After a three and a half hour ferry we reached the South Island of New Zealand. We filed off the large boat and made our way to our new bus driven (again) by Sandfly. We had picked up a few new people out of Wellington, and along with most of the old crew, we filled up our big orange bus.
Our next stop was to be Abel Tasman National Park, which was
a beautiful spot along the north-west coastline of the island. We stayed at a camp called Old MacDonald’s
Farm, which featured a shared kitchen/common room and small cabins that were
spaced out in a green field dominated by a hilly terrain in the
background. A bunch of us were excited
to try the famous Fat Tui burgers
featured at the nearby burger stand, however there were too many of us and the
stand was not prepared to deal with us all. 
Along with five others, I decided to embark the next day on
a hike along this coast to Anchorage, a small camping point 11.8 kilometres
away. Taking off at 10:30am, our group
walked through forest paths and lounged on beaches and in coves. We leisured along, taking our time, and we
arrived at Anchorage at 3:10pm. After a
short beach rest, we realized that we needed to book it back in order not to arrive
in the dark. So in went the headphones
and on went my playlist. We made it back
to camp in a record one hour and fifty minutes.
The next day we were on the road again, stopping at a place
called Punakaiki or ‘the Pancake Rocks’.
After checking out this geologic feature, we filed back onto the bus and
as I was the last one on, I was given the Batman costume to wear! I played the role well, having a bit of fun
hanging upside-down from the bus. And
since the next day was Halloween, I asked Sandfly if I could keep it for the
festivities. He generously agreed.
We carried on to our wilderness lodge where we would spend
the night. However, due to complaints
from neighbours, the Stray bus was not allowed to pull up to the hostel. So we had to pull up on the side of the road
outside of the hostel area and carry our bags through ten minutes of forested
path. It didn’t help that it was raining
at this time. We reach the hostel
reception pretty drenched and are greeted by one of the staff members. But instead of quickly ushering us into
rooms, she makes us wait around as she has odd conversations with random people
and generally takes a slow time to get around to offering us shelter. So obviously I take the first room I can get
my hands on. Her behaviour was a mystery
to me, and it sent grumbles through the crowd.
Regardless of that, the lodge was decent accommodation. I was in a room with three others and we all
had our own single bed. There was a
common room and a kitchen in each lodge and I found myself at a neighboring
one, cooking up some pasta with friends.
The next day began with ham and eggs. Hmmmmm ham and eggssss.
We got back on the bus again after a short walk through the
forest and drove on towards the town of Franz Josef, where the famous glacier
(of the same name) is located. The bus
had an auxiliary cord attachment which meant that we could play our music
through the speakers. My music had been
well received in the past so I whipped up a ‘Stray’ playlist and plugged it
in. I decided to sit in the seat up
front by the driver, and Sandfly and I talked for a little while. It was nice to get a better idea of who he
was and what he had done.
We were still talking when he began pulling over to the side
of the road. Confused, I looked at him
and he replied that there was a police car flashing its lights at us. So he pulled over, unfortunately a little too
much. The front wheel found its way off
the road and slid into the ditch, sending the bus slightly on a diagonal and
the other passengers scrambling for stability as they felt the lurch.
 |
| Toppled!! |
We were stuck, so Sandfly opened the front door and we all
hopped out onto the road, observing our poor disabled bus. Luckily (or unluckily depending how you view
the timeline of events) there was a police car behind us! So help was called, and we filed off to a
nearby café to await our rescue.
It took about half an hour before the bus was pulled out and
we were cleared to continue. It was
never clear what the police was originally pulling us over for, but to my
knowledge, we were never in any violation of any laws or practices.
We soon made it to Franz Josef where we wasted no time
getting to our rooms and began getting ready for Halloween night. I roomed with Holly, Dionne, Katelyn, Laura and
Graham in a nice cabin conveniently located by the hot tub. We began our predrinks as we geared up for
the night, using face paint and other costume accessories. As mentioned before, I was ready to go as
Batman!
The night erupted with festivities at the lodge bar and we
all danced the night away in a costumed frenzy.
 |
| Franz Josef!! |
The next morning saw an early rise as we embarked on our
glacier climb. Franz Josef glacier
glistened in the background of the town as we made our way to the tour
operator. There were two options waiting
for us. The first being the Ice Explorer
option where a guide would take us around the glacier and show us a bunch of
interesting features. The second option
was an altered Ice Explorer that included a bunch of ice climbing! I was interested in trying my hand at ice
climbing so I signed up for option number two.
We were led to an equipment shed, where they geared us up
with jackets, boots, gloves, hats and crampons.
These crampons attached to our boots and featured spikes that would be
responsible for maintaining our grip on the ice as well as the walls of ice and
snow that we would be climbing.
We were then taken to the helipad where a short helicopter ride
took us to the terminus of the glacier.
