some crazy hills, sits atop a fault line, and is the city known for the strongest recorded winds in New Zealand. There are plenty of shops, bars, a sizable ethnic community (and therefore sushi, Thai food, an amazing Taiwanese restaurant (and boba!), plus a climbing gym (checking that out tomorrow), and even what seems like a smallish Jewish community.

My legs, especially my quads, are incredibly sore still, and I am walking around somewhat stiff-legged and have greater trouble going down stairs than up them. It's a pity that the sunlight here is so strong that most of the awesome sights I take photos of end up looking washed out. The colors are not as vibrant on my (four-year old) point and shoot than they are in real life. I do think, however,  my awesome sunglasses make the views look more stunning when I am looking through them than without.

Yesterday we got into Wellington at about 1:30 p.m., and did a brief stop atop Mt. Victoria, for an awesome view of the city and harbor. The city sits right on top of a fault line, and actually a lot of its current area was created by earthquakes. I absolutely love learning about earthquakes, and so found the entire history quite fascinating. The city is a bit obsessed, I would say, with earthquake preparedness and education. After we got into town and settled, I decided to walk over across town to the Parliament building to catch the last tour of the day, on (evidently) the last day of recess before the new session -- started today. While walking along the harbor area, I saw a crowd gathered watching a man struggling with what seemed to be a large squid caught up in his fishing reel. I was short on time, so didn't get a chance to watch the resolution (another bystander said that he'd probably have to try and cut the line to save his equipment, and would not be able to reel it in). So I was back off and rushing over to Parliament.

The capital of NZ was not always Wellington. It was once Auckland, but once natural resources such as gold and more settlers moved over to the South Island, the capital was moved over to Wellington to make it more central. The seat of government is located in a beehive-looking building, whch people apparently either love or hate. I love it. I found it quite fitting and metaphorically pretty cool for the supposed center of government activity. Attached to it is another building in which the 122 elected members of Parliament actually sit. The one-hour tour was somewhat informative, though I peppered the lady with questions, and others started to join in too. Our group included a Kiwi couple and their young daughter (from Auckland), two middle-aged Belgian women who were also staying at my hostel, and myself. We saw a brief flash of the New Zealand Prime Minister John Key walk by, flanked by four other people in suits, right before the tour started. About an hour later we were all done. And since Parliament is sitting through Thursday this week (2 p.m. to 10 p.m.) I think I may stop by and join the public gallery one of these days. Apparently they have a "question session" the first 1.5 hour or so each day where the opposition party tries to make the governing party look incompetent, and vice versa. Fun times...

After the tour the Kiwi couple, who were in town touring around prior to a wedding Friday, gave me a ride back to the area near my hostel, after a quick circle about town. We exchanged info, and ended up texting back and forth since then. We may meet up again. I was pretty famished and decided to treat myself to a Taiwanese meal out and some boba at a restaurant called "Cha" that a student/skateboarder on the street told me was really good. It was. I only wished I had multiple stomachs and a larger budget, because I wanted to eat everything there...On the way back I checked out a local theater or two to see what's going on. There is an interesting show, "Apollo 13," playing nearby me here, which apparently got good reviews in Sydney and includes an interactive audience "mission control." It's a bit pricey, and when I walked up to inquire about it, I ended up interrupting some trustee meeting. So we'll see if I do go.

The night was otherwise pretty uneventful. A couple people at the hostel decided to go out and check out the Monday night scene. I went along with them and pretty much regretted it. I'm much more into local scenes, and not so much into the "backpacker scene"...one bar we walked into seemed to be very "purpose-driven" if you know what I mean. We did finally get out into some more local bars, but the group was not very cohesive, nor entirely interested in the same type of outing.

Since I haven't been able to kick this cold I've decided to buy some healthier foods (aka not the cheapest items I can find at the supermarket). This was based on my cousin Amy's advice...and boy, did my wallet feel the difference. I was glad I'd eaten before I headed to the supermarket. Regardless, I probably paid more for my groceries than I have throughout my entire trip thus far. My goal is to make the food last through the end of the month. Well, at least two weeks. My budget has been blown by the big ticket items here such as touring the Bay of Islands, buying a bus pass, etc...But otherwise, I think I've still remained under my initial budget daily by a good $10-15. On some days I'm below budget by $20 or $25. So there's a small plus.

