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.
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