This flight reminded me of my time in the Yukon, as I had constantly
been in a helicopter in order to get to my work areas. The view that greeted us as we left the
helicopter was beautiful. We were
treated to the sights of the valley bellow and the blue glacier above.
After a short walk up the glacier we made it to our first
ice climb. The guides laid out three
climbing ropes and secured them to ice blocks above. After some practice with the ice picks, I
began my first climb. I struck my ice
picks into the wall, and moved the corresponding leg up, jamming the front of
my boot and spike of my crampon into the ice.
It was a very difficult process and I felt my muscles cramping as I made
my way up, secured of course by a harness and rope. My legs were shaking as I zeroes in on the
top. My picks made several futile
attempts at landing in the ice and I was afraid that I would have to give
up. But I made it. I was exhausted as I stood on top of the
wall, looking at my fellow climbers below.
My second climb on that wall went much better than the
first. I just needed time for my muscles
to become adjusted to this sport. We
then moved onto another location with a near vertical ice wall. Surprisingly, I found this climb to be much
easier. I was one of the first climbers
to complete that wall and one of our guides beckoned me and two others to join
him. He mentioned that he had found a
Moulin (a large hole in the ice) and wanted to send us down to explore it. So he brought us over to this hole in the
blue ice that sank into the darkness and depths of the glacier. He hoisted me up first, securing my harness
to his rope and lowered me down. I was
abseiling down a Moulin! I descended
into darkness and after a few short seconds of uncertainty, was rewarded with
the sensation of my feet touching ground.
I unclipped myself and made my way out of the tunnel of ice which
reflected an eerie electric blue.
After our group all had a chance to abseil the moulin, we
helicoptered back to camp and to a night of food and good company.
The next day took us to Wanaka, a small town located beside
a beautiful lake. We stayed at a Base
hostel where the Kiwi Experience bus crew was staying. Hence, bus wars began. These were games set up at night, including a
pool tourney, musical chairs and some questionable activities with hands and
pants.
Katelyn and I woke early the next day to check out Puzzle
World, a logic and pattern amusement building of sorts. We were challenged by their maze and crazy
puzzles!
We then drove on towards the AJ Hackett Bungy jump centre
where I would jump the Nevis! The Nevis
Bungy jump is New Zealand’s highest bungy at 134 metres and is located in the
middle of a huge canyon. This jump was
gonna be terrifying! But we needed
something special to mark the occasion, so three of us convinced Sandfly to let
us wear the superhero costumes. Dominick
got Spiderman, Sebastian received Superman and I got Batman! So we took the cart across to the bungy, as
the rest of the bus watched from the platform.
I was not the first to jump so I got to watch as the others leapt of the
edge, screaming their faces off!
And then it was my turn.
I hopped on the chair and had all the necessary ropes and gadgets
attached to me. My legs were secured in
a brace around the ankles and I was led in a concrete-shoes type manner to the
edge. I looked down into the canyon
below, noting the small river that would be of no help to me if things took a
turn for the worse. I was given the go
ahead signal and after a countdown from three, I dove.
With both hands clasped in front of me like I was diving
into a pool, my body descended into the canyon, my mind trying to make sense of
my flashing peripherals and the ever closer ground coming up to meet me. The bungy stretched to its weighted limit and
then yanked me back up into the air, my heart pounding and my lungs
screaming! I completed another bounce
before I was pulled back up into the compartment. I had just survived the Nevis Bungy jump!!
After a few other travelers took the jump, including Graham,
we returned to road where we traveled on to Queenstown, the party and adventure
capital of New Zealand. Queenstown has a
reputation of being the perfect party place for backpackers and is the source
of many a crazy tale.
We check into the Base hostel, and Graham and I decide to go
for dinner at Fergburger. This is a
famous burger restaurant in New Zealand, known for cooking up huge
burgers! So we checked it out and it did
not disappoint. Definitely worth a
visit!
The next two nights included lots of partying with the crew
where we checked out what Queenstown’s nightlife had to offer. Teapots.
Lots of teapots.
The next day our group chilled out, and Laura and I went to
see Thor 2: The Dark World in a cinema.
Brilliant movie!
We decided to check out some of Queenstown’s nature the next
day, and hiked up a mountain. This
mountain had a gondola which could have taken us up, but we were in the mood
for some exercise. And for our
perseverance we were treated to spectacular views of the area. The lake the town bordered looked beautiful and
the surrounding mountains and hills completed the picturesque scene.
Our small crew had a BBQ by the lake later that
afternoon. It was a nice shared
experience between a group of travelers that considered each other
friends.
On our walk back to the hostel, we saw that a new Stray bus
had arrived. It was the crew that we had
left behind in Wellington! Freya, Sarah,
and Alex stepped off the bus, along with many others, and we were excited to
all see each other again. Of course we
had to party.