Hmm...what else...ah, this afternoon I went over to Te Papa, the six-floor free admission Museum of New Zealand. I was only able to do about two floors during my three hours there...and walked out totally spent. But let me say, this museum is one of the coolest/best museums I have ever been to. It is interactive, high tech, with touch video screens with extra explanations, tons of things to lift, feel and touch, and very very well written explanation boards that make the information easily accessible to nearly anyone child or adult. The museum also has the largest "colossal squid" in the world, a female, that was caught and donated by fishermen several years ago. There was also a very comprehensive section on earthquakes, on alpine landscapes, plants, and local wildlife (birds primarily), as well as marine animals. That was in addition to a section on Maori culture, history, the history of New Zealand (populated only about 1,000 years ago), and the Treaty of Whaitangi, plus models of Maori tribe homes, gathering houses, etc...that you could touch and walk/crawl into. Awesome. Kids also got a life-sized replica of a Blue Whale's heart that they could crawl around inside. Huge. I learned about Gondwanaland, which was apparently what New Zealand, Australia, India, South America, Africa, Arabia, and Antarctica were prior to breaking up. I had never heard of it before. I'd heard of Pangaea...but this was all new. I also learned a bit more about El Nino and La Nina, and how they affect New Zealand and South America as well as India. It was all so fascinating I am going to look up some courses on seismology, geology and meteorology. The there have always interested me, especially the first and last, but they are all so linked. The museum had an "earthquake house" that simulated a roughly magnitude 4 temblor. What was also really cool was learning about volcanoes, especially since I'd just climbed one, and they showed live footage of past eruptions and news reports.

Though the actual Waitangi Treaty is located at the National Archives building, there was an exhibit on the treaty itself at the museum. And I'd already visited the treaty grounds in Paihia, and was very glad for that. The museum really nicely tied together a lot of what I've already seen. (Btw, did I mention that Lake Taupo was also basically the water filled top of a still-active volcano? They've done diving expeditions and the water gets warmer and warmer below, and they have not hit the bottom, but did find very interesting marine life.) Anyway, the interesting thing about the Treaty, which is regarded as the document that marks the birth of New Zealand, was that the English and Maori translations are very different, and have been a continued source of "discussion." Also interesting is a tribal claim that has been filed, among many, that argue the technical meanings of some of the words in the Treaty, and remain to be ruled on by the Waitaingi Treaty Tribunal. Technical meanings include whether or not the particular control tribes were supposed to maintain over their lands, culture and practices includes their knowledge of resources of the land, such as plants and animals. (That's a very vague gloss on that issue.) Anyway, I had an awesome time at Te Papa, and will probably head back over there a couple times over the next couple days. I also want to hit the Botanical Gardens, which has a planetarium on its grounds too, or so I heard. People here talk about the "cable car" ride up to the top of a hill, and to the gardens. I'm not so sure if I'll do that. A bit too San Francisco-esque for my taste...and I've rode on that cable car before there...I also hope to hit the climbing gym tomorrow and ease out my stiffened muscles. I'm looking forward to the glacier hikes that will be a couple weeks down the line -- I've heard it's about eight hours and we get to use an ice axe and crampons, and that they also break us up into skill-level groups. Yay.

Final note: An apology for all the typos and grammatical errors here...I've had not very consistent Internet access and am often dashing off these entries at the end of my night, or on my way out, in a hurry. So, thanks for reading, and bear with me. Cheers!

