Mt. Cook

Mt. Cook, NZ

Hit up Mt. Cook, New Zealand’s tallest peak. The Mt. Cook village is home to maybe 100 people, consisting of a hotel, a motel, and a YHA hostel. There is no food store, bank, or gas station. The closest amenities are about an hour drive south.

I only stayed an evening, arriving around noon and leaving around two o’clock the next day. During my stay, I did a 7 hour hike through Hooker Valley to the glacier at the bottom of Mt. Cook. This was definitely the best hike I did in New Zealand. Set amongst Gondor and the backdrop for Minas Tirith, the scenery was marvelous. The hike involves crossing huge rivers using wire bridges and steep paths carved into the sides of cliffs. Once again, huge mountains tower over either side of the valley as the glacier lake drains through a river towards the bottom.

Once at the base of the glacier, the water is completely still and ice cold. There were small icebergs floating through the ice grey water. Apparently, the water is this icy grey color due to glacier dust. Basically, the glacier moves across rock extremely slowly, grinding and smoothing the rocks out, while producing a fine granular dust that mixes with the water. Thank you Mr. Bus Driver for that tid bit.


Pic: The fields of Gondor

FERGBURGER

Mmmmmmmmmmm....

Serving up the must have burger in all of New Zealand, Ferg does not disappoint. Chill music and amazing food brings all of the locals and tourists. Ferg is open 21 hours a day, loaded with a full menu including breakfast burgers. You can get a Bun Laden, falafel instead of beef, or my personal favorite the Big Al.

Big Al $17.50 (Not that much when you do the exchange rate)

Double serving of Prime New Zealand beef (1/2 lb), lashings of bacon, a whole lotta cheese, 2 eggs, beetroot, lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, relish & a big wad of aioli.

Because Ferg loves you!

Pictured Below: Big Al himself

Queenstown

Queenstown, NZ

Welcome to Queenstown, adventure capitol of the world! Home of skydiving, jet boating, mountain biking, rafting, skiing and snowboarding, and much more. Nestled lakeside and at the base of mountains, Queenstown is a picturesque adventure paradise. As soon as I arrived, I booked a 15000 ft skydive for 9am the next morning.

The next day, my skydiving was cancelled due to weather conditions. I decided to do a four hour hike up the nearest mountain to pass the time. Sure enough, it started raining again. I know it’s the wet season, but come on… So the next day, skydiving was cancelled again.

As I received that bad news at the front desk, an elderly couple by the name of John and Kathy offered to take me on a little drive to see the countryside. We drove nearly for two hours to Glenorchy, stopping at all the little hiking spots and view points along the way. That evening, I took them to Ferg Burger to enjoy New Zealand’s best burger, more on that next.

Tried to go skydiving again, though it was cancelled again due to high winds. At this point I was so angry because all I wanted to do in Queenstown was skydive. Instead, I got to walk around a park and find an ice rink with some pick up hockey. Despite the lack of skydiving, Queenstown is still amazing. It's like the perfect ski village at the bottom of the mountain, complete with tall trees and a lakefront. 

Punakaiki & Franz Josef

Punakaiki, Pancake Rocks

The Pancake Rocks is a favorite stop for anybody travelling down the west coast through Punakaiki. It consists of some magical geological rock forms, which are layered like all you can eat pancakes. There are also some blowholes from the sea crashing into the rocks below. It only takes about 45 minutes to walk the little path from the highway to the ocean, and stare at the amazing coastal scenery, north and south, as far as the eye can see.

As I travel farther south, the mountain ranges get bigger and bigger, until they become the Southern Alps. Soon enough, I can see snow capped mountains, despite the weather being quite warm at the base.

The two main glaciers to stop and see on the west coast are Franz Joseph and Fox.  Both are protected as National Parks and have many maintained hiking trails, lasting anywhere between 1-10 hours.

I arrived at Franz Joseph just before sundown and was leaving early the next day. This meant I had to leave immediately to start my hike. As it turns out, it was raining (It rains something like 300+ days a year here). So I grabbed my umbrella and the front desk gave me a head torch, telling me not to get lost, (despite the glacier and snowy mountains, Franz Josef is considered a rain forest) It was a about an hour hike just to get to the start of the trails from the hostel in town. Luckily, it stopped raining after the first twenty minutes. It was almost dark by the time I started, mainly due to the low clouds perched over head. As soon as I entered the woods, it got real dark. Luckily I was given a head torch.

Completed the hour hike in about 40 minutes. The view I had once I reached the finish point was eerie cool. Even at night, in a valley surrounded by soaring mountains with a ceiling of clouds, it was something to see. My pictures could have been better if I had known how to adjust the exposure and other settings, but hey, I’m new to the whole camera thing.


Franz Josef Glacier

A note from the editor...

Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia
(Temples built in the 1300s, more on them later)

I know it's been almost a month since my last post. I have been extremely busy travelling through Indochina and haven't had much free time to write, let alone the internet to post it. I shall try hard to catch up and let everyone know what I've been doing.

I have seen so much in regards to culture, history, and millions of people driving on scooters with no traffic laws. I have so much to share, hopefully soon.

Cheers!

Inter-Islander Ferry

Cook Strait, NZ

I caught the 8am ferry from Wellington to Picton. This is the only way to get between the North and South Islands without flying. The ferry ride is three hours door to door. There are ten decks in all, including three for cars and trucks, and the rest are for passengers. The 8am ferry meant I got to watch the sunrise over Wellington from the top deck (which is outside). I decided to stay on the top deck for the remainder of the trip. I only get to do it once, right?

The ride is absolutely spectacular. Sometimes you can see whales and dolphins (not today), but the scenery is stunning. It is extremely windy on the top deck while crossing the Cook Strait, but well worth it. As with all my travels, I met some people and we spoke the whole way.

The ferry drops you off in Picton, the Gateway to the South. That’s about all its got going for itself. From metropolis to small coastal mountain town in three hours. It is home to a merchant ship from the late 1400’s, the 9^th oldest ship in the world, still in existence. Other than that, it’s time to start my journey of the South Island. 

Wellington

Wellington, NZ

Wellington is my favorite city so far…

Wellington is the capitol of New Zealand. Therefore, it is home to Parliament, National Museums, and other typical capitol things. Located at the bottom of the North Island, it's like the midpoint for the country. It also happened to be ANZAC Day, which is the equivalent of Remembrance/ Memorial Day. That meant that everything was closed until mid afternoon, and there were parades and ceremonies all day that I attended.

Side note: Wellington has free wifi in the city, thus all the posts at once and another reason why it’s amazing.

I hit up the Te Papa National Museum and learned about the native Maori people of New Zealand. It is pretty much the same native story as any other country England conquered/colonized. Nonetheless, it was still interesting to hear. I also learned about the geographical particulars that make New Zealand unique (and prone to earthquakes).

From what I have discussed with locals and other travelers, Wellington is the “it” city for the moment. It reminded me of a smaller Toronto, great food, good people, and plenty of things to do.

By the way, it is also extremely windy.