The next morning would mark a separation from the crew I had
been hanging out with. I was to embark
on a two day tour of the deep South which included Milford Sound and Stewart
Island. The good news is that I would
have company, Sarah and Freya were along for the ride as well as other
travelers that I knew. There would also
be a change in drivers, I would no longer be traveling with Sandfly. Instead our new driver was a kiwi nicknamed
Carlin, and we would be traveling in a smaller, white bus.
Our first stop was Milford Sound where we boarded a boat and
cruised along the waters, checking out the fjord. We saw beautiful waterfalls and amazing cliff
landscapes that were almost vertical, allowing the boat to come perilously
close to the mountain edge and drenching us all in water from the above waterfall. We were even lucky to see some penguins and
seals!
The next morning we drove towards Invercargill, dropping off
the people who wanted to travel to Stewart Island along the way. I chose not to take the ferry to Stewart
Island as the ferry was expensive and I had heard that the island was more of a
bird sanctuary, which although interesting, was not my cup of tea at the time.
So the rest of us drive on to Invercargill where burgers
were made and fish and chips were had!
And then it was back to Queenstown!
After three nights of partying and a round of Frisbee-golf,
my time in Queenstown was up. I bid
farewell to much of the crew and boarded the bus to Mount Cook, along with
Dionne, Holly, Katelyn, Graham and Johanna.
A new bus and a new driver emerged. Posty was his name and
our bus was back to being big and orange!
We left Queenstown and made towards Mount Cook. The spectacular mountain range greeted us as
we drove towards our hostel, located conveniently in the middle of the green,
luscious valley. We embarked on a hike
along the bottom of the range and towards a large glacial lake. Graham dared to do some ice hopping, while
Dan (an Englishman) decided to wade into the freezing water!
We only stayed at Mount Cook one night and were off again on
the road. We were now heading north, up
the east coast of the south island and back to the north island.
We stopped the next day at Ratitata, a nice camp where some
went rafting and which featured triple-decker bunk beds, and then dropped some
travelers off at the Christchurch airport.
Stray no longer went in to Christchurch and this made sense as the city
was levelled by an earthquake a few years back.
There isn’t much to do there now during their reconstruction phase. This is where we would say goodbye to Graham,
Holly and Dionne. It was sad to see them
leave but we were all happy to have met each other.
Kaikoura was up next where we stayed at a hostel called the
Lazy Shag and explored the coast line. I
also got to meet some other Canadians!
 |
| Seal Pup!! |
We were treated to a nice surprise the next morning when
Posty dropped us off at a small river.
Seal pups! There were two or
three of them and they leapt along rocks and into the stream. I got somewhat close to take pictures of the
pups and one of them leapt right by me, inches from my face!
And then it was back on the ferry as we crossed over to the
North Island and stayed in Wellington for the night. Of course we partied here!
The next day I bid farewell to Katelyn and Johanna at the
national park. Katelyn was set to meet
up with a friend from home and Johanna would be completing the Tongariro
crossing.
Due to picking other people up at the national park, we had
a full bus. Unfortunately Posty had left
it to the last minute to arrange accommodation for us in Auckland and there
were no spots available in the usual hostels when he rang ahead! So this sent us all into a scramble. I managed to secure two beds for Dan and I,
while an effort was led by another traveler named Martjin to arrange beds for
everyone else. Thanks to his efforts, we
arrived in Auckland with everyone secured a bed. A crisis had been averted.
As this would be our last night together, we partied it up
beginning at the Base hostel bar, where I had a won a $20 bar tab!
 |
| Hobitssssusss!! |
Now, during my NZ trip I had wanted to check out Hobbiton,
the movie set for the shire in the Lord of the Rings movies. I was afraid that I had missed my chance as a
tour from Auckland was quite expensive.
However, there were two Australian girls on the bus and they wanted to
rent a car and check it out for the day.
So along with a girl from Brazil, we sped along the next day to Hobbiton
where we were treated to a green shire, a beautiful river and preserved hobbit
houses! We also partook in a beer at the
Green Dragon Pub!
 |
| The Green Dragon!! |
And then we were back in Auckland, where I packed up and
made my arrangements for the airport the next day. I took a walk around the city the next
morning, staring up at the Skytower that dominated Auckland’s skyline. New Zealand had been an insane month and I
wish I had given it more time. It is a
fantastic country with spectacular natural marvels that should be kept safe for
generations to come.
Check out Australia Adventure: Phase I!
Australia Adventure: Phase II!
Australia Adventure: Phase III!
Australia Adventure: West Coast Story Pt 1
Australia Adventure: West Coast Story Pt 2
Australia Adventure: Darwin and Kakadu National Park
Australia Adventure: Down the Track and to the Rock!
Australia Adventure: Onwards to Adelaide!
Australia Adventure: Once Upon a Time in Adelaide
Australia Adventure: Crazy in Cairns!!
Australia Adventure: Good Ol' Brizzy!!
New Zealand: North Island!!
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