Tongariro Alpine Crossing and Mt. Ngauruhoe summit

First a note: It is jarring, to say the least, to go from the Tongariro National Park, the alpine crossing, and the summit of Mt. Ngauruhoe yesterday, to the New Zealand capital of Wellington and Parliament today. If anything, the near juxtaposition of these two areas -- a NZ San Franciscan windy Wellington and an awe-some park of craters, blue and emerald lakes, and volcanoes -- is a testament to the beauty of this land. And the lactic acid buildup in my limbs and bruises are the only things today that make it seem like more than just a dream. By far, the Tongariro Alpine Crossing and summit were the highpoint of my trip, and I would highly recommend anyone traveling to New Zealand to be sure to do the Crossing before anything else. The 19.4-km Crossing is a medium-level difficulty hike that is incredibly easy to complete in the allotted eight hours the shuttle operators give you. A map and basic trip guide shows that the max altitude is about 2,200 meters, with about half that gain during the entire trek. Because the trip is not a loop, shuttle buses drop hikers off at one parking lot and pick them up at another, usually about eight hours later for the simple fee of about $28 NZ.

Without further ado, here is my trip report:

Nov. 7, 2010: Tongariro Alpine Crossing and Mt. Ngauruhoe summit

Time completed: 8:10 a.m. to 3:57 p.m.Roughly eight hours, including multiple stops -- lunch on the summit, snack at the Red Crater, and English tea at the Blue Lake.

Weather: sunny and about 15 to 17 degrees Celsius with freezing temps at 1,600 meters and winds.

The night before the hike I prepared my pack, which was essentially just a small peak bag I'd brought along for short day hikes while on my trip. It lacked waist straps and was a lot smaller than what I would have preferred for such a hike, but I made do. I prepped a lot of food and snacks such as peanut butter and jelly, my favorite peanut m&ms, chicken sandwiches, trail mix, granola bars, and apples. I was very excited, but a little worried about the lingering chest/head cold that I couldn't get rid of. My dorm mates seemed intent on stretching out the night, but I managed to get the lights out by about 11:30 p.m., with a 6:20 a.m. wake-up. Everything was ready to go, and I had breakfasted and was all set by the shuttle's 7:15 a.m. pickup. It took an annoyingly long amount of time to get to the trailhead, only about 18 km away. We arrived there at 8 a.m. Our bus was full, with about 50 people, and multiple other shuttles had passed us on the way out from the parking lot. The weather had been terrible for the last couple days, and trips had been canceled, with strong winds and snow. We were blessed with a beautiful sunny day, and everyone had turned out. The driver gave us some last minute words on the trip -- mainly that the bus would leave at 4 p.m. -- and a business card in case (whatever). There are two summits on the trip, Tongariro and Ngauruhoe, both active volcanoes, but Ngauruhoe is higher by far, and also the famed "Mt. Doom" used in the "Lord of the Rings" film. I had some questions on timing, especially because the extra hour I'd hoped to have was nonexistent.

"Is anyone summiting Mt. Ngauruhoe?" the driver asked our bus.

 I was sitting up front ready to go, and raised my hand a bit timidly. He scanned the bus, in his baseball cap, sunglasses, a tee-shirt, hoodie, and short shorts. He had a handlebar mustache, and a smug smile.

 "Just one?" he sorta stated. "If you're fit, you should have enough time. If you're fit, you should be at the base of Ngauruhoe by 9:30 a.m., and the summit will take about one hour. When you get there, you'll see the ridgeline, the closer you are, the easier it will be. Volcanic scree, it's one step forward and two steps back. And then about 30 minutes descent."

He motioned to his thighs. "Up to here, then just slide. Some people run down. If you're fit, you should have enough time. I do both summits in that time," he smirked.

Then we were off. Of all the people on the bus, three people asked me to take photos of them at the entrance to the trail. By the time I got going it was about 8:15 a.m. I went hard trying to make up time. The start of the trail gives you nice views of Mt. N-hoe (as it shall be known henceforth) and the saddle between it and Mt. Tongariro. It's about 20 minutes to Soda Springs, which are these beautiful orange-tinged (you guessed it) springs, and then it's another 20 minutes or so til the "Devil's Staircase." This section takes another 20 minutes or so, and is easy to underestimate. After all, they add stairs, in sets of about 10, with regular trail in between at a slight incline. You twist and turn through the uphill area, and whenever you think the stairs will stop, they continue. It's a slow burn up hill. And after another 10 minutes or so you're at the end of the staircase and at the saddle where you receive instructions on what to do in case the volcanoes begin to erupt (and how to tell they're erupting), as well as instructions on not to breathe in the toxic gases flowing out of them. All good things. A lot of the trail is above tree line in alpine conditions, and it sort of feels like you're on the moon. This also means, however, that there are only a couple official bathroom stops, and almost no cover if you do not take those stops (and are female). I skipped the first stop on the way up to the saddle, and did not regret it once I saw the line stretch on. I was at the base of Mt. N-hoe at 9:25 a.m. and took some photos before starting the next leg of the journey. For most of the trip thus far there had been a near ant-line of people, but not once I turned for the mountain. It was empty before me. I saw two sticks marking a semi-trail ahead, with only a couple boot marks showing the area had been tramped before. I have to say it was a little intimidating, staring at the mountain and seeing not a soul ahead of me. I am going to climb that, I told myself. Wow. Cough cough, splatter, phlegm, mucous, dammit I should have put my tissues in my pants pockets, not in my coat that is hanging off my pack. Oh boy.

I walked somewhat haphazardly up toward the base, aiming for the ridgeline as much as possible. I saw a couple people the higher up I got. It was a continuous climb at about a 45 degree angle for the next 1.5 hour (bullshit on the one hour). The people I ended up summiting with had started at 7:30 a.m. It was a very VERY hard scramble up dark brown volcanic tephra, which is very loose and intermixed with little sharp black rocks. I felt every muscle in my legs and thighs screaming as I used every climbing technical skill I'd learned to scramble up and maintain balance on small rocks, many of which were very unstable. I slid, fell, was often on all fours, pulled myself up on whatever ridge I could, and kick stepped into the loose sandy substance hoping to gain some traction. It worked somewhat, and I made slow but steady progress. You know that feeling where you think you're nearly at the summit, but then realize you're only at a smallish rise before another climb? Picture about 100 of those, or maybe more. It was endless. But the views were so spectacular, it was worth it every single time you turned around. The "Devil's Staircase" was a 1 on the 1 to 10 scale, with this a 10. Actually, the "Devil's Staircase" doesn't even rank on that scale. In the winter you need to be roped in on this and you need an ice axe and crampons -- no doubt. There was snow still along the mountain, and lots and lots of scree fields and jagged rocks. I'd say the climb was easily a 5.6 or 5.7 through most of it, and possibly even up to a 5.8 climb at parts, especially with the sliding tephra.

While going up the mountain/volcano, I struggled along with two Englishmen (Martin and Andy) and one other American (Michael) from West Virginia. All three worked together in Hamilton, and had just recently moved to New Zealand for the medical field. The country has trouble maintaining a steady supply of people in the medical field, and especially nurses -- with many leaving for Australia, which is (evidently) larger, but also strangely more advanced. We all ended up finally summiting together at about 11 a.m. After snapping some shots, and enjoying some celebratory trail mix, and a chicken sandwich, it was already 11:35 a.m., and time to head back down. I'd hoped to be down the mountain by 11:30 a.m., and was a bit worried on time. The entire hike to the end was supposed to take about 5.5 more hours, and I had no clue how I would get down the mountain. The four of us ended up going down as much as possible in a tight bunch because of all the falling rocks (big ones too), which were also actually a problem on the way up as well. I slid a good ways, falling multiple times, and nearly cutting my hands before I decided to (duh) put on my gloves. In the end we just tried looking for good scree paths, avoiding snow, and surfed/slid down as much as possible without losing too much control. Every now and then I or someone would yell "rock" as different sized rocks were set rolling down -- some larger than my head (spare the jokes).

Once I got down the mountain it was amazing to look up and see that I'd just climbed it. The flats felt so easy, and simple. I could feel the bruises on my knees, seemingly from the inside out, from my left patella. It hurt to touch. And my ankles ached. From there it was an easy walk across to the South Crater, then a painful climb up to the Red Crater. It was like a baby summit, and really would have been easy. But after the recent climb, and cooling down/tightening up, it was pain. I also realized that I should have definitely cut my nails before the trip (even if it was just the day before when I thought of it); I was limping toward the end. Once we made the Red Crater -- beautiful volcanic rock red -- it was nearly all downhill, through the Emerald Lakes, and up to the Blue Lake, with a walk through a frozen snow field. At the Blue Lake I stopped to have a bit of English tea that Martin had carried up in a thermos. He even had milk with him. Amazing. From the Blue Lake it was a zigzag walk through shrubby areas, past the Ketetahi Hot Springs on the way to the Ketetahi hut. I made the hut at about 2:55 p.m., and from there had a little more than 6 km left. On the way over you see a wonderful view of Lake Taupo before you, and the entire countryside north. We also saw some crazy looming dark clouds, which made me a bit glad to be headed out somewhat early. By 3:54 p.m. I was walking through beautiful green forest areas -- a definite change from tree line -- with about a km or so left. I was worried I'd miss my bus, so I decided to dash the last km or thereabouts and made it into the parking lot by 3:57 p.m. When I got there the bus driver told me he was waiting on three others who I had seen ambling about along the way as I dashed by. When I asked them if they were worried about missing the bus their response was, "Well, I suppose he'll wait." Man...if I'd known I coulda just chilled that last km and made it fine.

All in all though it was an awesome trip. The sense of accomplishment was huge, and I was really happy I'd made it. I was the only female that I saw on the summit or attempting it, and the only person who made the Mt. N-hoe summit off my bus. Even cooler, I'd done the summit plus the Crossing in the time it usually takes a person to do just one. It was, quite honestly, the hardest hike I've done. I could not imagine it at altitude. Mt. N-hoe is thankfully not very high at 2,291 meters. I usually don't start reacting excessively to altitude until about 3,000 meters. But those sort of heights would have made the climb psychotically difficult.

That night I went back to the hostel I had piles of black rock and dirt in my crevices and pockets of my pants. A nice hot shower made me human again, and I dumped all my clothes in the wash. I had two celebratory ginger beers as well as an ice cream bar and some more m&ms with dinner. When I put my head down on my pillow I dreamed of my feet sinking into black soil and scree as I climbed endlessly upward on a volcano, on and on...

Onwards and upwards (quite literally -- well, soon)

I'm writing now from Tongariro National Park, New Zealand's first national park, and the fourth established in the world. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage site, and well, needless to say, absolutely amazing. Tomorrow morning I leave at 7:15 a.m. (late, I know) to start the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, roughly a 20 kilometer walk through supposedly stunning landscapes, including craters and lakes. I hope to also do the summit of Mt. Ngauruhoe, which got snow last night. It will stretch the trip by another possible two to three hours. The Crossing itself is supposed to take seven to eight hours, and our transport will be picking us up at 4 p.m. Aside from the high winds and freezing levels down to 1600 feet tomorrow (better than the rain, snow and very high winds the last couple days), I've also got a return of my head/chest cold. Kayaking and then caving in ice cold water one day after the next with a lingering cough probably didn't help much. More on that later. Anyway, the weather is supposed to be better tomorrow (Sunday), and crampons and ice axe are likely not needed, though it's a scree slope which is more easily climbed when snow is packed hard on top and such equipment is used. We'll see what happens. I'm going to be timing myself along the way, and if I'm making good time, then I'll attempt the summit (which is supposedly Mt. Doom from the film "Lord of the Rings"). The altitude should not be a problem, as it really only goes up to about 2,200 meters, or thereabouts. Fingers crossed. I've got a list of gear to pack up tonight, and have already packed up food for tomorrow. The Crossing itself, in fair weather, is supposed to be a medium level walk for a person of average to good fitness.

I'm staying at the National Park Backpackers in a dorm room with a heater, but damn is it cold. I've got a base layer and another layer on top of that, just sitting here in the kitchen avoiding my sweet tooth so that I'll have some peanut M&Ms left for my trip tomorrow. I'm really hoping I wake up feeling a lot better. I've had so much tea and water today as well as tons of soup, plus vitamins. Funny but my best net connection has been out here in the middle of nowhere. Go figure.

I'm very excited about the trip tomorrow. Can't wait to get moving. I wonder how I will do, and whether there will be others with my fitness level (whatever that is) to hike with. Thing is, I don't want to rush through the Crossing to make the summit, but I am not really a dawdler either. I often have to remind myself to stop and take in views -- though this hasn't been a real problem in New Zealand.

Anyway, yesterday we stopped over at the Waitomo caves. Our bus broke down on the way over -- pouring rain and mechanical issues are no fun, but it got fixed in about 15 minutes. These Kiwis are good! Once we got to the caves, I did some black water rafting in underground caves where we saw an amazing array of glowworms. It's hard to describe, but just imagine thousands of little blue lights on the ceilings of these pitch black caves. These glowworms only exist in New Zealand, and a bit of Australia. New Zealand is known for them. The glowworms live in the larvae stage for about six to nine months. During that time they build themselves a little hammock, slink down a bit of sticky string like a spider, and shine a bright blue light, which is really their crap, from the tops of the cave. This light is used to attract other insects in the cave, who think that the light is a way out. They fly toward it, and then are caught in the sticky string, and reeled up by the worms. Dinner. After about six to nine months the worms hatch into a type of fly, which has no mouth and therefore cannot eat. For about a week or so the males try and mate with the females -- dying, happily, of starvation. The females then hatch dozens upon dozens of eggs, before dying of starvation like the males a few days later. If there are many eggs, the worms will eat each other once hatched so as to create more manageable competition for food. And the cycle continues. The cave guides said in all their 18 years or so they had never seen such a display of worms as we saw in those caves yesterday. They smacked the water with tubes, and the worms glowed even brighter blue ("They shit themselves," was the commentary.) because of the vibrations from the sound on their sticky string.

To go in the caves, which were about 35 degrees to 50 degrees Fahrenheit, we were equipped with wetsuits. We were going to get wet, and have to swim a bit. In total we were in the caves and walking around with those suits for about two hours. We did a fair bit of walking in waist deep water, and jumped backwards down a baby waterfall (with a black tube), and then slid forwards down a bigger slide waterfall. It was fun, and I wasn't at all nervous falling backwards into the black beyond -- even without my glasses on. I really would be curious to know if bungee would make me nervous. I'm betting it might. But so far I've been pretty calm for most of the "adrenaline" adventures. After going through the caves, which were 100 to 300 feet below ground, we got to take a hot shower, and I got to defrost. I could feel the cold creeping back up on me though.

Once we got into the National Park, we chilled out a bit, and then planned to watch "Lord of the Rings" part one. Ah, interesting side note. Hostels here seem to favor VHS. I had nearly forgotten how to rewind the VHS and then view it. Damn does it take a long time to rewind videos. The quality of the first LOTR movie though was pretty awful. I joked to the hostel managers that it had probably been viewed millions of times by travelers here. (Apparently Mt. Doom might not be the mountain people think it is -- and more likely a superimposed image that includes Mt. Ruapehu -- bummer.) Another side note, one of the volcanoes here last erupted about two years ago, and erupts nearly every eight years or so. Last time scientists only got a 60-second warning. Interesting stuff, huh? We're right at the base of Mt. Ruapehu. Today the mountains were all in the clouds, and we can see snow all over them. Anyway, we ended up watching LOTR part two.

Today I woke up feeling absolutely awful -- and the weather outside was pretty terrible too. This hostel, however, has a climbing gym, and I'd found another climber here yesterday. So we did about an hour or so on the wall, and it was nice to see that once I warmed up I was not too terrible, even when feeling weak. It was especially nice to use my own gear, and made lugging it around worth it. I heard Christchurch has a great climbing/bouldering community, and some good outdoor areas as well. I'll probably check into it once I get there in a few weeks. Well, it's nearly 8 p.m., and I've got some prep to do before bedtime and an early-ish wake up. I'd like to have gone earlier, but there's no shuttle to the trailhead at 6 a.m. these days, since it's not yet peak season. In fact, tomorrow is the last day of ski season here...and I'm bummed I will miss it, but it's a bit pricey and its "spring conditions"...slushy and patchy, so the Crossing is the plan.

Cheers!